.stories sell (on case studies)
We’re in process of revamping our Untrite website and I’m partly responsible for the content. Over the last couple of months we’ve been so busy building the product based on the learnings from our clients and prospects, that a website was a last thing on our mind.
One of the areas there we neglected writing up was case studies. And that’s a big mistake.
Once upon a time there was a software….
We share knowledge and connect through telling stories others can relate to. Not through a bullet points listing features and the sea of acronyms.
The case study isn’t simply a checklist of facts and figures, but instead a compelling story with a much broader appeal. It seems to be a commonplace for many businesses, but many don’t always use them to their full potential.
How much compelling is a story where I tell you that Untrite is a NLP-powered software that can connect to many different systems, understand context of included there unstructured data and help you gain visibility across all your data stack? Boring, right?
You don’t know what to do with some information, so you move on.
And what if I told you that this software can help Jack, your newly onboarded engineer fix problems with your complex products for your customers 3x more likely on a first time resolution? That it can also help with a faster onboarding, better talent retention and cross department innovation?
Now you want to hear more.
People don’t care about technology as much as what it can do for them; how it can improve their lives and make their work easier and more efficient.
No matter how sophisticated technology is, the way we give it meaning starts in our brains. Stories are an important way of transmitting and taking in information. The way a software (or any product, really) can appeal to potential users is by tapping into these feelings. We buy with emotions and convince ourselves finding logic that fits the narrative.
We respond to stories. Stories frame and express experiences, and make them relatable. They feel authentically human. If you can structure your case study as a narrative, focusing on the obstacles it helped a client overcome, then this is much more relatable. (I wrote about Campbell’s Hero’s Journey story building here: https://hankka.com/how-i-work-just-10-hours-a-week-and-get-all-things-done/)
Adding value, improving processes and productivity, and creating positive outcomes are all things everyone can understand, even if the details e.g. industry or a scope don’t relate to their own areas of activity.
While technology is at the heart of many successful projects, its benefits are human-centred.
If you’re able to shape your case studies with a human touch, they will become effective communication tools and the story will sell itself.
