Creating effective case studies

Case studies, also known as customer stories, are a great tool for marketing a product's/service's capabilities. Their effectiveness stems from the fact that they present actual stories of actual customers, which makes your offering more relatable and relevant to those interested. If done right, case studies can have a huge impact on prospective buyers and influence their purchase decisions.

So let's see how you can use case studies to that effect in this article.

Follow the intro-challenge-solution-benefits framework

Whenever you create a case study, whether it's text-based or audiovisual, always stick to this framework/outline:

1. Briefly introduce the customer with details about the organization's strengths, the industry vertical in which it operates, number of employees, its revenue (if disclosed), and geographical spread. This gives your audience all the essential information about the customer.
2. Next, state the challenge(s) the customer faced, including details of the causes, factors that compounded each challenge, the kinds of losses incurred (for example, lost revenue, lost opportunities, or diminished productivity, etc.), and the business functions/stakeholders affected.
3. Then talk about the solution you provided to the customer, including details about why they chose you, which competitors they considered, the offering(s) that powered the solution, evaluation and proof of concept offered (if any), the implementation process, the amount of time taken to implement the new solution, and amount of time needed before seeing benefits.
4. Finally, talk about the benefits that the customer started seeing after implementing your solution. Make sure that the challenges and benefits are parallel. For instance, if one challenge was that certain tasks required a lot of time, the benefits section should explain how much time your solution helps the customer save now. Feel free to include information about additional benefits, but first make sure that each challenge has a corresponding benefit.

Keep it concise, cut down the fluff

As with any work of nonfiction, your case study must be clearly articulated and easy to follow. You might have to include technical or industry-specific information, but present it in terms any prospect can understand. Provide only essential information and ask customers to get in touch with you if they'd like to know more. This way, you don't give too much information away and also generate opportunities to begin conversations with prospective customers.

Provide quantifiable data as often as possible

In my opinion, this is the most important aspect of a case study, because quantifiable data helps you paint a clear picture of your solution's capabilities and establish credibility. How much time does your solution help save? What's the percentage increase in the customer's availability after implementing your solution? How many more claims/requests are processed on a daily basis now, thanks to your solution? These are a few examples of the kind of data you need to include, because that's exactly what your prospects want to see.

Use visual aids like tables and infographics to present such data. Highlighting it in this manner helps draw the audience's attention more effectively to things that really matter. But don't dump data just because it's available; sift through it all and present only that which is relevant.

Include quotes from the customer

Presenting your customer's own thoughts about your solution adds another level of credibility to your case study. It also helps a lot in cases where you don't have enough quantifiable data and the improvements are primarily qualitative. If your solution impacts multiple business functions, try to get quotes from executives/managers in each or those from the most important functions. Hearing it straight from the customer's mouth gives your prospects a greater sense of reassurance.

Let prospects talk to the customer, if possible

Not all customers are necessarily willing to talk to prospects about your solution, but if one is, take advantage of that opportunity. By doing so, you can ensure transparency and help your prospect understand your solution better, especially if they happen to operate in the same vertical as the customer.

Of course, it isn't a good, privacy-oriented practice to give away the customer's email ID or other contact details proactively. Therefore, make sure to obtain proper written consent from the customer and then share their contact details only when a prospect asks for a customer reference.

Case studies are central to storytelling in the context of business and marketing. Fortunately, getting them right isn't a challenging task. However, it still requires focused effort, a lot of questions, and diligence in presenting facts and figures. That's all there is to it.