Plaid

Creating case studies that close deals.

When content marketing supports sales conversion goals.

Following a period of rapid growth, Plaid, a Silicon Valley fintech company, faced a challenge common to startups and established businesses alike: how to prove their value to prospective buyers to ensure sustained growth. To refocus their marketing efforts and win over their target customers, Plaid partnered with Block Club.

Background

Plaid is on a mission to democratize financial services. Specifically, Plaid builds the digital infrastructure that allows apps and other service platforms to connect to consumers’ bank accounts, enabling things like digital peer-to-peer payments (Venmo), budgeting tools (Qapital), and fast, secure lending (Ellie Mae). To date, more than 25 percent of Americans have connected a bank account to at least one app or service platform using Plaid.

In 2020, Plaid was acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion. Both before and after the acquisition, they have faced an important challenge: how to communicate their value proposition to a wide range of prospective customers. They knew their technology could significantly improve security and user experience for their clients, but they needed a way to prove those assertions during the sales process. Although Plaid was growing quickly, they did not have the bandwidth to develop a solution in-house.

Opportunity

Plaid needed compelling content to empower their sales team and close deals. In 2018, they engaged Block Club to build a solution.

Approach

To help Plaid reach their sales goals, Block Club advised showcasing past successes through case studies. A well-written case study offers proof to a prospect that a product has worked for similar companies. They help a prospect understand the potential return on their investment and foster trust for the seller and their products.

We proposed developing a portfolio of pitch-perfect case studies that any Plaid employee could confidently use to execute on the company’s sales strategy. During the period of our partnership, we functioned as an extension of Plaid’s marketing team to support and execute their sales enablement strategy.

First, Plaid identifies a case study customer that experienced a great outcome and resembles their target audience. From there, Block Club conducts an in-depth interview designed to get at the heart of their relationship with Plaid, suss out a narrative, and source quotes and impact data.

Once the interview is finished, we write the case studies, distilling complex technical concepts so that they are easy to understand. Each case study is carefully crafted to emphasize data-based evidence, speak to Plaid’s core values and messages, and adhere to Plaid’s distinct brand voice.

The result is a continually growing library of case studies and an increasingly happy sales team. While the focus of each case study may vary, the message remains the same. For any company wishing to connect to the financial lives of their customers, Plaid is the proven, best-in-class solution.

“Companies live or die by their brand. Fortunately for us, Block Club has an intuitive sense of brand voice, tone, and key messages. Within a few weeks of beginning our relationship, they were able to begin thinking, speaking, and writing as Plaid.”

–John Minervini, Content Marketing Manager, Plaid

Results

Today, Plaid’s sales team regularly pulls from the case study library when closing new customers. According to Plaid, the case studies have helped their sales team close an estimated $25 million in new opportunities.

What’s more, Plaid’s customers often share their respective case studies with consumers and investors to promote their businesses and spotlight their own successes. In that way, they also serve as an important client relations tool.

“Block Club is fully embedded with our team—from strategy, through tactics, to execution. They extend our capabilities and help us accelerate our strategic priorities.”

–John Minervini, Content Marketing Manager, Plaid