How to write a ROARsome case study

You need to have case studies on your website – there’s no two ways about it. Being able to demonstrate that your business has delivered on its promise to real customers is vital when it comes to convincing prospects to choose you. Like customer reviews, a business case study offers proof of your product or service and generates trust, helping to set you apart from your competitors.

How to choose your case study candidate

To get the best out of your case study, your ideal candidate is a customer you’ve done a substantial amount of work for – this will give you plenty of material to write about. And if you have any especially high-profile clients, a case study on the work you’ve done for them is likely to attract more attention and website traffic, so consider this too.

You’ll need to check with your case study candidate that they don’t mind being featured on your website, and they will need to approve any quotes you use. If you need to convince them, you can say they’ll get a backlink and exposure from being added to your website, so it will benefit them as much as it benefits you!

Case study formats

Having a written case study on your website is one option, but feel free to consider other formats, such as:

• Video case study
• Downloadable PDF
• A podcast case study

A video or audio format could feature an interview with your customer, which will give your audience the opportunity to hear your customer’s account of what you did in their own words.

How to craft your case study

The way to tackle writing a case study for your website is to break it down into something simple. Treat it like writing a story – for one thing, everyone responds to a good story, and for another, this will help you structure it.

Most stories can be divided into a three-act structure: beginning, middle and end. Case studies are very similar: you start with a customer who has a problem or specific need. The middle is where you come in with your product or service that might solve the problem, and the end is how the problem was solved.

The following example comes from our own case studies page:

• The customer and their problem: Sopoco, a solar panel installation company, who ultimately wanted to become the go-to solar panel installers in their local area
• Our service: After lots of research and work to understand the solar panel industry, we decided – with the Sopoco team’s agreement – that focusing on pay-per-click advertising (PPC) would be the best use of our time
• The result: Within two months, we earned our first conversions, which were high-quality leads. In the third month, the conversion rate rose by 166.67%, and by September, the client was booked up for installations until Christmas

This is of course a simplified story of the work we did, and when you’re writing a business case study, you should include more detail – more on that in the next section – but hopefully it gives you a guide for starting to write your case study.

What to include in your case study

You’ve got a basic structure in place – the customer’s problem, what you offer to help them, how you solved the problem – so now you need to add detail and flesh out your story.

Firstly, go back to the starting point, your customer, and think about the following details:

• Who is the customer?
• What do they do?
• Where are they based?
• What are their specific needs or goals?

Jotting down the answers to these questions will not only help you focus on the specific case study you’re writing, it will also help you keep your other target customers in mind. You want your prospects to read your case study and feel confident in your expertise; your reader wants to know that you understand their industry, their priorities and concerns, and that you can navigate any challenges that may arise.

The proof of the pudding is in… the data

To show that you solved the customer’s problem, you need proof. Whether it’s statistics, graphs, or ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs, being able to demonstrate the impact your actions had on your customer is crucial.

Ask the subject of your case study for a testimonial, too. A quote from your customer, written in their own words and tone of voice, will add weight to your case study and make your account of what you did even more believable.

Your case study proof checklist

• Graphs
• Statistics
• Photographs
• Testimonials / quotes from your customer

7 Tiger Tips for making your ROARsome case study even better

• It’s not about you. The focus is your customer: what you did for them, and what you’ll do for others
• Keep in mind ‘WIIFM’: what’s in it for me? That’s what your reader is thinking as they go through your case study. And it’s a good guiding principle to keep in mind when writing any content for your website and marketing collateral, not just case studies
• With a case study, you’re not explicitly selling to your readers. You’re convincing them to come to you using evidence and storytelling techniques
• Don’t be afraid to write about the challenges you faced along the way. This will show that you can adapt and change course when things go wrong, and that you’re prepared to persist and try different methods until you solve the customer’s problem – which all makes for compelling reading
• Champion all your team members where appropriate. Recognising your colleagues for their contributions is important anyway, and it also shows you have the right priorities as a business
• Cut the waffle. While you want to include as much detail as possible, it all has to be relevant to the reader. Stick to your three-act structure, focus on the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ of what you did, and keep the focus on your customer
• Keep the tone consistent with your brand voice. With brand voice, consistency is key, and your case studies are no exception to this. If you’re a chatty, informal brand, there’s no need to write a business case study in a dry, formal tone of voice. In fact, it’s more engaging for the reader if you keep it conversational.

Hopefully our guide has helped de-mystify case studies for you – but if you’d rather hand the task over to a team of marketing experts who can write compelling case study content for you, then get in touch with us.