Using Customer Success Stories to Drive Conversions
When was the last time you were so impressed by a monologue from a company’s CEO that you immediately opened your wallet and threw money at their brand? I’m willing to wager never. That’s because no one wants to see a talking head from the C-suite waxing poetic about the greatness of their products or services.
What they do want to see is other people like themselves, sharing real stories about how a brand solved their problem – the same problem they’re now struggling with and desperate to resolve.
Now, I’m not suggesting you should pull a random customer off the street, shove a camera in their face, and ask them to speak off-the-cuff about their experiences with your brand. However, ignoring customer narratives in your marketing strategy is a mistake.
Customer success stories build trust and credibility by providing social proof. And after all, isn’t that what most people need before they willingly spend their hard-earned money? They want evidence of your claims. What better way to give it to them than with a brand loyalist?
Showcasing the voices of satisfied customers helps businesses gently nudge prospective buyers closer to making a purchasing decision. Not sure how to do this? Let’s break it down.
Why do customer success stories drive sales?
The simple answer to this question is customer success stories drive sales because humans connect with other humans. If you think about the last time you needed something, you probably asked trusted friends, family, and even coworkers for recommendations. Nothing builds credibility quite like hearing someone else say they were pleased with their outcome. It convinces us to take the risk and spend our money because we’re more convinced of a positive outcome.
Now, for the more complex explanation.
Customer success stories are detailed accounts of how a product or service has helped a customers overcome challenges and achieve their goals. They go beyond simple testimonials by providing context, showcasing the journey from problem to solution while emphasizing the measurable outcomes. Here’s where strong brand storytelling comes into play.
Transformative storytelling triggers oxytocin – the “feel-good” hormone – associated with empathy and trust. Connecting emotionally with your ideal customers makes information about your business easier to remember and recall. That matters.
The difference between customer stories and case studies
Some businesses try to use customer stories and case studies interchangeably. However, they are two different marketing animals with different purposes and distinct characteristics.
Customer stories focus on the why behind a customer’s decision to use your product or service. They’re informal and narrative-oriented, with a story-time feel to them. Bringing a real person to the forefront emphasizes the human aspect of business decisions better than any other marketing technique.
Case studies concentrate on the how of product or service implementation and results. They’re more formal and data-driven, providing an in-depth analysis of specific situations or problems. They often include technical details and quantifiable outcomes.
How do you create compelling customer success stories?
Before you can create the kind of customer stories that convince newcomers to your brand to give it a try, you must identify the right customers to feature. Not every customer – even ones that have been brand loyalists for years – is the right one to share their stories.
You can’t go wrong when you prioritize enthusiastic customers willing to openly share their experiences. Assuming you plan to do some video testimonials for your social media, you’ll want someone who isn’t camera-shy. Choosing someone uncomfortable with being on camera can make their stories feel disingenuous.
Featuring a customer who represents your target audience can further boost relatability. If middle-aged women are your targeted demographic, then hearing someone who looks and thinks like them singing your praises will make a bigger impact.
Key elements to include in a customer success story
A well-crafted customer success story is more than just a testimonial. It’s a compelling narrative that showcases how your product or service has made a tangible difference in a customer's life. A company that does this well is Salesforce with its “Trailblazers” series.
If you watch any of the Trailblazer’s pieces, you’ll immediately recognize this structure:
An introduction that sets the stage by introducing the customer.
A clearly defined challenge the customer faces.
A solution that features your product or service, and why the customer chooses it over other options.
An overview of how the customer used the solution, with a focus on any customizations or unique approaches.
A closing that highlights the customer’s tangible outcomes and measurable success.
The formula works well, but only if you have a customer with a compelling backstory that makes people literally shout out “hey, I know how they feel!”
The importance of using genuine language and authentic experiences
Authenticity is the buzzword in marketing these days. Consumers have become increasingly savvy and skeptical of traditional marketing tactics. They crave the power of genuine, relatable narratives. Authentic storytelling builds trust, triggers emotional connections, and ultimately drives conversions.
This is why choosing the right customer to feature is imperative to this marketing strategy. Authenticity is the difference between a story that feels manufactured by your communications team and one that truly connects with potential customers. People are more likely to see themselves as part of your story when they can relate to the storyteller.
Here’s how you make that authentic connection:
Avoid corporate jargon. Unless your ideal customer is another business in your industry, leave the corporate jargon out of customer testimonials. Instead, use everyday language that mimics the tone and style of your regular customers. Not sure how your customers talk? Look at how they interact with your digital content. The comment section is gold for learning how to speak in their language.
Share real struggles and obstacles. No product or service is perfect. Don’t be afraid to share testimonials about setbacks or difficulties and explain how they were overcome to showcase your company’s problem-solving abilities. This is an ideal time to highlight a collaborative effort between your customers and your team to address the issue to demonstrate your commitment to customer service.
Use direct quotes to add credibility. While you might need to help your customers organize their thoughts, it’s best not to write the script for them. Nothing speaks louder to prospective buyers than hearing someone describe their experience in their own words.
How do you incorporate success stories into your marketing strategy?
Once you have customer success stories, what do you do with them? It’s a reasonable question if you’re new to this marketing strategy.
One of the most likely places to house them is on your website because it’s often the first point of contact for potential customers. Some businesses create a centralized hub for them within their website, organizing the stories by product, service, or challenge solved. If you choose this route, make sure the page is highly visible from your main navigation menu.
Two additional ways to integrate them on your website include:
Featuring them on product or service pages to which they correspond.
Highlighting a success story on your home page with eye-catching visuals to draw attention.
Using customer success stories in email marketing campaigns
Businesses with hearty customer email lists may want to turn that channel into a success story delivery system. You can feature a “customer success spotlight” in your regular newsletter, or match success stories to specific stages of the buyer’s journey as part of a drip campaign.
Customer success stories are also effective as part of follow-up emails. After initial contact or demos, send a targeted feature to the prospective customer and explain why you think it’s relevant to their situation.
Relying on social media to spread the word
Social media platforms lend themselves to visual customer storytelling. Video testimonials and even live Q&A sessions with happy customers can draw in prospective buyers and engage them in ways regular advertising methods can’t.
Create a branded hashtag to go with these pieces and use it to encourage customers to share their own success stories with your brand. User-generated content boosts engagement and authenticity for your brand.
What are some best practices and common pitfalls?
Creating and leveraging customer success stories can be a powerful marketing tool, but it's important to approach this strategy with care and consideration. The ultimate goal is to make your success stories resonate with your ideal customers to drive meaningful results. Following best practices is the most effective way to avoid the pitfalls that can derail your progress.
One common pitfall to avoid is overusing jargon or technical language. While it's important to demonstrate your expertise, using too much industry-specific terminology can alienate prospective customers who may not be as familiar with these terms. Instead, strive for clear, concise language that explains complex concepts in an accessible way.
Another mistake to watch out for is neglecting to update your success stories over time. As your products evolve and market conditions change, older stories may become less relevant or impactful. Regularly review and refresh your success stories to ensure they reflect current offerings and address contemporary challenges faced by your target audience.
As I already discussed, authenticity is one of the key success factors in using customer stories in your marketing strategy. To get to those real discussions, ask your customers open-ended questions that allow them to put their journey in their own words.
Another key best practice is to focus on the customer’s journey rather than solely promoting your product. The customer should be the hero of the story, solving their problem with the help of your product or service.
How do you measure the impact of customer success stories?
I’ve spent most of this week’s newsletter explaining why customer success stories are powerful and how to use them in your marketing strategy. But you’re probably wondering how you can tell if it’s working for your brand.
You’ll need to use the right analytical tools to track key metrics to gauge their performance. The most important metric is engagement. Now, I know some marketers will say I’m wrong and conversion is what matters, but this is one of those hills I’ll die on, friends. You can’t convert new customers if they’re not engaging with your content.
It takes roughly 8 touchpoints in a prospective customer’s journey before they decide to buy from your brand. That means you need to get – and keep – their attention, encouraging them to interact with your content.
You’ll know if customers are engaging by tracking the following:
Their time on the page. The longer a visitor spends reading or viewing a customer success story, the higher their engagement and interest. If they check out additional content after viewing that story, then you know you’ve hooked ‘em.
Their video view duration. For video success stories, track the percentage of the video the visitor watched before clicking away. Ideally, you want them to watch the entire thing. But even sticking around for half of it indicates potential interest.
Their scroll depth. If your customer success stories are in written format, verify how far users scroll through the copy before abandoning it.
Microsoft Clarity is an excellent tool for tracking engagement metrics. It’s a free tool that provides heatmaps and session recordings so you can see how visitors engage with your content.
Other key metrics to track
Besides engagement, you’ll want to monitor social sharing to determine the number of times a success story is shared on social media platforms or through other channels. You’ll know people are connecting with the stories when you see them sharing on their personal or professional pages. Plus, it boosts your potential reach by introducing your content to their audiences.
Lastly, conversion is worth watching. Use analytics tools to track how many viewers take the desired action after viewing one of your customer success stories. Did they sign up for a demo? Request more information? Or did they dive right in and buy your product or service? All these things help you quantify the impact of customer stories.
Tools for measuring success
There’s hardly a shortage of tools out there to help you track the success of customer stories. Some of them are free, and some of them come with tiered subscription levels that cater to your specific marketing goals.
Google Analytics is a popular tool for good reason. First, it’s free. Second, it’s a versatile platform that offers insights into website traffic, user behavior, and conversion tracking for websites. I’ve already mentioned Microsoft Clarity. It’s not the only heatmap tool available. It and others show you how users interact with your success stories on web pages, offering insights into engagement and areas of interest so you know which content to make more of moving forward.
If you’re using customer success stories on your social media, you’ll need an analytics tool designed to work with those platforms. Two of the most popular are Sprout Social and Hootsuite.
Start telling the stories that matter today
Customer success stories are more than just testimonials. They’re powerful narratives that can significantly impact your business's bottom line. When done well, these stories build trust, demonstrate real-world value to your customers, and help you build the kind of emotional connections that turn prospective customers into brand loyalists.
Don’t put off until tomorrow what can make a difference in the success of your business today.
Need more tips and tools to get started? Stop by my website blog to dive deeper into the power of content marketing today.
A note to my readers: Starting in April, we’ll be moving to twice monthly publication from weekly publication.