For example, by choosing you, did your client receive praise from their colleagues and management? That trig- gers the respect and self-esteem emotion. And when your potential client reads a case study fea- turing somebody like them receiving respect and added self-esteem, guess what? Yes, they want it too. They want to belong to a group of successful people, and you are part of their solution to achieve it. “I got a huge pat on the back for a job well done from our financial director…” You can do this yourself by preparing a list of questions for your client which may prompt a quote like the above example. Or, it can sometimes be easier to use an expert word of mouth copywriter (me) to conduct the interview for you. How to use your case studies to secure more business Case studies are just one part of a holistic word of mouth marketing plan. But they are central to it. If your clients were available 24/7 to ac- company you to every meeting and tell peo- ple how wonderful you are, there wouldn’t be a problem. But you don’t want to constantly pester your clients to be a reference point testifying about you. That’s why case studies should become central to your bids. In your bids, proposals and tenders, you will stand out and certainly win more proj- ects than you did before. How do I know? Well you don’t even need to trust me. Type “commercial contractor Toronto” or your own city into Google. Visit the first 10 sites of your competitors. Look at their case studies. How many take the internal, logical perspective? And how many take the client per- spective with all of those emotional triggers built-in? How many just use images and don't even give the client per- spective? Be careful There is an understandably huge temptation to boast about the wonderful job you did and all the technical de- tails of the construction project. And then add a token quote from your client. Avoid it. Elsewhere in your proposals, bids and tenders you can outline the detail of your expertise. By all means use project photos. But in your case studies, make it 80 per cent from the clients' perspective using the words they gave you in the interview. Ten per cent should be profiling the client. And maybe 10 per cent about the project you were engaged to execute. Ian Denny specializes in word of mouth marketing, working with clients globally. The magic of the Internet and Skype means he can boost your word of mouth from his hometown of Liverpool, UK. Find out more on his website here. Ian Denny www.threadsoflife.ca 8 – July-August 2015 — The Canadian Design and Construction Report