As an AWS Premier Partner, Cloudnexa is required to complete a number of case studies every year to maintain its AWS Partner Network (APN) tier status. Case Study Buddy helps Cloudnexa elevate its stories and empowers sales and marketing teams with the collateral they need to…
- Demonstrate expertise, especially on topics like compliance
- Earn credibility faster with Cloudnexa’s target audience
- Save time—up to 150 hours/year on case study production
Cloudnexa has trusted Case Study Buddy to tell its success stories for over three years. We asked CEO MJ DiBerardino about the experience.
CHALLENGE
Q: Why are AWS Partners required to create case studies?
MJ: AWS Partners are required under certain programs, competencies, and our Partner tier level to have customer testimonials or public case studies or references. We’re required to put this out on a yearly basis. This shows not only that we’re engaged with the community, but that we can provide thought leadership and customer success.
Q: How many case studies do you need to produce as an AWS Premier Partner?
MJ: Our goal is to produce six to eight case studies a year. To get a competency, you need two public case studies. We do multiple competencies. Also, APN’s guideline to top-tier Partners is to provide six public references. So that’s why we choose to do six to eight case studies, specifically.
Q: Why not produce case studies in-house?
MJ: Well, the challenge prior to engaging Case Study Buddy is that we were doing it all in-house. It was constant follow up, follow up, follow up, internally and externally. We didn’t have a structured interview process.
Also, we’re not writers. We’re not content creators. We’re a cloud engineering firm. So case studies created in-house became very programmatic and technical. It wasn’t until we brought in Case Study Buddy that it became more of a story.
APN’s guideline to top-tier Partners is to provide six public references. So that’s why we choose to do six to eight case studies, specifically.
SOLUTION
Q: Why did you choose Case Study Buddy?
MJ: That decision was easy. We knew we didn’t want to bring case studies in-house. That would’ve been more overhead for us. Case Study Buddy was a referral and helped us complete the year’s commitment.
Fast forward a couple of months, in the new year, and we had to create another six to eight case studies, so we ended up signing a long-term commitment. We produced seven case studies that year, including video.
Q: What do you enjoy about the process?
MJ: The process is straightforward and, honestly, pretty simple. We give Case Study Buddy the name of the customer and the synopsis in a brief. They take it from there. When the draft is ready, we give a thumbs up. The ‘set it and forget it’ type of offering is very valuable.
Q: What value does Case Study Buddy bring to interactions with your customers?
MJ: Our customers are our livelihood. Being able to trust a vendor to interview them and ensure that it’s not going to make Cloudnexa look unprofessional, that’s a huge value. It’s a big trust factor that I’m not worried about with Case Study Buddy.
Q: What did Case Study Buddy help you achieve?
MJ: Case Study Buddy has helped us share our customer success stories, experiences, challenges, and really spread the word on what Cloudnexa has been offering all these years.
If we didn’t do it, we would not be able to progress our AWS partnership. We wouldn’t be able to join new programs or earn new competencies.
The process is straightforward and, honestly, pretty simple. We give Case Study Buddy the name of the customer and the synopsis in a brief. They take it from there.
RESULTS
Q: How much time has Case Study Buddy saved your team?
MJ: Last year, we did seven case studies, one of which was a video testimonial. All in all, from the effort we would have had to put in previously, we probably saved upwards of 100–150 hours.
Q: And case studies are being completed faster?
MJ: I would say Case Study Buddy took a three-month process and shortened it down to one month.
Q: Does the content provide value to your sales team?
MJ: The sales team just wants more and more, right? They know the value of it. We’re showing off our diverse services.
And when we’re dealing with security and compliance on AWS, there’s no client that just takes your word for it. A high percentage, 90–100% of them, ask for materials that prove you have the capability to deliver.
I would say we’re earning credibility faster now. Our stories dig into our experience and check that box faster in our sales cycle.
Q: Do case studies help your team close more deals?
MJ: Does a case study directly help you close a deal? Probably not. But it gets you in the door. If you’re not sitting at the table, you miss the opportunity. From that perspective, if it helps you close one of these deals, the ROI on each case study can be as high as 400–500x.
I would say we’re earning credibility faster now. Our stories dig into our experience and check that box faster in our sales cycle.
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