It is always a challenge to make your customers trust your products or services. You need to effectively demonstrate your ability to deliver on what your product or service promises. You may say that you’re great and way ahead of the competition, but this is not enough. You need cold hard proof to defend that.
One of the best ways to prove your worth is through a compelling case study. This is one of the most commonly used types of content used by marketers. Let’s take a look at what a case study is and how to prepare for writing one, what you need to include in it, and how it can be an effective tactic.
Definition
A case study is a specific challenge a business has faced, and the solution they’ve chosen to solve it. It can vary greatly in length and focus on a number of details related to the initial challenge and applied solution, and it can also be presented in various forms like a video, white paper, blog post, etc.
It is common for a case study to tell the story of a successful business partnership between a vendor and a client. You can highlight the number of leads your client generated, customers closed, or revenue gained. If done correctly, these can help improve the business's existing or previous customers and also attract new clients.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create effective case studies for your business.
1. Get started with case study templates.
Telling your customer’s story is a delicate process as you need to highlight their success while naturally incorporating your business into their story. For starters, you can look for templates on the web just to see what a case study looks like.
2. Determine the case study’s objective.
Case studies are designed to demonstrate the value of your services, but they can have different client objectives. When writing a case study, you need to determine the objective or goal of the subject you’re featuring. Determine what you want to prove to your future customers as a result of publishing the case study.
3. Establish a case study medium.
Determine the medium in which you’ll create the case study. You can try to explore different media in your case study that allows you to promote your final piece.
4. Find the right case study candidate.
Writing about your previous projects will require more from you than just picking a client and telling a story. You will need to prepare for permission, quotes, and a plan. Look for certain topics like product knowledge or remarkable results that you can use as one.
5. Lay out your case study format.
After collecting the necessary information, you need to lay out your case study format. It is important to understand that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the ways you can present a case study. You can be as creative as you want. What is recommended is focusing on the standard seven-part outline, for starters.