Twitter Handle

Hi All: In addition to this blog, I'll also be using http://twitter.com/mrcasestudy to communicate with the world. Please join me - David

Winning in a Tight Market

I have met the enemy and it's (yikes!) me. I can't stand it when I succumb to the media's ongoing maudlin tone. That said, I don't know why I worry; we'll probably all be dead from the swine flu before next Tuesday...

But seriously, these are tough times in the business world. But that doesn't necessarily mean they are horrible for me. Even though business is slow, there are still clients.

As a result of talking with fellow business people, observing, and reading countless articles, I have found that the key to survival is persistence.

Though this is the worst downturn I've ever experienced it's certainly not the first. Nothing lasts forever - including this recession.

Like the winning race car driver who sees a competitor spin and and crash, and puts his foot down hard on the accelerator, I go for it. So what if it's difficult? That's the fun part - when you do land a new client it's more than a little satisfying.

What tricks do you readers have to be productive in these times?

Please disregard previous post

Sorry there's no link in the previous post. I'm working on managing the software - David

How to Use Case Studies

Thought I'd pass this excellent article along to my fellow case study writers.Written marcom whiz Cheryl J. Goldberg, this newsletter story lays out how to leverage case studies. I call in money in the bank.

Sizzling Case Study Usage

I may have mentioned this use for case studies some time ago, but it's worth bringing the subject up again.

Case studies juice up direct mail pieces beyond belief.

This week, alone, I've written four case studies that are being used specifically to woo businesses into a non-profit organization.

Here's how it works. A letter is crafted for the non-profit that highlights several communication points. Mailings then go out with various case studies attached that support the direct-mail piece.

The underlying philosophy is simple: readers tend to put more credibility when reading about their peers. Response rates soar.

If you haven't already suggested this tactic to your clients, I suggest you give it some thought.

To Call or Not to Call?

That is indeed the question when tracking down hot leads. Or maybe the question is, how much time to put in between calls?

A good pal of mine, whom I've worked with for the past 10 years, referred me to his friend, who also owns a PR shop. After a couple of phone calls and follow-up e-mails we connected.

Had a good chat, really, and she told me to call her in a month and she'd begin off-loading all of her case studies to me. I called her shortly after a month had gone by and left a message. Nothing. Okay, I left another message a couple weeks later. Still silence.

This puts me in a quandary. I don't want to seem too pushy and have everything backfire on my friend who recommended me.

But I would like to get the work.

Anyone come up with this sort of conundrum?

The Value of Focus

One of the tricky things about writing a case study is to remember who it is that you are working for.

I'm not kidding (although it sounds ludicrous). I'm going through this exercise right now. My client is a Wi-Fi enterprise networking provider. The story is about a minor league baseball team that has transitioned to using only plastic - no money.

My client makes the idea work. However, the more interesting story is about the vendor who has served as project leader, and been providing a cashless environment in Europe for many years.

On top of that, this interesting vendor is extremely friendly and talked my ear off. Plenty of good quotes and background information.

Long story short, if I don't watch out, I'm pretty quickly telling his story, rather than the company that is paying me to write the piece.

Many years ago, I fell into this trap when a phone company wined and dined me and I wrote a magazine article on them that was supposed to be objective. However, I'd become so tainted by my time with the phone company the piece was like a public relations' assault.

I learned my lesson, but I still watch out, and force myself to quell my enthusiasm and write for the correct audience.

Anyone else ever grapple with this?

Face Time Worth a Thousand E-mails

I got to thinking this week after reading about social networking in my pal Roberta Rosenberg's blog.

As it turns out, I'm a low-tech writer in a high-tech world. That's not to say I don't have a cursory understanding of telecom, networking, various software, etc. High-tech, more often than not, pays my bills. But I'm much more interested in how the technology helps people - not how cool the technology is.

Hence my propensity for writing case studies.

My point is that, after the "tagging," "memes," and "emoticons" are gone, what we're left with is real, honest-to-goodness relationships.

And that's what I believe is key to consulting gigs that last. Here's a real-life example. Last week, I had an agency call me with a case study opportunity with a wireless networking company.

No face time required. Just speak with them, get the assignment and crank out the work. I'd never have to leave the privacy of my office. The perfect void for an antisocial person such as myself.

However, rather than take the easy way out, I made appointments to drive the 80 minutes up to meet the agency and my new client. It was well worth the minimal time and expense. They think of me as a person now, rather than a nameless drone who may or may not execute on their objectives.

I'm also going to a networking event tomorrow so I can meet in-person the gentleman who initially turned me on to the aforementioned agency. I want to look him in the eye and thank him. Plus, I want to know more about him so I can return the favor if the opportunity arises.

Long story short, if it's logistically possible, always push for the face-time meeting. Call me old-fashioned but that's the way I roll.....