Art
Siegel

Getting Impact With Case Study "Articles"

A brochure or selling sheet can do a nice job of describing your product and your company. But customers often need more to help them visualize how you might help them: a case study demonstrating how someone similar to them benefited by buying from you. That is why you should consider Getting Impact With Case Study "Articles."

Some years back, Western Union made everyone in America aware of their Mailgrams by describing them as having: "The impact of a Telegram at a fraction of the cost." As archaic as Telegrams seem today in the age of fax and e-mail, they remain quite popular for people who want to make a strong impression. They are still commonly received by newly-married couples, actors on opening night and recipients of major awards. Telegrams are typically custom written for such an occasion and sent from one person to another.

Mailgrams, on the other hand, are more often used for multiple-recipient campaigns. While seldom used by individuals, they are often used by businesses and other organizations who need to reach a lot of people. Mailgrams marry the best of electronic and postal delivery. The Mailgrams are prepared and sent electronically to special printing stations in post offices, which then deliver them with the next day's mail.

The Problem

Although nearly everyone had heard of Mailgrams, and perhaps received one or two, Western Union found a decreasing number of people knew what they were actually used for. Worse, if they had ever sent a Telegram, they often thought that Mailgrams carried a similar, prohibitive price tag for mass mailings.

So, the problem in selling Mailgram usage to more organizations was to get more people to grasp the use of this familiar, but much misunderstood marketing tool.

The Solution

The answer we came up with was a series of "articles" about the use of Mailgrams. We use "articles" in quotes, because these pieces were designed to look like magazine article reprints, without actually claiming to be so.

Major features of each article were:

• They were all printed on high-quality paper, 11 x 17," folded in half to 8-1/2 x 11.
  
  
• The front cover of each had a major headline:
  
  Mailgrams Speed Customer Satisfaction at North American Van Lines
  
  and a subheading:
  
  Overnight communications assure customers that repairs to their property will receive top priority attention by expert craftsmen.
  
  Plus a photo (such as a North American Van Lines truck) and the Western Union logo.
  
  
• On the back was only the Western Union logo and information on how to contact them. No product or company information was needed, since the article would tell it all.
  
  
• The inside, 2-page spread contained the actual article, in a 3-columns-per-page format.

The Story Flow

The articles varied depending upon the application, but all of them followed the same story flow:

1. About 1 (out of 6) columns was devoted to background on the client company.
2. A description of the communications problem that led them to turn to Western Union.
3. Details on the specific solution which was implemented for the client.
4. The results which we achieved.
5. Rave reviews in quotes from the client's key spokesperson.

A Range Of Stories

Articles were prepared for a variety of applications in diverse industries. In addition to the van line's follow-up on moving claims, there were other interesting stories, such as:

• How Mailgrams speeded collections at ADP.
• How the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints raised $53 million for its exciting new temple.

Using the article style made each of these pieces interesting reading, far more so than a brochure, while totally clarifying the power of Mailgrams as sales tools.

Getting Customers To Go Along

An important part of developing this series of articles was getting the customers cited to allow Western Union to use their names in print. But once they saw the final drafts, and how good we made them look, every customer we had selected agreed to the use. In addition, they appreciated that we just told the story in an journalistic way, without adding any sales claims. In fact, some of the customers asked for extra copies of the Western Union articles for their own use.

Further, the relationship between Western Union and the referenced customer deepened as a result of the editorial and approval processes.

How You Can Benefit From What We Learned

1. Decide first what stories need to be told. What are the applications for your product or service which are least understood and would most benefit from an applications story.
   
   
2. Select current customers which use your products or services in those ways. Tell them exactly what you are trying to do, and ask them who is the best person to interview for the story. Assure them that they will have final editorial review before use.
   
   
3. In addition to conducting one or more interview to develop the story, get copies of the customer's own sales literature or annual report for background on the company to use in the beginning of the article. You can also use documents like these to identify suitable logos, artwork or photography. When you conduct the interviews, tape them to make sure you get the exact words as they are spoken.
   
   
4. Write the article as described above in a newsy style. There should be zero sales puffery, unless you are directly quoting the customer.
   
   
5. Put it all together in a desktop publishing program, mimicking the typefaces and overall look of a major news magazine.
   
   
6. Submit the final draft, with everything in place, to your customer for approval.
   
   
7. Print copies and use them as mailers, sales handouts, trade show leave-behinds -- anywhere people need to understand exactly what you can accomplish for them.

SeaBird Associates Inc
3011 NE 7th Drive
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Phone: 561-750-9233
E-mail: Art Siegel

About Art Siegel