The four essential ingredients of a successful case study
It is easy to feature the wrong type of case study
I see many printing companies proudly present “case studies” on their website and elsewhere. But often these are little more than glorified testimonials. They do not inspire readers to place work with the company.
The wrong case study achieves nothing other than making the person who wrote it, the printing company and their client feel good. With that in mind, let’s do a deep dive into successful case studies.
What is a case study?
A case study is a detailed overview of a specific project that a company has carried out for a client. It typically covers the issues the client was facing, how they were solved by the supplier and the business results that were achieved by the project.
Why are case studies important?
Case studies allow prospects to understand how a supplier operates with companies similar to the prospect. It should give them reassurance that the company is qualified to provide the solutions that they are looking for. It should also give the prospect and idea of the results they might expect from working with the supplier.
What is the difference between a case study and a testimonial?
A case study focuses on a specific project. It concentrates on business results. It should give a prospect a good idea of what their project might look like. It can stand on its own.
A testimonial is a client plaudit. It usually relates to the customer experience. People often read them with a healthy dose of cynicism! Most people will want to see far more than a single testimonial.
A good website or brochure will have plenty of testimonials and case studies. They both have their place.
What are the essential ingredients of a case study?
The right market sector
Case studies should ideally be in the same market sector as the prospect. Everyone thinks that their sector is different. So they are less likely to believe that a case study from a different market sector will create the same sort of results for them.
Results
A good case study has specific business results. This isn’t about great quality print delivered on time. Those are givens. This is about how a specific project, and the way the supplier handled it, made a difference to the client’s business. Ideally, there will be some specific figures on, for instance, the increase in sales or the number of new prospects obtained.
Language
The language has to be relevant to the prospect. The more specific industry terms it contains, the more believable it is.
Good writing
A case study must be readable. It must contain certain elements to appeal to different types of readers. The words must flow properly to make sure that prospects want to read all the details. Ideally, you will use a professional writer.
Why are these ingredients so important?
Case studies that contain these four ingredients will be believable. The prospect will understand why they should carry out a project like this, the results they may achieve and why they should use the supplier. A relationship has already been started between the two parties.
Case studies that miss some of these ingredients will not achieve the same results. Prospects will not see the benefits of working with the supplier. They may even think that the supplier is not right for them and go searching elsewhere.
What should you do now?
Review your content. Do you have case studies? Are they good case studies?
Look out for the rest of this series: there will be a whole host of advice on creating good case studies
Don’t rely on the wrong type of case study: if in doubt, take it out of your marketing collateral. Not having a case study is better than having the wrong one.
Send me your case study for comment
I’m happy to give you honest feedback. And, by the way, I write case studies. But only the right sort!
Good case studies need to be combined with an excellent sales message
Find out how to write a compelling sales message in my book How To Stop Print Buyers Choosing On Price
