[00:00:00] James Breese: Strength Matters Media. Video. Print.
[00:00:04] Josh Kennedy: Podcasts. Today, we're talking all about crafting compelling case studies, a guide to boosting your fitness business. And this is basically using whoops a daisy knocking my mic over there. This is basically using your, your current client because, um, as you said, Andrew to me before we started recording, it's all well and good talking about how you talk about how great you are.
[00:00:24] It's much different when your clients talk about how, uh, how great you are. Um. What else, what else, why is it important to use a client case studies to help you build success?
[00:00:35] Andrew Wallis: This is a conversation we've been having within the strength matters community with particularly with our VIP clients, as we map out, uh, their marketing, uh, for the year and having what we call pillar content.
[00:00:49] And as you, as you quite rightly say that, you know, we can talk about how great we are. Um, but when a prospect is doing some research, then. [00:01:00] Much like testimonials or much like Google reviews where somebody is talking from their own experience that can have a significant impact on the decision making process for for a prospect and case studies are a great way within the fitness industry for us to do that.
[00:01:22] And I'm sure many of us might have seen other people doing this from time to time on their social media where they'll show like before and after photos and a bit of a story on a particular spotlight that put on on clients. So that's what case studies essentially are. And that particularly useful when it comes to that decision making process, as I say.
[00:01:49] Josh Kennedy: We're going to shoot through eight steps on how you build a case study. So step number one, this is kind of the important thing. I really choose which client to feature in your case study. How do you identify [00:02:00] the best client to, uh, to use for your case study? I guess
[00:02:03] Andrew Wallis: it probably seems obvious, but we want to be choosing a client that firstly has experienced some good success.
[00:02:11] Um, that, uh, that we've had a good rapport with a good relationship, but. Most importantly, you know, they've succeeded in hitting the goals that you'd originally mapped out when they first sat down with you in that consultation and goal setting stage. But as I say, it does seem obvious, but we want the job of the case study is to really sell your services.
[00:02:40] Uh, and to showcase your expertise. So we want to be picking out clients that is going to resonate with, with that audience that you're looking for. Um, so over time, you can actually have a number of case studies, one that's going to appeal to men. One's going to appeal to women, for example, different [00:03:00] age ranges and so on and so forth.
[00:03:02] Yeah.
[00:03:03] Josh Kennedy: Step number two, gathering background information. What sort of information are we looking for in this section? Well, you should,
[00:03:09] Andrew Wallis: because you've been working with this individual, you're going to have, um, a pretty high level understanding of, of the success they've had, um, if you've got a team working with you, then that initial, uh, background, uh, collection process is going to be talking with the coaches or trainers that have been working with that individual, as I say, if you've not, um, done that equally, if you run the things like member of the month, Um, if you don't, maybe that's, um, a concept that you could introduce, uh, because that helps amplify success that clients are having and showcasing, uh, and putting the spotlight on, you know, successful clients, then those people that have, uh, been past members of the month are perfect.
[00:03:59] case study [00:04:00] material. Um, but the first thing, the first is talking with those working frontline with that client. Um, and then equally, um, discussing it with that client to make sure that they're, um, they're, they're, they're open to being Uh, the case study.
[00:04:17] Josh Kennedy: Absolutely. Step number three, write your case study interview questions.
[00:04:21] This might be, might be quite a tough one, actually, because people are like, Oh God, what do I ask them? What can I not ask them? So where, what are some pointers for how to write good questions?
[00:04:30] Andrew Wallis: First port of call. The reason we do this is that we're, we're getting, uh, some thorough, um, information back in a, in a, in a.
[00:04:38] In a framework that we can then use to build the case study, but I, I much prefer these days because video is is key getting the on video if we can, because then we're able to use the video as a potential case study, as opposed to the old school approach of it being a [00:05:00] written case study. So stick to open end questions so that you're not going to get a simple yes or no answer.
[00:05:07] Is, is key there, um, keep the question success orientated, you know, they should set up the answer to demonstrate how your client benefited and show how the services that you offer were instrumental to their success. Um, an example might be, um, there's a lot of, I think back to clients I used to work with, they, they might've had a sense of trepidation or not quite sure if this, I should be.
[00:05:38] Um, utilizing or, uh, the use of a personal trainer, uh, they were, they were scared to take that first step. So if we have that, uh, that client talking about their initial fears and, and what prompted them to take that first step, that can be, um, quite a. a great [00:06:00] opener when it comes to the questions being being asked.
[00:06:05] But you might talk about their goals, as I say, the challenges they faced, the decision on who to go to for help, why they chose you over a perceived competitor. And of course, talking about the results that they've, they've achieved. Um, I think all of those play their part.
[00:06:23] Josh Kennedy: Absolutely. Step number four is conducting the interview itself, which as you mentioned, obviously in this day and age, I think video is probably the best way to go.
[00:06:31] And the great thing about that, um, correct me if I'm wrong, you can then repurpose that content and use it as a blog, right? As well.
[00:06:39] Andrew Wallis: Absolutely. Absolutely. That's what I would be doing. Uh, because once you've got it and repurpose it as much as you can. So it becomes, maybe it goes up on your YouTube channel.
[00:06:47] If you're on YouTube, it becomes a blog post. You can even embed the video into the blog post. We can even extract that out and use it on your social media as well. So that once you've got that original [00:07:00] primary, uh, um. A piece of content, it can be repurposed in a number of ways, but conducting the case interview, as you say, is a step for what I'd recommend is that sending out, I'll call them interview questions.
[00:07:16] It's not an interview, but sending the case study questions to the, um, to the client in advance so that they're aware of what they're going to be asked and they can already start to formulate. The answers so that it's not, uh, blank expression, um, in front of camera, which, Hey, I've been there and done that.
[00:07:38] And that's an unpleasant, uh, position to be in, um, for sure. Um, so sending them the questions and then communicating the process that you're going to take. So again, just be totally transparent. You know, if they understand what's, what's happening, what's expected and the steps we're taking, they can be more relaxed about it and [00:08:00] they can be more natural in front of camera then as well.
[00:08:04] And they're, they're the key concepts behind that particular step. Yep.
[00:08:07] Josh Kennedy: And that's step number five, review the interview. Obviously going to make sure it's, uh, it's come across well and identify the building blocks of the case study. What would be the building blocks? Is that how to structure the story? I guess.
[00:08:21] Structure
[00:08:22] Andrew Wallis: the story, uh, come up with a compelling title and headline. So obviously we can utilize if you get, if you've got that, uh, blinking screen and you can't think of any, any, uh, content that's going to be suitable for a title or headline, then utilize chat GPT to give you some ideas. But then add your own personality to it so that, um, it reads as you would wish it to, but then, yeah, we're just structuring it.
[00:08:49] So there's going to be a summary. There's going to be a challenges section because that's key because we, you know, it's not a defined straight line from. Start to finish and Hey, [00:09:00] happy days. We, uh, there's going to be the bumps in the road. So if we talk about those challenges, they're going to resonate with the prospects that are reading it.
[00:09:10] Of course, how we helped, you know, the program, our program design, our experience team, et cetera, et cetera, that all plays its part. But of course the results I had, you know, we have the starting point. We've had the challenges. What were the results? And if you can be specific, like they dropped X dress sizes or a percentage of or they, they smashed their 10 K running time in the latest.
[00:09:35] You know, these are all key elements are going to resonate with the folks. And they're the key points that you want to address. Step number
[00:09:44] Josh Kennedy: six and seven. The kind of come together really right in the case study, obviously, and reviewing it for maximum impact. Now, this is probably somewhere where you could potentially use, again, use chat, GPT to help you write the case study.
[00:09:57] But as we've pointed out in a previous episode of the podcast, [00:10:00] it's really important that you then edit it and don't just use whatever chat GPT says, you've got to go and put your own voice in there.
[00:10:06] Andrew Wallis: Yeah. Cause hey, look, AI is here to stay, you know, it's scary, but it can. Do these days, um, and it's, uh, it plays a significant part in helping us with speed of implementation and getting things done.
[00:10:22] But at this moment in time, it doesn't, it doesn't come with your voice. Uh, it is improving, but you want to be looking at things and certainly based in the UK, we want to be looking at making sure that, you know, that that's. The English spelling of words, as opposed to the Americanized version of words and things like that, but equally bringing in the spicing up with your, your message, your voice is key and making sure it really dives deep into the client, their struggles.
[00:10:55] Their needs and what they ultimately wanted to achieve and have achieved with [00:11:00] working with you. Cause the important thing here, and this is why we're addressing the AI side of things as, as humans, you know, our buying behavior is driven by emotion, but supported by logic. So we want to make sure that we, uh, have both of those elements showcased accordingly.
[00:11:18] Definitely.
[00:11:19] Josh Kennedy: And step eight, finally, step eight, put the case study to work to close more sales, which is what you've done it for in the first place. So what are some effective strategies that people can use, utilize case studies to help them close more sales? Working
[00:11:31] Andrew Wallis: with clients at the moment, we're putting them into their.
[00:11:34] The newsletters on a, on a monthly basis, it's not every single week, it's a bit overkill, but if you're doing a weekly blog post, so a newsletter that goes out via email, then once a month you could showcase and you can have your client spotlight section. You can do it on your social media for sure. Every so often having, you know, going into Canva and designing up a nice image of the, of the.
[00:11:58] client, [00:12:00] um, and making sure it's branded accordingly with your color scheme and your logo. And then in the description part, you can outline the brief story or have a link over to, um, if you've got it on your blog post, which is. We should do and, uh, you can have it go into the blog post for the longer form title then as well.
[00:12:20] So whole mix of things that we're doing just to build awareness and these become great marketing pieces then, which are showcasing your skills and expertise. And then there's a subtle call to action. There's no hard sell. It's just, Hey, if you would like to experience similar things, then let's have a chat.
[00:12:39] Case studies work incredibly well, uh, in, in the overall, uh, marketing strategies that you can employ as a, as a fitness professional.
[00:12:48] Josh Kennedy: Yeah. Well, as you say, once you've got a one or two, three case studies, then you can repurpose the content and you got tons of great content to put out to your. Prospective clients for, uh, for the future.
[00:12:59] That [00:13:00] is it for today. Please don't forget to rate review and subscribe. And if you do want help crafting your case studies or getting more clients and patients, then booking for your free 15 minute strategy call with us by going to strength dot com forward slash strategy.