7 simple steps to write a case study

what is a case study

The case study is a research approach and is widely used in businesses today. To write a good case study, You need to present your customer’s experience and talk about how your solution is accelerating their business growth.

Keep in mind that while such a story might sound like a good promotional technique, over 62% of respondents in this survey found the case studies helpful in generating leads.

Other than that, case studies:

• Make your proposal more believable, as 92% of people love stories and imagine the success of others as their own.
• Offer niche-specific analysis that can increase your brand’s authority and make you a leader in your niche.
• Provide clear answers as to why customers should buy your product, because in practice they show how your business solved someone’s problem.
• It’s social proof that really works, as 72% of customers seek reviews before making a purchase.
• Writing a case study can be a great way to improve your blog. You can inspire more successful stories for every great customer you have.

To learn more about case studies, watch this video:

Writing a case study in seven steps

If you want to write a business case study, consider the patterns that all successful examples follow. It should be a coherent story without clear examples, numbers, and off-topic paragraphs.

Here are some great tips to help you create an engaging case study, inspire visitors, and get them to decide in your favour. For starters, take some inspiration from the Discover Car Hire case study.

1. Define the purpose of your case study

The overall goal of a successful case study is to get readers to see the benefits of using your product. It should reflect how your business can solve its problems quickly and cost-effectively.

Specific goals depend on your business goals: for example, whether you want to sell a physical or digital product, encourage people to subscribe to your blog or join your membership website.

Finding an audience that will be interested in your client’s story is essential for writing a case study report. They must experience the same kinds of problems and pursue similar goals.

2. Select the perfect candidates and get their permission

What makes a case study good? Credibility is the first thing to focus on, so it’s never good to invent fake stories.

Whether it’s a B2C or B2B business, you should choose a good real example that will relate to most of your potential customers. But how can you choose the right one for your case study?

• First, pay attention to candidates whose experience is relevant to the case study target. For example, to attract subscribers to your travel blog about cheaper flights, try to find readers who have managed to save a lot of money because of your “notice”.
• Next, focus on customers who have purchased your product multiple times and those who have gone through the most striking positive changes, which will prove you are the best in your niche.

Once a good example is found, it is important to get their approval. A client may refuse to demonstrate for many reasons, so contact them and explain the benefits of creating a case study based on their experience.

One of the benefits is free, high-quality advertising of your client’s business through a case study that few would reject.

To get approval and make the story as soon as possible, send your candidate a letter with all the necessary details such as:

• Ask for their permission to use their experience as an example, followed by a list of the benefits of the interlocutor.
• Description of the process and approximate timeline.
• Real insights about your customer’s success. You will need a large number of numbers to develop a case study because these will build the believability of the story.

Remember to ask them to sign a legal consent form as official permission to use the information to avoid any misunderstanding later on.

3. Find the angle

Try to find the best angle for your story after you find the right candidate or to choose from a few customers who have agreed to share their experience. It should show your client’s success not as a coincidence, but as a direct result of collaboration with you.

Focus on the problem your product solves, explore its roots, its negative impact on customer well-being, and the reasons why no other company has been able to solve it.

Next, prepare to describe in detail the process of implementing your solution, followed by practical tips and a positive outcome that may be useful to future customers.

4. Prepare the questions and schedule the interview

Once the subject of your case study has been accepted, it is time to submit a questionnaire to obtain the necessary data. First of all, you need to explore your client’s business so that you can analyze it later. Try to cover the next points in the interview:

• The sector/area in which the company/person works
• The time you use your product
• Features of the client’s workflow
• Number of people participating in the workflow
• Goals set by the client for the team/employers

Explore the impact your solution has on your client’s business to shape a case study. It is very important to capture the following points:

• Customer’s goal as a business person or company
• The problem your customer is facing
• Reasons to choose your product
• How your product helps a customer
• Level of success and results
• Metrics that show real success

Meet with the customer face-to-face or via Skype, depending on your location.

5. Write the case study

After collecting information from the client, it’s time to start the case study. There are multiple industry-specific instructions on the Internet, but they all have a common pattern.

Find the best template and layout

It all depends on your goals. For some businesses, plain white paper is the best solution as they want to focus on numbers, while for others, design elements set the right tone, especially for creative niches. Anyway, try to explain your story with photos, videos, podcasts and other infographics to engage all channels of perception of your readers.

Configure a case study

A good structure makes any text readable and easy to understand. The elements that every case study should have are:

• Title
• Subtitle
• General description
• Introduction of the topic (a company or person)
• Problem/Challenges
• Goals
• Solution
• Results
• Supporting elements (images, real numbers, quotes, etc.)
• Afterword (your plans, intentions, etc.)
• call to action

All case study sections should be strong, clear and persuasive. Pay special attention to the call-to-action as it keeps people looking at your product, increases their interest and has a direct impact on the conversion rate.

6. Demonstrate the role of your business

To make a case study useful for your company/business, tell more about your role in the client’s success. They should still be in the spotlight, but try to choose an angle that highlights your business’ direct impact on this success. It would be a big mistake to make everything about you or your client, so try to combine both perspectives. Readers may be so impressed with your client’s success that they want to try it, and only when they clearly see the benefits should a call to action come.

7. Publish and promote the case study

What does a case study look like? You can format it as a downloadable PDF, a website page, a slide presentation, or a high-quality video. Whatever format you choose, it will be important to use promotional techniques after publishing the piece.

Promotional channels depend on the case study format. For example, if you’re writing a case study as an infographic, consider Pinterest first, or choose YouTube if you’ve made a good video.

Whatever the format, create a blog post that presents a summary of the case study and ask readers to leave their contact information in exchange for the full version. It will help you build an email list and then promote your product.

Then, post this summary on social media and include it in your e-mail newsletter to cover a wide audience. These are just a few techniques for promoting blog posts.

Creating a case study

Now you have all the basics to take the steps to create a great case study to increase your conversion rate.

It doesn’t matter which format you prefer: video, podcast or paperwork, as long as it’s done properly and presents the case as a win-win solution for both your case study topic and your business.