At a CIO Exchange last week over some generic chicken dish and a decent bottle of red (yes, I realize this is not a great pairing), the discussion of what bugs you most about Tech Marketing and what could we do to improve came up. There was a list of a few things, but one that jumped out because of the passion it generated was Case Studies, Customer Success stories and Customer References. For good reason, CIOs and their team members are constantly being asked to serve both as references and to “publish” case studies and they use them in thier daily workflow to make buying decisions. My takeaway was that labels and words really, really matter in our marketing efforts!

So, we have to re-think how we label these resources and pay very close attention to the content elements we provide. If the goal is to list the company as customer, do this everywhere it makes sense. If it is to get somebody to engage and read your content, here is the advice directly from CIO/IT leaders on what they USE!

So I asked over Pinot to some of the top CIOs around the globe, “What works and what do marketers need to do better?” Here is what they said:

• Case Studies –“Very helpful when provided by technology provider, especially when they are written by third party. (trusted analysts, media, etc.)” Case Studies should include all of the following elements (wherever possible): business goal, the stakeholders involved, overview of client process and/or timeline, technology architectural approach, options that were evaluated, technology deployed, and business outcomes. Lead with vertical market wherever possible. Charts, graphs, time lines and templates – while not always directly applicable – spark ideas and are great starters for the prospect reading the case study.
• Lessons Learned – “The MOST valuable.” This is taking a case study discussed above and adding a couple of important elements.
  1. If you re-did the project, what would you do differently?
  2. Three things you must do to be successful
  3. A bibliography of information resources they can turn to for more information (list of URLs with very brief abstracts).
• Customer Referencesare invaluable to CIOs and are a critical part of business and sales/marketing programs. Since these are not always publicly on the record, we can utilize during the short list process where references are checked. This typically happens in partnership with sales and their procurement department directly via a phone or live conversation versus a written case study.
• Customer Success Stories– “Never use these for external publishing to get me to read – very ok for sales references.” Success Stories are a clear signal that the company installed your product and everything worked perfectly. There is absolutely no value or need to read. According to the group of CIOs, these are stories not reality. BANISH THIS LANGUAGE and re-think, re-label and re-write. As the CIO of Citigroup EMEA said, “…I already know the bloody ending. Why would I ever read it?” NOTE: There is still huge value in listing your customers and successes. Words and context matter.

So, some good advice right from your target audience of seasoned CIOs and IT decision makers. Check your web sites, language and context. Every bit of improvement in your marketing performance and sales conversion matters, especially during uncertain times. Post any of your “lessons learned” here so we can all share.