Why quality case studies are important
When you have a compelling story to tell potential customers, one about how your widget can solve not only X problem but also Y and Z tangential pain points, your secret weapon is a customer case study.
This format allows you to combine a powerful narrative with real data from an existing client to give it extra strength. Well-executed studies give extra points, in the form of traffic, because people don’t just trus cellphone number philippines format they trust people. Telling a story that combines your client’s brand and personality and their company with the power of numbers and statistics is the best way to make your point clear.
What is a marketing case study?
A case study is a detailed analysis of a given situation to highlight the specific effects a service or product has on a client. For example, if you’re a business consultant, you might talk about client ABC Co., who was struggling to get their billing system up and running with an increased client load. Inefficiencies were drowning them in incomplete invoices and inconsistent results that required rework from multiple stakeholders. So they hired you, and within X months, they saw a Y% improvement in P2C and a 15% decrease in rework—all thanks to the implementation of your proven Z system. See how it works?
Find a real-life case study on the impact of content marketing on driving sales and growth in B2B technology environments.
Case studies: The gold of marketing?
According to CMI , case studies are the #5 favorite tool for content marketers , with 63% of respondents saying they are a highly effective piece of content for inbound marketing .
This is a good starting point. Some additional benefits that high-quality customer case studies provide include:
Self-promotion, no sales pitches. Since you are promoting the results your product/service provided to your client, the study will convey the benefits provided naturally by telling the story. No sales pitches that will drive away potential clients.
Keyword Integration. Case studies are the perfect way to naturally use long-tail and semantic search phrases. They can improve the flow of the narrative as other people will have the same problems and questions. Putting the semantic search phrase in the mouth of the customer will attract readers.
Audience segmentation is built in. Since your current customer likely matches your target audience, you’ll target audience members who can relate to writing about that customer.
A natural place for product placement. Your customer has used your product/service, otherwise you wouldn't write a case study about it. So when you include a paragraph describing the features of that product, it will be a natural part of the flow, rather than a sales pitch.
Ready-made, evergreen content. The benefits that the customer perceives don’t get old, so the content you create to highlight them is perfect evergreen content . Post it on your blog, promote it on social media, and maybe create a customer testimonial video. Then, in 6 months, do a deeper analysis of the case and turn it into a gated download. Then, in 6 more months, start the cycle again.
Case Studies: A Brief Practical Guide
What should a good case study look like ? As with any other type of effective content marketing , there are a few things to keep in mind when crafting a good case study. This is by no means a definitive guide. Use these tips as starting points, something to guide your first foray into case study production, and then go from there as questions arise.
New call to action
Don't act like a salesman
We know we've mentioned this before, but it's essential. Sales pitches turn people off. Think of those phone calls over dinner trying to lure you to a new mobile provider: no thanks.
What people want is a good story to tell. Tell them how quickly your customer got up and running thanks to your intuitive user interface. Then include statistics that prove your point, followed by a quote to get some social proof (see below).
Use numbers
In addition to stories, people love numbers. Numbers don’t lie, so they’re reassuring. Include some statistics and a chart or two that add weight to your story. Make sure they’re appropriate numbers and don’t get too technical—there’s a time and place for deep, technical details, but a case study isn’t it. Leave the deep dive for the white paper.
Add social proof
Quote the client – this type of social proof is invaluable in helping to prove your worth to a potential client. Remember: people trust people. A few quotes sprinkled throughout the narrative that reinforce a point are a good way to provide social proof that you are as good as you say you are.
Keep your voice up
Just because this is business writing doesn’t mean you have to break your brand voice . Don’t. Your readers have come to trust your brand voice, so the last thing you want to do is turn on a voice that sounds academic and dry as a bone just because you’re presenting something different in the form of this case study. Always be who you are. Your audience already trusts you, take advantage of that.
Tell the story
We've said it before. And again, it's that important. The goal of publishing a case study is to tell how your customer used your product to solve their problem and how your product or service can do the same for your readers.
To ensure maximum reach for your new case study, make it as easy as possible to access so that the largest number of readers can see the story you are telling.
Publish a blog post with a summary and a CTA to download the full study. Then, link to the summary from your social media accounts .
After a while, you can update and repurpose the content into a main page , with more links from social media. And finally, publish it all, perhaps with additional details, in a sealed PDF, so people can take it and print it out, whatever they want. Now, the story of your success and your client’s results is out there and ready to start driving new prospects to you.