What is a case study?
What is a case study?
If you run a small business, you know how important word-of-mouth recommendations are for gaining new clients. Testimonials and quotes from those using your products act as a verbal recommendation to others. In the same way, showing how your products or services have helped others or provided a solution to their problem in a case study, can be a very effective marketing tool. So, what is a case study?
It is when you use a real-life story to demonstrate how your products or services helped to solve a customer problem or dilemma.
In this blog, I provide a framework for constructing your own case studies so you can feature them in blogs, social media, sales pitches, newsletters, emails etc. But first, a word about permission.
Permission
The first thing you need to establish is your client’s permission to use them in a case study. It is better to obtain permission before you begin writing the case study, otherwise your efforts will be wasted.
In my experience, it is easier to ask this question (and to obtain a testimonial), while the benefit of your products/services are still fresh in your customer’s mind. When they are happy that you have solved their problem, they are much more likely to give you a glowing testimonial or say ‘yes’ to a case study proposal!
What is a case study and how to format one
A good case study should showcase a customer ‘story’, detailing the actions your company took to offer a solution to their problem.
Readers like a story, or being taken on a journey, so your case study should have:
- An engaging headline – something that will resonate with your customers. If the case study is for your website, the best practice for writing headlines is that they are 50-60 characters, including spaces. Longer titles will be truncated in a search.
- An introduction to the featured customer and the subject of the case study.
- A beginning – what was the challenge? i.e., what was the situation before your products or services were used by the customer. What was the problem they needed to solve?
- A middle – this is where you explain what happened next. How did your products or services propose to fix the problem? You could also include some tips and tricks you relayed to your client to get the best out of your product or service.
- An end: What was the result? Can you demonstrate the impact, using data, charts, diagrams, pictures, videos etc?
- A conclusion: What was the outcome for the customer? How did your product or service improve their business or life? Ideally, the conclusion should also include a quote from the customer, talking about the positive effect of your product or service and how it solved their problem.
- A call to action – do you have the same problem? Call us, book an appointment, try a demo, download an information sheet etc.
As well as writing the case study, include:
- Before and after pictures
- Charts/graphs/diagrams highlighting the results
- Data detailing how your product or service solved the problem or improved the situation your customer was facing
What is a case study and how do I write one?
Remember that you need to engage your target audience with the story and clearly demonstrate the positive results for a particular customer.
Before you start, think carefully about the particular product or service that you would like to showcase.
Write a plan, detailing all the elements you need to include in the story using the format I have provided above.
Make sure that you feature your client and how your company helped them to achieve their goal, overcome a dilemma, fix a problem, whatever the case study is about.
Write from the customer’s perspective, rather than blowing your own trumpet. A straight forward listing of product features and benefits is a big turn-off for readers!
Use direct, clear and concise language. Readers need to understand quickly how your company can help them solve their problem too, so you need to capture their attention, No waffle!
Include facts and figures to prove that the solution you offered really worked for the customer. For example:
- Did their sales improve? By how much?
- Did you save them money? How much?
- Did your product save them time? How many minutes/hours?
- Did your product or service improve their quality of life? In what way?
Use pictures to demonstrate the outcome of the case study. Images are eye-catching and should clearly demonstrate the facts so readers with a short attention span can understand the story without having to read all the text.
Add quotes from the customer in your text, highlighted in bold, and use snippets as captions under images.
What is a case study and how can I use one?
Case studies as blogs
Blogs provide the perfect framework for writing up a case study and they can be mixed in with other types of blog to keep your web content fresh, relevant, and interesting to read.
The long format of a blog (1,000 words +) gives you an opportunity to go into detail, with the addition of quotes, photos, videos and/or graphics..
Do not promote your products outright. Instead, show how your customer used your product or service to overcome their dilemma.
Case studies on social media platforms and newsletters/emails
There are a number of ways to use case studies in social media and digital marketing strategies.
Be clear and direct, for example:
- See how product X saved our client Z hours per week + a link to the case study on your website
- Do you have a problem with X or Y? Head over to our website to see how product Z helped a customer with the same issue (add a link)
- See how service X helped to cut costs for customer Y in our latest case study (add a link)
And so on…
Use customer quotes as social media posts with a link to the case study. Make sure you tag your client on social media posts, so that they also benefit from the exposure, and ask them to repost.
Feature a picture of your smiling customer holding your product or shaking your hand etc. Use facts, figures and graphs/charts in posts, emails and/or newsletters and link to the case study. For example:
- Add a caption to a chart or graph from the case study: ‘See how client Y improved sales by 25% using service X’
Case studies as lead magnets
Alternatively, case studies make great lead magnets.
How do you do this? On your homepage, create a link to a webpage where you request information in exchange for a free download of the case study. Providing they tick (or untick) the contact me with more information box, you have an opportunity to follow up the lead with an email, a special offer or a newsletter.
Case studies as videos
If writing just isn’t your thing, ask your client if you can video the process. Showcase it on your website and feature clips as social media posts, with links to see the whole video on your website or YouTube channel.
You could offer a promotional discount on the product or service for all new subscribers to your YouTube channel.
What is a case study and why should I write one?
Okay, so why should you be using case studies in your marketing efforts?
- Relevance. Demonstrate the relevance of your products or services to your target audience and problems they may be experiencing.
- Provide your target audience with added value. Incorporating tips and tricks for getting the most out of your product or service adds value to their experience of buying/using it.
- A good case study combines telling a story with a sprinkling of facts and figures that prove you know what you are talking about. If potential customers see you as an expert, it will help to establish a long-term relationship built on trust.
- Case studies offer a higher level of social proof than isolated testimonials because they are real stories featuring real problems that will resonate with your ideal customers.
There we have it! Gill’s guide to using case studies as part of your marketing efforts. I hope that you find this article useful, and you seriously think about using case studies going forward. If you would like my help with writing case studies or any marketing content, either online or offline, contact me for a free consultation and quote for your project.