Case Studies
Case Studies are an integral part of your overall marketing strategy, use them or loose them!
If your business is not making use of case studies you may be missing out on a golden opportunity to add revenue, authority and most of all, more customers! When you write effective case studies, you’re creating a powerful sales tool for your business. A case study is a compelling, real-world, “before and after” story that shows how a customer solved a problem by using a company’s product or service.
Think of a case study as a testimonial
- In that has much more information and detail.
The customer (not the company’s sales team) is the credible source telling a story that’s relevant and valuable to the prospect. - Businesses love case studies, they’re a huge step beyond a simple testimonial. They help give a prospect an understanding of how a customer accomplished their goals by using their product.
- In a competitive marketplace, case studies are an effective way for businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
- If you’re in business, starting a business, or writing for a business … knowing how to write a case study is a valuable skill that will help you generate a pipeline of leads and close sales.
How you can write a case study in 9 easy steps
Writing a case study is fairly simple, as long as you know the proven formula writers generally follow.
The nine main components of writing a case study are …
A news-like headline — The most effective case study headlines focus on one idea that communicates relevant benefits to your target audience in a compelling way. You don’t need to be clever or adopt a sales tone with your headline. Your goal is to be objective and straightforward. For your headline to have the most impact, you should include tangible figures.
Here are a couple of points:
- The Wilson Exchanger Group Increases Throughput by 312% Using Mason Douglas Corp
- Naflo Corporation Helps ABC Medical Increase Production Output by 37% in Six Months
Both the above examples are focused on one idea only and state the main benefit or result received. You could also tack on how the result was achieved using a “cause and effect” headline format, like this:
The Wilson Exchanger Group Increases Throughput by 312% by Streamlining Their Assembly Line with Mason Douglas Corp. The cause is the streamlining of the assembly line; the effect is the 312% increase in throughput.
Headline Tips:
Focus on one big idea.
State it almost like a newspaper headline and make sure it will appeal to the prospect and what they’re trying to solve or achieve.
This should total 50 to 100 words. Here is some of the customer-related information you may want to include:
What the company manufactures or sells or delivers
Where the company is located
What types of customers they target
How long they’ve been around or when they were founded
The number of employees
Their number of locations
Their main product lines or service offerings
What makes the company and their products or services different
It may be difficult to include all eight of these points within the targeted word count. Your mission is to pick the most relevant information based on your target audience and the story you’re telling in your case study.
Two places to look for information about the customer’s company are in the “About Us” section of a recent press release and the “About Us” page of their website. You can also fill in any information missing from your research during the interview with the customer.
Your goal is to make your reader feel these challenges are too important and too meaningful to be ignored, and that a solution must be found to overcome them. Remember, the prospect is likely facing the same challenges as the customer in your case study, so the more descriptive you are, the better.