Does your company produce a product that it uses internally? If so, have you written your own case study? Some of the largest technology companies are certainly users of their own products. And many have produced case studies, white papers, and other resources about the implementations, the value gained, and the lessons learned. The idea behind this content: Sharing realistic experience and advice that can be beneficial to customers. Case Studies Content Marketing Sales Materials case studies IT stories white papers MORE >>

I keep a file of interview questions for case studies that I have collected from various client projects over the years. Some question lists are short.  Others run to multiple pages, with questions covering every detail of a customer's situation or product implementation. Of course, you want to match the number of questions to the allocated interview time. But more important is looking at the wording of those questions: Are they eliciting information or leading a response? A better way to ask that question: "How much have you saved on parts inventory costs since implementing our product?" MORE >>

You're excited to have a well-known customer who is happy with your product and ready to talk for case study. Yet after the interview, that excitement fizzles because the story seems less substantive and interesting than what you expected. Several factors can contribute to this scenario: A reluctant customer. Although the interview may have been agreed upon weeks ago, when it actually happens the customer may prove reluctant to talk. Or, the customer may simply be someone who is not a real talker and will give only basic answers to your questions. The story may not be ready to tell. MORE >>

A prime customer has just agreed to participate in a case study for your product--great news! But it can be tempting to turn what should be a focused case study interview call into an extended grilling of the customer for every bit of product feedback you can get. That's update mistake for two reasons: The customer may lose patience with the process and back-out of the case study. The result: you lose the much higher marketing value of a full case study for just a few more data points that could be better collected in an online survey or a separate customer satisfaction call. MORE >>

At the beginning of the year, your content marketing plans are likely focused on new, new, new: New white papers, sales brochures, Web articles, and customer case studies. But equally valuable marketing opportunities may await you in the old--through a relatively simple, fast, and inexpensive refresh of your best existing materials. For example, look at white papers and ebooks where the core content is still relevant, but information such as market statistics, application examples, and messaging about your products needs updating. What factors are you considering in your marcom plans for 2012? MORE >>