Writing a Compelling Case Study

In many ways, a case study is one of the most powerful marketing tools that any business— especially one that serves other businesses—can use. Not only does it serve as a highly effective form of social proof, it also gives your existing marketing collateral another impactful deliverable—provided that it is put together properly. Consider this your complete guide to putting together and utilizing great case studies.

What is a Case Study?

A case study is a story about a success that one of your existing clients experienced because of your input. A well-crafted case study follows a narrative structure with a beginning, middle, and end:

• Beginning: What problems (and impacts) the featured business was experiencing
• Middle: How the business contacted you and the strategy you implemented to resolve its problems
• End: The benefits and improvements your efforts brought to this business

Putting it into traditional story structure, your case study should read like this:

Introduction/Conflict → Rising Action → Resolution/Moral

(Naturally, the moral is that a business experiencing similar conflicts should contact you for assistance.)

The Process of Creating a Case Study

Your process for creating a case study should follow a similar structure:

Gather Information/Context → Creating the Narrative → Sharing the Lesson

Let’s break down each piece of this structure to outline what you must do as you build your case study.

Gathering Information/Context

Whose Story Are You Going to Tell?

This is a trick question: you’re telling your own story, not that of your client or customer. In actuality, your client/customer and their situation serve as the setting of your case study. Your story is how your team and the service you provided ultimately saved the day for that client/customer.

Finding Your Story’s Setting (AKA the Right Client)

While finding a client/customer willing to share is important, this is just one of many features this client should have. This client needs an issue that strikes a balance between being common enough for a prospect to relate to in the context of their own business and unique enough to catch a prospect’s attention. Ideally, you’ll have a case study with an example of the perfect (or close to it) client experience.

Compiling a Complete Account

Your case study should contain information from two sources: your and your team’s perspective and the client's.
From your perspective, create a profile of the client. What were their challenges? What benefits did you observe, supported by metrics and figures?
For your clients, interview the decision-makers involved in the process. Take specific notes and record your conversation (with the client’s permission) for accurate reference information. Ideally, you’ll have more information than you need to create the case study.

Creating the Narrative

Why a Story is More Impactful

First, numbers are relatively meaningless without the right context to frame them. Second, facts alone will appeal primarily to logic. Comparatively, a story can present a logical solution in a way that attaches positive emotion to it. Consider these two approaches:

• Fact-Based: Working with ACME, Ace Business saw productivity increase by 14%.
• Story-Based: By working with ACME, Ace Business increased productivity by 14%, which allowed them to commit more time and energy to accomplish [insert goal here].

While both share the end result of a 14% increase in productivity, the second gives context into why it is so important.

Pick Your Protagonist

Case studies are often more effective and impactful when there is an identifiable cast of characters, ultimately making them more memorable. Reexamine the interviews you’ve conducted. Who would your audience most likely relate to? Whose story gives the most insight? Highlighting the right person’s perspective in your case study can make all the difference in how your audience will take its message.

Be Descriptive

A story requires detail to properly capture your audience’s attention and engage with them. Share these details in plain, straightforward terms instead of technical, complicated industry terminology. Remember, you’re talking to people with far less familiarity with the subject matter than you do.
As you construct your story, sprinkle in some direct quotes to highlight key points or transition between different parts of your story. Recording your interview with the client can make it easier to transcribe direct quotes later—just ensure you obtain their permission first!

Sharing the Lesson

Once you’ve gathered your information and turned it into a compelling story, you need to get it into the hands of your audience so it can do its job.

Distribution Strategies

• Service Pages: A case study makes a great downloadable resource to add to a service page, giving visitors a real-life account of a given service.
• Campaigns: If you are running a campaign promoting a specific service, a case study highlighting that service makes a great deliverable to offer your prospects in various ways—as a mailed or emailed resource or even as a leave-behind document after a meeting.
• Live Events: Case studies also make great social proof to display at live events, particularly if the event pertains to the industry that the case study served.

The key is to work to get your case study in the hands of your audience, as that is where it needs to be to make an impact.