How to Write Successful Case Studies?

According to HubSpot’s State of Marketing Report 2021, case studies are the fourth most popular type of content, only behind videos, blogs, and infographics.

No wonder case studies can be of great help for industries as they give access to a review of a business or service. 

Case studies are contrasting depending upon the industry, and they can be for all kinds of services and sectors. 

If we specifically talk about a business case study, this article is here to give an idea about what they are and what their uses are, and how you can write a compelling case study for the growth of a business.

What is a Case Study?

Now that you know about case studies, it can be assumed that you’re looking for a perfect marketing strategy for B2B marketing. However, if you are considering going for case studies for your business, it is crucial to get an idea about what case studies are?

It is a term that is common to various industries, including businesses and medical sectors. In the medical industry, you must have heard about a case study of a disease in which everything from symptoms to cure is mentioned. However, case studies are used in business marketing to make a service or a product look applicable to potential customers. It includes reviews and proves that the product or service you’re offering is worth buying.

A case study is formed in a story format that includes before and after buying a service. To write a case study, you should ask the customer about their experience with your business. It will consist of – 

• The Challenge, precisely the problems and issues they were facing before getting in touch with you,
• The improvement phase, aka The Solution phase, where your service resolved their issues, and lastly,
• The final stage is The Result – the narrative that suggests how everything fell into place with your solutions, preferably backed up with some real facts and figures to support your claim. You can also add your customer’s experience here – their review of what they have to say about your business, and if they would recommend it to other people. 

The sales team often uses case studies to let the potential customers know how your products/services can help them achieve their organizational goals with relative ease. 

How to Write a Case Study That Benefits a Business?

A case study needs to have various parts to affect a business. Even if you miss a single thing, it can restrict the chances of helping you. Let’s look at these aspects that make a complete and practical case study:

1. Start by telling the journey of your customers. Remember not to mention your service in the case study, as the less time you will say about yourself, the more authentic it will look. So please start with your customer’s problems and how your product or service helped them.
2. Understand the reason for writing the case study. Without having a proper objective, do not start writing. Business case studies are made to show that the business can help a client. The aim of a business case study can vary. 

However, you should have a single objective and form the case study accordingly. Here are some of the goals behind a case study: generating revenue, closing deals, sustainability of the business, low costs, launching a new service. Not just these, it can be anything else depending on the service you’re offering.

Must Read: What Do You Need to Know About Buyer Persona?

3. Find a way of letting your potential customers know about this case study. Just posting it on your website might not get it to reach your customers as they may not check out your complete website. Thus, there can be various ways of earning more and more people. Some of the methods can be: 

• Written case studies in PDFs can be put up on the website or landing pages.
• Video case studies that can be in the form of an interview with the past and present customers where you can ask them questions about how your business benefitted them
• In infographics, use various fonts and charts to include numbers and facts about your business.
• The newest way can be through podcasts. If you want to promote the business such that it doesn’t look like a promotion yet people watch it, podcasts can be best. You can ask your client to be a part and ask them some questions.

4. Choosing the client you want to write the case study about plays a significant role. You need to discuss everything that you will include and ask for permission to do so. Choose a client who can explain and talk freely so that the case study doesn’t look like it’s made up and fake. While choosing the right client for a case study, you can look for something to make sure they’re the right choice:
5. They should know about the services or products you provide so that they can talk about the benefits of your service.
6. Go for the clients who got remarkable results from your product or service as they will be speaking the truth and thus will sound genuine, which will convince your potential clients.
7. If you have worked with big brands or popular names in your industry, try to include those stories in your case studies as such brands are well known by most people, and there are chances that your potential customers may also know them and watching them use your services, they may go for your service too.
8. The best choice can be those clients who have come to your product since they weren’t happy with your competitors. They can explain how you’re better than others.

What to Ask Your Client While Writing a Case Study?

If you can’t figure out how to start the interview and what questions to ask, here are some samples for you:

1. What were the issues you were facing before coming across our business or product?
2. What made you decide that you needed a natural solution for your problems?
3. Why did you choose to go for a B2B solution? What went through your mind while going for it?
4. Do you think our service stands out from others in the same business? If yes, why do you think so?
5. Did your problem get resolved after switching to our product or service? What was your experience?
6. Do you find that our service exceeded your expectations? If yes, why so?
7. What was your knowledge while working with our team?
8. If you saw positive results with our services, how long did it take to observe them?
9. How did our products help you? Is there any specific thing you like about it?
10. Would you like to share your overall feedback with our potential customers?

Which Will Be the Best Way to Interview for Writing a Case Study?

To write a successful and practical case study, you need to interview the client about whom you will write the case study. There can be various options to do so. However, the interview mode can create an impact on the quality of the case study. So here are a few options you can go for:

1. Video conferences are the most common way of conducting interviews as they help build a connection. This way, the client can also answer enthusiastically. Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams can be your top choices to plan your virtual meet-up. 

However, check that the networks are proper as interruptions can disturb the client, and they may not deliver the answer appropriately. Due to poor networks, even the audio is sometimes not clear, and there can be chances that the client may not understand your question.

2. Another way can be through a phone call. As it can be more personalized, and the client is likely not to get conscious and nervous. However, this way can be pretty informal if you’re interviewing renowned brands.
3. Conducting interviews in person is the most common and most effective way of conducting interviews. Consider this way if possible, as it can be pretty comfortable for the client. However, some clients can face pressure answering questions in person, so it is good to ask the client if they are comfortable this way.
4. You can also go for Emails or Google Forms if the client is quite busy and cannot make time for any other option. Please note that this should be the last option if you want clear and genuine answers.

These are just some options you can consider, though the best choice should be the one that the client wishes as to the more comfortable they will be, the better the quality of answers will be.

Storytelling Creates a Difference

Case studies are all about presenting a before and after story. Though anybody can write a case study, the difference is how you offer the story to sound genuine. Before starting writing, look out for other case studies that your competitors and the top performers in your niche may have written, as it can help you write a case study that enables you to reach out to your potential clients. If you are not good at building stories, you can also get in touch with a scriptwriter or story writer to create an impactful account. You can also hire the best content writing agencies and let them work behind the scenes for you. Content writers from trusted agencies like Shape My Content can help you leverage the power of case studies and achieve your sales and marketing goals.

Get in touch with the team today and discuss your content requirements.

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