Got a great story to tell about how your company solved a client’s problem? Tell the world in a case study, aka success story.
When done right, case studies are valuable credibility-building assets for your sales and marketing team to lure leads, stand out from the competition, and help win over skeptical buyers by pre-empting objections. Indeed, the Content Marketing Institute said that 73% of the most successful B2B content marketers use case studies. And Demand Gen Report found that 52% of B2B buyers consider case studies to be “very important” when deciding on purchases.
But when done wrong… Like your mother-in-law moving in next door, it’s just too awful to contemplate.
What could possibly go wrong?
Not all case studies are equal. First, let’s look at what can sabotage your success story.
- No story at all. Websites abound with case studies that more closely resemble product and service descriptions.
- No clear picture of the problem or solution, and little concrete data as proof. So how will prospects know if their problems are similar, and whether you can deliver the results they need?
- Customer quotes are missing in action. Customers’ comments magnify credibility, helping to build trust through social proof.
- It’s-all-about-us disease. You might be justifiably proud of your reputation, awards and long history, but case studies aren’t the place to brag about them. Prospects want to know you can solve their problem.
- No clear target audience. Who should be reading it – technical experts, purchasing managers, the accounts department? Jargon can be useful, but only works with the right readers. “Yes, I know the difference between Young’s modulus and tensile strength,” said no accountant ever. Can you blame ’em?
So what makes a case study sparkle?
- A captivating and relatable story, replete with a villain (the problem) the hero (you, the problem solver), the drama of the battle to vanquish the scoundrel, and the happy ending where the customer’s chief metallurgist embraces your technical expert in celebration. Beautiful, isn’t it? Bored buyers won’t stick around to find out how you saved the day. After all, scientists love riveting stories too.
- The right length: Usually 2-3 pages (800-1,200) words is about right, giving enough room to tell the story with details your target readers need.
- It has to be informative: describe the client’s problem, perhaps with ways they’d tried to solve it before but failed, and how your company solved it – without breaching any confidentiality agreements.
- Include infographics: Add graphs to show performance changes at a glance, and maybe a flow chart to outline a process that’s hard to grasp quickly in words.
- The client’s voice: Interview at least one person. Relevant, direct quotes from clients are worth their weight in technetium because they add credibility that your own words can’t match. And always be sure to get the customer’s sign-off to make sure all information is right.
- Specific results. B2B decision makers need concrete figures that represent improvements in time, strength, quality and the like. A customer quote, for example:
“Compared to our old furnace, ABC’s furnace reduced our heat-treatment costs by 15.5%, and with the temperature control system we can better manage grain size, ensuring a consistent tensile strength of 700-720 MPa with every batch. Ultimately, this has slashed non-complying product related to heat treatment by 97% and almost eliminated waste and rework from this stage of the production process. These lower costs and improved specs have enabled us to pass on the savings to customers and secure two new clients, which would have been impossible with our previous furnace and pricing structure.” (fictitious example)
- Include SEO: Case studies not only help your prospects to make a buying decision, but also make it easier for them to find you online in the first place. Especially when the case studies contain relevant keywords and search terms placed naturally. Nowadays, search engines will rank you lower for cramming in search terms instead of using them organically.
How versatile are they?
It’s easy to repurpose case studies.
- Got a trade show coming up? Publish a couple in a brochure, or summarise them on posters.
- Pull out quotes to use as testimonials on your website.
- Break them up into a series of blog posts on your website.
- Place them strategically through your sales funnel/email sequence, according to who will be reading them at what stage.
- Use them as teaching/study materials in webinars.
- They don’t always have to be written. Video case studies are now gaining traction too.
- Link to them on social media, such as LinkedIn.
- Base podcasts on them.
“Yeah, but they take ages to write, and I’m just too busy.”
No problem. A good case study takes time to prepare and write up. If you’re too busy, a copywriter can do it for you to ease the load and free up time to do other things.
The copywriter will gather the information from you and your client, do the interviewing and write-up, and sort out the re-purposing for other needs.
To find out how I can help you build a library of case studies that showcase you’re company’s expertise, get in touch here and we can schedule a Zoom meeting.
If you have any tips on creating winning case studies, feel free to share your thoughts below.
