On "glorified testimonials" and getting in the way of customer stories
From an interview with Kate Kiefer, content curator for Mailchimp, who make terrific “Customer Stories” videos like this one for A Book Apart.
The glorified-testimonial approach to case studies didn’t feel like us anymore. Was I really going to visit this amazing factory where they make signed and numbered blue jeans by hand, and simply ask them how MailChimp’s autoresponders are working out for them? We felt like the part about MailChimp was getting in the way of [the] stories. So many of our customers are smart, creative and passionate about what they do. MailChimp supports them by making their jobs easier and their marketing more effective…we don’t have to insert ourselves into their story.So smart. As Kathy Sierra has said, “Just make people better at something they want to be better at. When your goals and your user’s goals are truly aligned, you don’t need pixie dust.”
