Cut to the Core

Case Studies are an Effective Sales Tool

Across industries, case studies have high readership among prospects and are considered effective sales tools by sponsoring organizations. A case study is an investment that offers a broad range of uses in your organization. The same case study, in print or as a PDF, can be effectively utilized in your efforts to attract, to inform and to convert buyers.

Use a case study in your Sales Materials:
1.    To support your field sales representatives
2.    To promote your independent representatives
3.    As an insert in direct mailings
4.    As a response to a request for more information

A case study is effective in establishing rapport with your target audience, promoting your solutions and persuading  your readers to take action. Visit the free resources section of the Kore Access Web site and access many more case study marketing tips that will help you to gain customers.

A case study is an optimal promotional tool for your product or service. Let Kore Access colleagues create or update your case studies. To set up your initial, complimentary consultation and to get a customized project quote, contact us today.

What Purpose Does a Case Study Serve?

 A case study analyzes a business or an organization and describes how, as a client, that business or organization benefited by implementing a preferred product or solution. A case study details the client’s business objectives, technical and business problems or challenges, the solution that was implemented and the ways that solution benefited the client’s corporate efficiency, marketing strength or sales numbers.

A case study can be structured to serve a multitude of primary and secondary purposes. Most businesses and organizations use case studies to:

• Attract new clients by providing them a means to identify with the case study client
• Inform potential clients of the solution’s benefits
• Position the business or organization as knowledgeable about their former and future clients’     challenges
• Give all clients a background on the various solutions available
• Overcome initial objections to their products or services, and
• Motivate potential clients to investigate further

Explore ways to utilize the power of third-party testimonials to effectively establish rapport with your target audience and to convert prospects into customers. To set up your initial, complimentary consultation and to get a customized project quote, contact us today. 

For FREE case study resources, visit the Kore Access Web site.

Use a Case Study to Create Perceived Value

 The content of a case study can be written to highlight the value of your solution. A case study analyzes an organization similar to the reader’s and describes how it benefited by the implementation of a preferred product or solution. It details the client’s business objectives, technical and business problems and challenges, the solution that was implemented and the benefits.

A case study can reduce buyer objections and assure them that your company has the best-choice solution. The discussion of the solution implementation, what worked and what did not, along with how those issues were overcome, allows potential clients to clarify their challenges and to visualize the process by which your solution can work for them.

A case study is an optimal promotional tool for your product or service. Let Kore Access colleagues publish or update your case studies. To set up your initial, complimentary consultation and to get a customized project quote, contact us today.

For FREE case study resources, visit the Kore Access Web site.

Using Case Studies to Market Effectively to Multiple Buyers’ Interests

An effective way to influence the various decision-makers for your product and service is through the publication of a case study written specifically to address key areas of concern and interest. A case study of a satisfied customer that is representative of your prospects will best serve similar prospects informational needs.

Specific customer stories and quotes encourage potential clients to identify with experiences and situations similar to their own. Use the case studies to discuss the challenges of one of your former or current customers in such a way that a potential client identifies with that customer and the solutions offered by your company’s services or products.

Publish a case study, or several, to establish rapport between your company and your potential clients. Examine results achieved and quantify the case study customers’ results in business performance measures such as sales growth and ROI. Using business performance measures enables potential clients, who are also striving to improve their performance benchmarks, to believe they can achieve similar results.

To get started contact your Kore Access colleagues today. Schedule your initial, complimentary consultation and get a customized project quote.

For FREE case study resources, visit the Kore Access Web site.

Leadership Tips From Jack Welch

In his keynote speech at SHRM’s 2009 Annual Conference held in New Orleans in June, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, stressed how important it is that employers and managers provide forthcoming and frequent communications to employees at all levels of an organization.

He emphasized that, in these uncertain economic times, employers and leaders will find a great deal of value in offering explanations for almost every move they make.  It is of utmost importance that employees clearly understand the reasons behind the actions their employers take “because everyone is scared.”

In other words, you cannot communicate too much with your employees right now.  Use a variety of media to do so: e-mail messages, company intranets, memos, posters and individual and staff meetings.  Be creative and find a way to empower your employees so that they feel prepared to succeed. 

To learn more about Jack Welch and GE’s performance management practices, read “Performance Management Is Key to Thriving in Tough Times,” a Kore Access case study - Click here.You can then customize some of his ideas to enhance your management and marketing success.

“Self-confident leaders produce simple plans, speak simply, and propose big, clear targets.”

Jack Welch

How Can You Influence the Purchasing Habits of Online Moms?

Surveys consistently show that moms who act as key influencers significantly impact the purchasing habits of other women. According to MomCentral.com, a “one-stop web resource dedicated to providing busy moms with smart household and parenting solutions,” advice from other moms has an influence on 72 trillion dollars worth of household purchases. In fact, 55% of online moms state that they are influenced by other moms about purchases for their home, and 65% are influenced about child-related purchases. Survey results from BlogHer.com reveal that 64% of their site visitors were influenced to buy or not to buy by a product recommendation or a customer experience posted on the site.

To learn more about how moms who are already online can provide an effective way to win new users and to provide usage feedback, read “How to Influence the Purchasing Habits of Online Moms,” a Kore Access case study- Click here.

Increase Your Credibility Among Prospects With a Case Study

Surveys reveal that prospects are influenced by the opinion of satisfied customers more than they are by companies’ marketing materials. Furthermore, historically, in most industries, consumer surveys reveal that the endorsements in a case study are more credible than direct advertising. Consider also that case studies have high readership and are more likely to be kept as future reference sources.

A case study can increase your buyer’s purchase readiness by sharing the details of another client’s success. The recommendations offered by case study customers address real benefits real companies have achieved and the features that were deemed important to their target audience. Such recommendations from former or current customers help establish early credibility and trust between you and your potential clients.

Find out more about case studies by visiting the free Kore Access case study resources page, click here.

A case study, most commonly described as a cross between an article and a testimonial analyzes an organization similar to the reader’s organization and describes how it benefited through the implementation of the preferred product or solution. To get started on your case study contact your Kore Access colleagues to receive your initial, complimentary consultation and to get a customized project quote.

Performance Management is Key to Business Success

In his keynote speech at SHRM’s 2009 Annual Conference held in New Orleans in June, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, emphasized the importance performance management plays in the overall success of a business.

Welch pointed to the prominent role that human resources takes in any organization’s performance management system, and he stressed that HR is “responsible in many ways for ensuring that managers are candidly appraising people.”

It may be time, therefore, to reevaluate your current programs and determine if you reward the behaviors you desire.  Make sure that your managers give employees constant feedback and do not wait until their annual performance reviews to suggest changes or to praise excellence. 

 

 To learn more about Jack Welch and about GE’s performance management practices, read “Performance Management Is Key to Thriving in Tough Times,” a Kore Access case study - Click Here.

“But differentiation is all about being extreme, rewarding the best and weeding out the ineffective. Rigorous differentiation delivers real stars—and stars build great businesses.” 

Jack Welch

Does Your Case Study Convert Prospects into Customers?

Does your case study promote your solution? Earn credibility through a third-party testimonial? Build two-way communication by identifying with your customers?

For highlights on how to use your case study to convert prospects into customers, read “8 Reasons to Use a Case Study,” an Express Knowledge report. Kore Access offers Express Knowledge as a periodic review of the latest marketing practices and tools. Download Case_study_Express

Visit the free resources section of the Kore Access Web site to access many more tips to help you use your case study to increase your sales potential. Click here.

Learn From Jack Welch’s Reward Strategy

In his keynote speech at SHRM’s 2009 Annual Conference held in New Orleans in June, Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric, encouraged human resource practitioners, to “get out of the small-term crisis box” by rewarding desired behaviors.

Welch suggested, “you get the behavior you measure and reward, so if you reward short-term … don’t be surprised if you don’t get long-term thinking.” As an example, he pointed to the practice of rewarding sales volume goals, even when consistently meeting sales targets does not necessary equate with increased profits over the long-term. He cautioned employers and managers to give careful consideration to the goals they share with employees in order to reward exactly what they want those employees to deliver: in this case, profit instead of mere sales.

To learn more about how Jack Welch, along with his top GE executives, dealt with and overcame the same employee management issues that confront all organizations, large and small, read “Performance Management Is Key to Thriving in Tough Times,” a Kore Access case study - Click here.

“Take care of your best. Reward them. Promote them. Pay them well.”

Jack Welch