Customer evidence programs are gaining popularity in industries and markets around the world with their ability to demonstrate the value of products and solutions. However, for brands to get the most out of these assets, it is important that they are in the right format for the audience and situation. We outline three situations below where customer evidence can be useful and a few ideas for how it can be used.
SITUATION 1: You have a sales prospect that is in the middle-to-late end of the funnel
They know they’ve got a challenge and are exploring different solutions. One product could be perfect, but you want to minimize the chances that they and your sales team lose time if that’s not the case.
SOLUTION: Sometimes your potential clients need a little push to make a decision. Providing other successful customer stories can get you the results you’re looking for.
- When the customer outlined is in the same industry and experiencing similar problems, your prospect will likely read along and empathize with your customer’s challenges.
- A clear explanation of how your product works can help them determine if your product will actually help solve their problem.
A document like this that includes the name of your customer, with their brand prominently displayed, adds credibility and shareability - especially when it’s not gated.
SITUATION 2: Your product is already a success, but only with those who are able to find it.
SOLUTION: Now it’s time to launch a brand awareness campaign that can drive new traffic to your website. Short videos featuring your customer that link to your site could be the best option.
- Chances are, you’ll be sharing them on your social networks. And with recent studies demonstrating that without video, your content is way more likely to be overlooked, it’s time to get on the video train.
- Videos portray things that written content can’t - especially when it comes to attitude and authenticity.
- The positive portrayal of your satisfied customer in video greatly increases the odds they’ll share on their networks - giving your audience reach just the boost it needs to the right people.
SITUATION 3: Your sales team is this close to closing with a prospect, but they aren’t quite sure that your solution fits.
SOLUTION: You need a piece of content that eliminates those last remaining shreds of doubt.
Time to bring out the sales deck with excerpts from your favorite customer stories. These should be focused on the effectiveness of your product and the success it brought your customers.
- Your customer doesn’t need a million more reasons from your sales person about why your product works, they need a demonstration that is quick and to the point.
- Having a sales deck that demonstrates this opens up the opportunity to create something that is visually attractive and more memorable than longer form content
- If you need that last little bit of credibility, hearing it from someone else can be exactly what helps demonstrate it
If you’ve ever found yourself in one of these situations, it’s clear that customer evidence can be a truly useful asset for solving them - not to mention the other plethora of marketing and sales benefits that such content can bring to your brand.
If you’re interested in learning more about customer evidence and how to get started with your own program, make sure to check out our ebook 'Customer Evidence 101: How to Turn Customer Success into Marketing Bliss'
