If you want to connect with your audience to boost conversions for your business, there are some pieces of content you must create. One of those pieces is the case study.
Case studies illustrate how you can serve your potential customers. And while the term “case study” sounds a bit tedious and scientific, creating them is anything but.
Here, we’ll dive into what case studies are and why they’re important. Plus, we’ll teach you how to write a case study in just a few simple steps. Let’s do this!
What Is a Case Study, Anyway?
A case study highlights how you helped a real customer solve a challenge.
Case studies are often called “customer success stories” or “customer stories.” Potential customers often find it helpful to read stories of other people struggling through the same challenges and how they’ve benefited from your services.
Why Should You Write Case Studies?
Ever heard the saying, “the proof is in the pudding?” Case studies are the pudding, so to speak, as they show your customers proof of your abilities.
You can consider case studies to be in-depth reviews for your business. These reviews pack a punch when it comes to impacting potential customers.
According to Trustpilot, 9 out of 10 consumers across the globe read online reviews before making a purchasing decision.
In other words, reviews are must-haves. And case studies take those reviews to a whole new level.
How to Write a Case Study for Your Business
Ready to learn how to write a case study? A compelling case study contains three main components:
- The challenge
- The solution
- The results
We’re going to walk you through each of these components step by step. What better way to learn than by following along, right?
Take a moment now to open a new document. Add each of the three components to the doc. And, finally, bring to mind a recent customer you served.
Ready? Then let’s dive in!
1. The Challenge
The challenge is the problem your customer was struggling with before working with you. For example, if you’re a marketing agency, your customer may have been having difficulty gaining website traffic or new customers. If you’re a roofing company, your customer may have been dealing with a ceiling leak with a source they couldn’t locate.
Describing Your Customer’s Challenge
In the Challenge section, you’ll want to describe the challenge in detail and how it impacted your customer. For example, the ceiling leak may have caused mold growth in the customer’s attic that was threatening the integrity of the trusses.
The key here is to be as detailed as possible. As you consider the challenge, you may uncover potential pitfalls the customer could have experienced that you hadn’t thought of yet.
2. The Solution
Next, you’ll want to describe the solution you offered to your customer. For example, if you’re a marketing agency, perhaps you created an in-depth content strategy for your customer. Or, if you’re a roofing company, perhaps you performed an inspection to find the source of the leak and then corrected it.
Describing Your Method
While some consider the results section to be the most important, we would argue that the solution section is the top dog. This is the section where your customers get to know your unique method. Be sure to describe in detail everything you did to serve your customer from start to finish.
How Do You Do Things Differently?
One of the best ways to approach this section is to think about how you do things differently. For example, maybe you provide free clean-up after roofing replacement. You’ll want to include how your company provided this service as part of the solution.
3. The Results
Finally, you’ll want to describe the results your customer received after working with you. Better yet, highlight how your customer’s life changed due to your services. For example, as the marketing agency, perhaps the content strategy you created resulted in a 30% increase in conversions in the first three months.
Remember, while a case study is chock-full of facts, the goal is to tell a story. And the result section is the resolution of that story. It’s the inspiring part where potential customers say, “I want that, too.”
While it’s important to showcase the numbers and stats (if applicable), it’s also critical to include the more intangible results. Going back to our examples above, thanks to the marketing agency, the business is now able to continue to thrive and help others due to increased conversions. And due to the roofing company’s services, the homeowners can live happily and healthily within their home now that the leak is fixed.
Other Important Components for Your Case Study
With the three core components identified above, your case study is nearly complete. All you need are a few more details to round out your study:
- Customer overview (B2B): If you’re a business serving other businesses, you may consider adding a quick overview of the business you served to the top of your case study. This includes describing the business’ industry and what they do. This adds some context to help potential customers understand how you serve businesses like their own.
- Customer quotes: Adding customer quotes regarding your services or the results adds value and social proof to your case study.
- A call to action: At the end of each case study, include a call to action (CTA) that gives readers their next step. For example, you could ask them to reach out to you via phone for a consult or send them to a signup form for a free trial.
Need Help Writing Case Studies? Reach Out to Us!
Case studies are a must-have content type for any content marketing strategy. But if you’re struggling to create them, we can help. We’ve developed many case studies on behalf of a wide range of customers. To learn more about case study development, send us a message.
