A case study is a self-contained story about how a real customer overcame their problems using your products or services.
How to write a case study: steps & format
Now that we’re clear on what a marketing case study is (and isn’t), as well as why you should be producing them, let’s talk about how to actually write a case study worth reading.
Clear headline: Like a newspaper headline, it should give the most important information. A subtitle with supporting details or a customer quote is optional.
Snapshot: Provide the TLDR prominently at the top, including the client’s name/industry, the product/service used, and quick result stats.
Client introduction: One or two sentences describing the customer and a highlight about them.
Problem: State the problem/goal, consequences, and any hesitations the customer had. Include quotes.
Solution: Share how they found you, why they chose you, what solution they chose, and how it was implemented. Include quotes.
Results: Describe the results and the benefits, as well as any bonus benefits that came of it. Include quotes.
Conclusion: Share additional praise from the customer and words of advice they have for other people/businesses like them.
Tips on how to write a case study that prospects will want to read
Alright, so that was a basic example of a case study, but there’s more to it than just the words that comprise it. Here are eight tips to write a great case study that prospects will want to read and that will help close deals.
1. Make it as easy as possible for the client
Just like when asking for reviews, it’s important to make the process as clear and easy as possible for the client. When you reach out, ask if you can use their story of achievement as a case study for your business.
2. Include a prominent snapshot with the results
While a good case study is like a story, you don’t want to hold out on your reader until the end. You want them to know the results right off the bat, then they can read further to find out how those results were achieved. In the example below, the overall picture is made clear with the title (The Loot Box Uses Ad Factory and Content Marketing to Drive Sales) and the three stats below it.
3. Choose an interesting angle
Apart from kitchen remodeling and website makeovers, it can be hard to make a case study compelling. But there is always room for creativity.
Focus on particularly interesting customers who use your product in a unique way or who have a more extreme situation.
Weave a theme into the story that connects your industry with theirs (this might mean puns).
Hook the reader at the beginning with a teaser about the best result in the study.
Incorporate the client’s unique personality into the story.
The more compelling your angle, the better the story. The better the story, the more engaging your case study will be. In Mailchimp’s case study example below, the customer name (Good Dye Young), compelling headline, and expressive image all work together to give this case study life.
4. But make it relatable to all prospects
Your angle is the “hook” that will catch your audience’s attention, but it’s essential that ALL prospects can relate to and identify with the problems encountered by your case study’s “protagonist.” This means catering to your core demographics and target markets, and solving the problems most commonly experienced by your customers.
5. Make them visually appealing (and consistent)
We already know that case studies aren’t the most exciting reads, so don’t make it worse by throwing a bunch of text and numbers onto a page. A good case study is skimmable, visual, and organized.
Clean, organized, and skimmable.
Whatever format you go with, use it for all of your case studies. This will not only help you to streamline the process but also make it easier for prospects to digest the information.
6. Be the supporting character, not the hero
Your company should always be positioned as a helping hand that helped the real hero of the story—your client—overcome their obstacle. There are two reasons this approach is so effective. Firstly, you want your audience to visualize themselves as the protagonist of the case study. This is much more difficult if you won’t stop talking about how great your company or product is. Secondly, adopting a more humble tone can help increase your credibility in the mind of the reader.
7. Let your clients tell their own story
As a storyteller, it’s your job to craft a compelling narrative about how your featured client triumphed over the forces of evil using your product or service, but that doesn’t mean your protagonist doesn’t have their own voice.
Let them tell the story in their own words and then incorporate direct quotes into your narrative. This will break up your text, increase credibility, and make your protagonist a tangible character that readers can relate to. Take an interview style format and use paraphrasing and annotations so the text isn’t repetitive. Set up the segue and create room for your client’s quote, and let them do the rest.
8.Have realistic expectations
Yes, we want to create a useful, helpful resource for prospective customers, but let’s be real—nobody’s winning a Pulitzer for a case study, and it won’t be going viral on social media, no matter how well-written it is.
Case studies are little more than tools to be used by either self-motivated prospects researching your company, or by sales professionals as tools to help convince prospects to convert. Nothing more. They’re designed for audiences that are already strongly considering becoming your customers, which is a smaller but more qualified group of people than your general audience.
So don’t be disheartened if your case study content doesn’t attract as much traffic or engagement as your best or even average content. They’re not meant to. But that doesn’t mean you should stop creating them or start obsessing over how to improve them.
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