Let’s remove the elephant from the room. I’m a case study writer, writing an article about why you should use customer success stories. But, stay with me. It’s not self-serving, it’s just good business practice.

Does anyone really want to read another success story about how a product/service changed a customer’s life?

Yes!

Think about it. Would you buy a product without at least looking at the reviews? Probably not.

How often do you look at reviews before making the final decision to buy?

So, why are customer success stories so important? Well, for starters, social proof is more influential in a customer’s buying journey than lower prices.  Harvard Business Review writer Erica Keswin states:

Stories make us all pay closer attention to what matters. Start paying attention to the stories unfolding in your organization and figure out how to help the best ones spread. Because people have a lot to say, and if we’re smart, we’ll start listening.

Relying on social proof is a universal human behaviour. As a marketer, it is one of your most valuable tools because 92% of 18- to 34-year-olds get input from friends and family before making a purchase.

They Create Connection With Your Brand

Customer success stories are effective time and time again from changing stakeholder perceptions; to differentiating a brand from its competitors; to influencing consumer decisions; to building brand trust, authenticity, and credibility. Customer success stories deepen our emotional understanding and connection.

Your customer success stories should also be intricately linked to your brand mission and your customer should be the focus of your stories not your brand. While companies have marketing teams behind their websites, stories from real people who have had their problems solved or have benefited from a product/service bring these messages to light in a different way than traditional copy. They make the story authentic.

Everyone loves stories. They are easy to remember, they illustrate concepts in practical ways and evoke emotions in your audience. According to recent research, creating an emotional response can improve the effectiveness of your marketing by up to 70%.

Why Do You Need Multiple Customer Success Stories?

Each customer brings a different story with them. New prospects have different types of problems. The more customer success stories you have, the more likely a prospect will have a similar problem­–it’s that simple.

But, it’s not enough for marketers to tell stories, they have to connect to our humanity, be compelling, emotionally relevant, offer a reward so your audience wins, be authentic to mission and values, and solve a problem.

When you create a customer success story, you offer your audience social proof that your company has solved a problem that they can clearly picture. This means they will understand how your product is relevant to them.