Introduction
It’s normal to see companies leverage their stories online. Case studies or success stories are often available on a page of a website. For example, when there’s a menu item and/or a dedicated page for stories, you know that you’re about to find out a very important fact (if the story has the right details, angle and tone):
Why you should work with their company.
If you can get your target audience to consider this? You’ve got their attention and can provide them with more value as they hopefully move through the sales funnel.
This is why success stories are great sales assets. They are a fantastic way to engage customers over and over again in a way that’s unique to your company.
That’s just one of many benefits. Others include:
- Marketing asset with evergreen quality
- Create buy-in internally and externally
- Increase sales
- Build trust and credibility
- Attract more customers
Are you hiding your stories?
However, many companies stop at just having a webpage for case studies or success stories. Sometimes, the page is hard to find! I’ve visited countless websites where I had to spend a long time scrolling, searching blogs, insight pages and press pages.
By the time I found the stories, I was convinced they wouldn’t offer me much value, given all the trouble I already went through.
Now, I’m not saying that having only a webpage of stories is a terrible thing. It’s actually a good thing. But it’s just a good start.
What if you could take the lead?
Let’s be clear: people care more about what past customers have to say vs. what you have to say regarding your services/products. Why?
Because they get first-hand accounts of the experience. This is especially true for nonprofits.
The reality is that nonprofits have been in high demand but still struggle with funding. So, before spending any more money, I’m sure people in the nonprofit sector want to know exactly how their budgets will be spent. They want to know they’ll achieve success in the way they envision.
It’s your job to give them something more to envision.
In other words, your stories should be organized throughout your website.
How do you leverage your stories the right way?
In my opinion, the answer is to make them available. You want them to be available in such a way that allows potential customers to use them. Remember, stories clarify the “why” and “how” in decision-making. So, if you provide that information in the right places, you help customers act on their curiosity.
Here’s a list of 3 ways you can do that!
- Use your stories on your homepage. Maybe you use it as a section on the web page or some kind of cool web design. Help your customer gather information to make a decision in your favour.
- Repurpose your stories into other formats. By repurposing your content, you’re able to use it in ways that hold interest. For example, you can repurpose your case study into a slide deck, video, blog post or an infographic. Or, maybe you hand out the short version of something at your next event and direct them to your website for the longer version.
- Add your stories to product/service pages or landing pages. This way, you’re able to provide proof and value to your customers that whatever they’re buying is worth it.
- BONUS: Add filters on your stories webpage so that people can find the stories from the industries most relevant to them. That way, they have even more information to use to make decisions.
Get started, but not so fast
If you’ve already got stories available, you can leverage them in no time. The process is less about starting from scratch and more about surveying what you have and going from there. Try one thing at a time and go from there vs. implementing everything at once. You’ll be more inclined to realize what works best for where you are right now.
After reading this, you may want to stick with having just a webpage dedicated to stories. As long as you are clear about the purpose of the page and how it serves potential customers, it’s totally okay. Every business is different.
In the end, use your stories strategically to reach your potential customers.