Case Studies are a very effective 'soft sell' way to promote products
and services. Why are they so effective?
Customers want 'proof' that your product will work before they invest
in it. That's understandable.
By writing a case study that shows how it worked for a company with
the same 'pain points', you help the reader see how this product would
work for them.
With that in mind, if you've been asked to write a case study or are new to
this area, this tutorial will help.
Case study format & guidelines
A case study demonstrates:
-
How a specific situation (i.e. case) was identified
-
Which
solution was selected to resolve the issue and
-
Summary of the final results, i.e. how you resolved the issue
In the IT world, case studies tend to be between 500-900 words.
In
general, aim for three to five pages; include one image per page at
most.
Anything more and it looks too hard sell; case studies typically
adopt a more soft-sell approach.
How to structure your case study
How do you format
There are three sections to a case study.
-
Problem
-
Implementation
-
Results
The opening 'problem' section must carry a punch. In other words, it has to mean
something to the reader - something that they can relate to.
When you start writing, try to put yourself in their shoes and ask
yourself what problems do they have... and how you can address these.
Tip: Write about an issue that has significant business impact
for the reader.
Demonstrate how your product can resolve their critical business
issues; what you're implying in this section is that if they choose your
service, you can also resolve their issues and here's how to do it...
The more specific the case study, the more it will impact the reader.
Case Studies that are too general and try to propose to solve all
problems for all people have little or no impact.
Be specific. Be focused.
Highlight Benefits
Concentrate on how your product or service addresses a very specific issue.
-
Be careful here as the rest of the case study is built around this single issue.
-
Don't dilute the case study by addressing more the one issue.
-
Stick to one area and explain how you can solve the problem in
measurable and quantifiable terms.
For example, support your case study with statistics, figures and tables where appropriate.
Return On Investment
Explain how the investment in your product/service pays for itself. For example,
show how it
increases productivity by 50% within 2 months.
Demonstrate how you can substantiate this; otherwise, your argument loses credibility.
The key here is to keep reinforcing how your product resolves these
issues. How does it address specific issue and where will the customer
see real cost savings.
Reducing Costs
How does the solution help contain costs?
This area is very important, as budgets are always a sensitive issue.
If you can illustrate how a similar company saved a certain amount of
money by adopting your product, i.e. with real proof, you'll capture the
reader's attention and increase the likelihood that they'll contact you.
Reducing Barriers
Demonstrate how your solution improves daily operations and their
performance.
For example, how does it fit into
their business process? How would it simplify complex processes and
allow the customer to increase their outputs, production or another KPI.
This is a good area to mention how your system plugs into other
applications or business critical applications.
Use your judgment when compiling the final case study document.
Avoid making it too
technical or overloading it with excessive statistics.
Make the statistics stand out so that the reader can easily digest them and then
remember them later on.
Long Term Rewards
Impressive case studies stand out; decision-makers use them as a source of
reference and will cite you as a credible, trustworthy and reliable source of information
- the type of company people want to do business with.
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Conclusion
Remember to include a
benefit in the title of your case study.
Instead of writing Aerospace Case Study say Case study on How Product X
Improved Sales by 300%.
Grab their attention from the start and then make sure to keep it!
Drop me a line if you have any questions about writing case studies.
