Showcasing Successes: Let Customers Do the Storytelling - and Selling - for You
Danielle Engholm, account supervisor, Padilla Speer Beardsley Manufacturing

Customer success stories are an important weapon in your marketing arsenal. They establish a high level of credibility and provide validation of the benefits you offer. In essence, customers do the selling for you.

Your customer success stories can be used in various ways:

• Sales handouts and training materials
• News articles
• Web site content
• Proof points in internal and external presentations
• Speaking engagements side-by-side with the customer
• Quotes for news releases, brochures or advertising

Finding a Good Lead

Before asking any customer to agree to a success story, identify your business growth areas and industries. Look for opportunities that support those areas. If you recently launched a new product, consider working with a customer to illustrate its success.

Setting Expectations

Once you've identified a customer and project, work together to establish parameters for the process. Will you only need an hour to interview the customer to write the story? Or should you request several hours to report and photograph the subject? Also, will there be more opportunities to showcase the customer's success beyond a written story? Perhaps you want to visit the customer's facility with prospects to demonstrate a machine or application. At the outset, determine the scope of the request and establish a process that outlines the steps, so everyone understands their roles.

Putting on Your Writing Hat

To have a worthwhile interview, do your homework. Talk to people within your company, as well as with outside sales and distribution partners who worked on the customer's project. Get as much background information as possible to make the most of your face-to-face time with the customer.

Next, develop an outline to help prepare for the customer interview, following a "challenge-solution-result" format. This will help you develop targeted questions and prepare you to ask follow-up questions. It also will offer a solid foundation for drafting the success story.

During the interview, ask specific questions to help define measurable results. Quantifiable outcomes help strengthen the impact of the story.

Reviews and Approval

After completing the customer story, have key stakeholders review it. Make sure the customer reviews and approves the story. This step can take time, but is crucial to maintaining a good working relationship. A lawyer can review the story as well to confirm that content complies with company policy.

Helpful Tips

• Don't forget that you are creating a customer success story - not a success profile of your own company or technology.

• Ensure customer buy-in to the story and process before you invest time and resources into development.

• Open-ended questions invite dialogue. Ask questions such as, "Can you describe how this machine was designed and created?" instead of "Please list the components that make up this machine."

• If you need clarification, ask - even if that means going back to the customer to confirm information.

• Get photographs and authorization to use them when you can. A picture is worth 1,000 words - and it makes your story much more interesting, increasing its chances of getting used.