The credibility challenge

Many industrial companies recognize the importance of customer cases and expert content but struggle to make them work in practice.

A common assumption is:
👉 “Customers don’t want to participate”

In reality, the issue is often how the stories are approached.

When customer stories focus mainly on:

• praising the supplier
• presenting solutions
• or promoting the company

they offer limited value to the customer being featured..

What works in practice

Customers are much more willing to participate when:

• the focus is on their business
• what they have built
• what they are proud of
• and how they made their decisions

This changes the dynamic completely:

• the customer gains visibility and recognition
• the story becomes more authentic
• and the content becomes more interesting to read

👉 This has been the key to building successful customer case programs in practice.

Curious how this could work in your case?

The broader challenge

Even when companies produce content, it often falls short.

Typical issues include:

• Expert content that doesn’t connect
  Content is:
  • too deep “inside the topic” and unclear
  • too general or superficial to be useful
• Content that feels like marketing, not insight
  Too focused on:
  • the company
  • the solution

instead of the customer’s situation

👉 As a result, the content:

• does not build real trust
• does not support decision-making
• is rarely used by sales

What effective credibility requires

In industrial B2B, credibility is not built through claims but through:

• real experiences
• clear explanations
• understanding of customer decisions

In addition, not all buying decisions follow the same logic.

Some decisions are:

• long-term investments
• high-risk
• based on trust and proven performance

Others are:

• more frequent
• more competitive
• based on clear comparison and practical criteria

👉 Credibility needs to support both, but in different ways.

Strong content needs to do two things at the same time:

1. Build trust (more important in long sales cycles)

• show that others have made similar decisions
• demonstrate long-term results
• reduce perceived risk

2. Support decision-making (more important in competitive, repeat purchases)

• clarify options and trade-offs
• help customers compare solutions
• make choices easier and faster

👉 Strong credibility content often combines both, it's just the emphasis that varies. 

1. CUSTOMER UNDERSTANDING

Define what needs to be proven

Strong credibility starts with understanding:

• what matters to your customers
• what risks they perceive
• what kind of proof they need

Core work

• Identifying key customer segments
• Understanding decision drivers and concerns
• Defining what needs to be demonstrated (trust vs comparison, long-term vs repeat decisions)

👉 focus on what actually influences decisions

This can include:

• Reviewing existing customer references
• Mapping gaps in your current case portfolio
• Aligning with sales on common customer questions

👉 The goal is clear direction for credibility-building content

2. CREDIBILITY CONTENT CREATION

Turn real experiences and expertise into decision support

Customer cases are the most effective way to build credibility but they are not the only way.

The same structured interview approach can also be used to turn your own experts’ knowledge into clear, usable content.

Core work

• Customer interviews (structured, in-depth, on-site when possible)
• Expert interviews using the same decision-focused approach
• Story structure based on customer decision-making
• Creation of:
  • website case stories
  • expert articles
  • sales-ready PDF versions

👉 turn real experience and expertise into usable sales material

This can include:

• Industry-specific content variations
• Video-based customer or expert stories
• Content tailored for different decision types:
  • trust-building cases (long-term investments, high-risk decisions)
  • decision-support content (more frequent, competitive purchases)

In practice, this means:

• some stories focus on partnership, long-term performance, and reliability
• others focus on clarity, comparison, and practical decision criteria

👉 The structure is similar. Just the emphasis changes based on how customers decide.

When customer cases are not immediately available

In some situations:

• customer access is limited
• references are still being built
• or new markets are being entered

In these cases, expert content becomes especially valuable.

Using structured interviews, expert knowledge can be turned into:

• practical, experience-based content
• answers to real customer questions
• material that supports both marketing and sales

👉 The key is to avoid superficial, generic expert opinions and being clearly promotional. Instead, keep the focus on real situations, decisions, and trade-offs.

3. DISTRIBUTION & SALES USE

Make credibility visible and usable

Even strong content has limited value if it is not actively used.

Core work

• Structuring how cases and expert content are used in sales
• Aligning content with different sales stages
• Integrating content into marketing channels

👉 make credibility part of everyday sales work

This can include:

• LinkedIn content based on customer cases and expert insights
• Guidance for sales teams on how to use content
• Use in email marketing and presentations

Additional aspect: messaging clarity

In many cases, credibility work also highlights the need to:

• clarify positioning
• sharpen key messages
• ensure consistency across channels

This strengthens both credibility and overall brand perception

👉 The goal is stronger trust and better decision support.