(NOTE: This is part 4 of a 5-part series of posts. If you missed part 3, click here.)
Have you ever had some kinda problem… some kinda issue… something that was bugging you… but you had no clue how to solve it?
Or that it could be solved in the first place?
But one day, you stumble upon a website that speaks exactly to your problems… and offers a solution that
That’s happened to me plenty of times.
What I just described is someone who is (or was, rather) Problem Aware.
And in this post, I’m going to show you how you might “repurpose” a case study to go after customers in this stage of awareness.
What is Problem Awareness?
A prospect in the Problem Awareness stage knows they have a problem or a need… but they don’t know that solutions exist.
So for example, say you sell accounting software.
A small business owner might hate all the time they spend handling various accounting tasks. They want to spend less time on that stuff because, well, they want to spend more time making money (and hanging out with family and friends) and not staring at spreadsheets.
However, they don’t know that there’s a solution out there. Not yours, not outsources firms — heck, they don’t even know they can hire a bookkeeper, or what a bookkeeper is.
And so you must meet your prospect where they’re at. That means calling out their problem since they don’t know solutions exist. If
Using a Case Study for the Problem Awareness Stage
In terms of case studies, Problem Aware and Solution Aware headlines are often the same. It’s more about how you repurpose the case studies throughout your funnel.
Example: “How ABC Company saved X hours a month on accounting with AP automation.”
See? Problem and solution in one headline. You’re instantly moving the prospect to the Solution Aware stage.
That’s not the only solution, though.
Alternatively, you could say “How ABC Company saved X hours a month on accounting… without any extra work.”
The problem is mentioned alongside a benefit (“without any extra work”), but the solution itself isn’t present in the headline.
Now, the body.
Right away, you can use a quote from the case study interviewee that matches up with the target reader’s problems. For example, maybe your interviewee said “I was tired of spending countless hours on mind-numbing data entry” when describing their woes before meeting you.
Cut and paste that into your case study, right near the beginning. Boom — the first thing the customer reads will be a quote that likely matches how they feel.
As they work their way into the copy, they’ll continue their move towards Solution Awareness, then Product Awareness.
Where Do You Use Problem Aware Case Studies?
I’ve got two places to use Problem Aware case studies:
Paid ads and blog posts.
Paid Ads
Use a headline like the one we discussed earlier as a Facebook ad headline or Google ad. You’re going after people who don’t know your brand or even type of solution, so calling out their problem will stop their eyeballs in their tracks.
Then, you can send them to a case study page that brings them into Solution Awareness. You might make the case study title a Solution Aware title so they slide smoothly into that stage.
Blog Posts
Blog posts are often used for people in the problem aware stage since they’re content, rather than direct response or sales copy.
Thus, they’re pretty flexible when it comes to writing them for different stages of awareness.
In this case, mixing some good keyword research with a compelling headline can create what I just, right now, decided to call a “Stealth Case Study”. It’s almost like an advertorial (an ad disguised as a blog post).
Basically, you could make the headline call out their problem. For example, “How to save X hours on accounting each month”
Then, you basically write a blog post that mixes informative content with a real client/customer success story.
I did something like this once when I wrote a listicle-style advertorial for an apartment locator service that was attempting to recruit new reps.
The title was something along the lines of “The Problems With Buy/Sell Real Estate.” That’s a Problem Aware headline right there.
Each list item was a common problem buy/sell real estate agents (aka they help buy and sell houses) face. Each list item had the same general structure:
- I elaborated on each problem (such as waiting months to get paid)
- Provided some quotes from actual agents that worked for my client about those problems
- Then transitioned smoothly into how their experience working in the rental real estate space was much better (such as getting paid much more frequently)
At the end was a little section about why rental real estate AND my client were so much better, along with some quotes from the reps about their amazing results since starting their new gigs with my client.
By the end, the reader discovered there was a solution to their problem…
AND they learned that my client was offering that solution in a better form than the competitors.
Help Them Find A Solution (YOUR Solution) to Their Burning Problem With a Case Study
Problem Aware people have it bad. They have a burning, itching problem they have to live with… yet they don’t even know they could solve it right now.
However, by rearranging and repurposing a case study, or even placing a regular case study within a larger funnel, you can be their savior.
Sure, you gotta do more work to get these customers…
But if they don’t know about your competition, that’s your chance to nab some loyal fans. And with some of that case-study-style social proof, I bet you could make it a lot easier.
If you need help writing case studies or finding ways to maximize your existing ones, contact me today!