Portfolio & case studies
Lesson 39 from: Brand Marketing Bootcamp: Build An Actionable Marketing PlanScott Lancaster
Portfolio & case studies
Lesson 39 from: Brand Marketing Bootcamp: Build An Actionable Marketing PlanScott Lancaster
Lesson Info
39. Portfolio & case studies
Lessons
The definition of strategy
03:39 2The 4 stages of marketing
03:16 3The difference between strategy & tactics
03:46 4The 6 laws of marketing
09:56 5Understanding Creative & Distribution
02:16 6The 4 marketing P’s and how to use them
05:08 7SWOT Matrix and how to use it
02:28 8Porter's Five Forces
04:4360/40 Law of marketing
04:04 10The marketing funnel
06:27 11Analyzing your competitors
07:14 12Deciding your target audience
06:59 13Creating your marketing objectives
11:42 14Pricing your products perfectly
08:16 15Watch this before arranging your marketing strategy
02:21 16Awareness, finalizing your awareness tactics
03:52 17Partnerships and affiliates (free tactic)
09:40 18Blog writing & SEO
07:26 19Podcasting
07:10 20Public Relations
05:58 21Giveaways
07:18 22Word of mouth
06:21 23Valuable courses
08:09 24Social media overview
05:28 25YouTube
09:36 26TikTok
03:58 27Twitter / X
04:48 30How to create better content in half the time
07:54 33Why start-ups should never use paid advertising for awareness
06:21 34Education & Consideration
01:33 35Workshops & Webinars
08:39 36Social Proof
06:55 37Effective Email Marketing
05:34 38Utilizing FAQ Sections
05:31 39Portfolio & case studies
07:39 40Leveraging product comparisons
03:26 41Tips to increase desirability
07:22 42Harnessing the power of Google reviews
05:20 43Sales & Conversion
02:28 44Psychological tricks to convert customers to buying
08:25 45Building a list of customers ready to buy
08:46 46Irresistible Offer
08:31 47Persuasive Sales Page
07:35 48Promotions & Free shipping
04:24 49Improving conversion rate (PIPE FRAMEWORK)
06:39 50Customer Retention
03:43 51Expanding your product range
07:18 52Asking for feedback & refining your product
03:37 53Loyalty programs and the subscription model
06:43 54Gifts & Surprises
05:02 55Finalizing your marketing strategy
07:40Lesson Info
Portfolio & case studies
So how important is it for service businesses to actually showcase their projects in case studies? Well, ultimately, it can be the difference between the customer, not trusting you and trusting you or client for that matter. And that is because your case studies and your portfolio showcase many things about who you are, what you know and what you can do for your client. For example, within my branding agency, people always get in touch with me and say, oh, I really love that brand name. I really love what you did with that branding project. And this is ultimately the reason why they've got in touch with me and why they want to work with me because they understand that I can achieve a certain goal and have maybe a certain style to how I work and they want to achieve the exact same feel. So it's really important for you to take some time, especially if you're a service business to take the work that you've done for previous clients or previous customers and showcase how that particular s...
ituation worked for them. So that other people who were interested in that same solution can see how it's worked for others so that they can see how it's going to work for them. Now, a really well thought out case studies or portfolio page on your website, for example, is going to be really important in showcasing to your potential clients or customers that you know what you're doing and also that you can give them the result and help them meet the objectives that they are looking to achieve. Now, there are a few things that you do need to keep in mind when you're actually creating your case studies and projects. And these are simply just to allow you to showcase your best work in the right way. And as I've just mentioned, showcasing your best work is the first step. You need to make sure that the first projects that you show in regard to your portfolio page or your case studies page is the work that you want to get more of. Because if I'm seeing the top row of work and it all is focused around tech companies, for example. And I have a tech company, I'm going to be more likely to hire you based on the that particular role because I've seen that you can achieve the aesthetic and the result that I want over time, time and time again. And now once I actually click into one of those case studies to learn a little bit more, I want to hear a story. I want to hear what challenges the client had how you approach those challenges. And then what the end result was after you actually solved all of those challenges. And I want to see this visually, I want to see this from a visual standpoint to show the process of where you were, what you went through and where you are. Now when the project is finished, this is going to showcase a level of expertise, a level of awareness that you understand, not only how to get the end result, but you understand how to get their time and time again. Because anybody can get lucky. If you throw a million spears into the sea, you're going to eventually catch a fish, right? If you understand how to wait and how to go through the process and wait for the perfect moment to spear the water, then you're going to catch more fish over time. This ultimately is the worst analogy I've ever heard in my entire life. But I do want to just drive at home that it is still very relevant with your process. You need to be able to showcase that you understand the journey and how to get there. Not just how to get there, that's going to give your client more reassurance. It's going to make them feel more at ease, to be guided by you and ultimately to be supported by you through that process. Because ultimately, it's going to showcase you as an authority. It's going to showcase the work that you've done. And it is also going to help reduce the friction that a customer is going to feel when they are thinking about hiring you. And not only that, but they're also going to see you more desirable because we are willing to pay more for a result that is more in line with what we want to achieve. And let's say, for example, we're looking to have a kitchen built within our home. Ok. And we've got two teams that are looking to pitch us for the business. One team has the exact aesthetic that we want. They've done multiple kitchens like it and passed and they ultimately shows tons of examples and case studies of customers that have the exact same thing as us and they have done it perfectly. Now, on the other hand, we have the other team who are cheaper, actually significantly cheaper, but they have no evidence of the exact kitchen that we want and they have no evidence of any work that done in the past. Now, tell me which one out of those two teams are you going to choose? Now, let's face it. If it was just a small purchase, then we wouldn't read care that much. It's not really that important. But if it's a big purchase like a kitchen is going to be kind of $10,000 roughly minimum, you are going to have to take time to make that decision. And you know, I think anyone would rather spend $10, on a kitchen that they really love as opposed to $ on a kitchen that may not be ideal for them because the kitchen's going to last a long time. It's going to be part of your family every single day and what you're doing within your house. So it makes sense to make that extra investment and having more credibility and more case studies and more projects to show is going to help the customer to make that decision easier. Now, there are obviously a few negative points to having case studies and portfolio pages on your website. First is confidentiality. Some clients may not want you to post pictures of their homes or maybe pictures of them or videos of them or even examples of their projects to show kind of the source behind how their brand was made. In my case. For example, I've definitely had a couple of brands that have mentioned that this shouldn't be done. And obviously we've had to discuss that before actually working through the project. Another thing is it's super time intensive like to actually create a case study takes so much time. It takes so much time actually spending the time on developing the page and making the template for the page is kind of the most important thing. But afterwards to actually populate it, it takes a little bit of time. So that is something that you need to keep in mind as well. Now, companies like Pentagram who are a design agency are really great at showcasing their work in a really meaningful way. So I would suggest learning as much as possible in regards to how other companies showcase their work and case studies in your particular niche. People who do the same thing as you and companies that do the same thing as you and then take inspiration from that and basically build your own system, build your own portfolio and case studies page. If you're a service provider or you're offering some sort of business solution, because if you're selling an e commerce product, it's not going to be as relevant. Now, in regards to scoring case studies and portfolios for your business and marketing tactics, I would score to 10 in regards to cost because it costs absolutely nothing to set up and it's absolutely free to do. Now, it does cost you in regards to time. So I would score at maybe around five in regards to set up because you need to create a template so that when you're creating portfolio pieces or case studies on your website, you don't have to recreate the page over and over again, you can simply just edit the text and edit the images. But in regard to maintenance, I would probably score it as a four simply because you do need to maintain things over time and maybe change some things, some things and obviously add new projects as time goes on. Now, in regard to Roi, I would think that case studies and portfolios, at least in my experience by working with clients and also obviously managing my own businesses. Case studies and portfolios pages are one of the most impactful decision making tools when it comes to building a website. So that's why it's scored 10. It is going to be extremely important to a client actually to work with you. They want to see work that you've done in the past. They want to have the reassurance that you can deliver on your promises. And this ultimately is going to be key to you growing your business. So I hope this lesson was valuable. Thank you so much for your time and I will see you in the next one.
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