How Not to Write a Customer Success Story (Part 1)
Too often when tech companies document their customer successes it ends up feeling something like this:
Brand Company Case Study
Brand Company limped along for twenty years, somehow surviving. A pressing problem was their employee expense reporting system, the shortcomings of which threatened the company’s very existence. Brand Company was just about to sink into the swamp when they found Tech Company, an expense reporting software company.
[Many, many, many paragraphs describing Tech Company’s technical acumen, their product’s features in great detail, and their brilliance in saving Brand Company from dissolution.]
“We’ve had to deal with significantly fewer complaints about expense checks being late since we partnered with Tech Company.” – Brand Company Expense Report Coordinator
Ok, I’m exaggerating, but you must admit, not by much.
Success stories matter, because when done right, they spotlight actual customers who are providing dramatically convincing proof that your value claims are valid. But man, most of them are so bad.
There is much to consider when crafting a customer success story, too much to cover in a single post:
Who ultimately is the reader you want and need to read your story?
What are they looking for and how can one of your successful customer engagements influence their search?
How do success story readers feel about their own situation, and how can you align your story with that feeling?
How much work should you expect a reader to do to connect your customer’s story with their own?
Who should get the credit for a great business outcome?
More next week, but let me leave you with something that should be obvious: Your customer success stories aren’t about you. They are about your customers. We’ll start there.
Do you have any favorite customer story stories? Whether they were well done or wretched or just comical, let us know in the comments below. And as always, you can reach me directly at don.roedner@c2bsuite.com.