We'll show you how to present a case study so that it doesn't just gather dust on your website, but actually resonates with your target customers. Case studies are a powerful marketing tool that helps your target audience see the benefits of your product and its potential value for them.
A case study doesn't make an overt sales pitch. Instead, it tells one specific success story in a native way, hitting the mark on a particular need. This brings potential customers to want to remember/learn more/buy.
A marketer or PR professional's job is to identify potential case studies within the company, tell the story in language the target audience understands, and guide them to the desired conclusions. For example: "I have the same problem and this product can solve it," or "The method I'm currently using to solve this is outdated and time-consuming, while this service saves time and helps me complete the task more efficiently," and so on.
Why You Need Case Studies
Customer Acquisition: For selling to new and existing customers in marketing materials like B2B portfolios, case studies are among the most compelling evidence you can provide. In B2C, case studies are an easy way to fill your website with useful information instead of fluff.
Company Promotion: Case studies form the basis for blog posts, social media content, media publications, award/ranking submissions, conference presentations, webinars, and more promotional activities.
Attracting Investment: Investors and partners look for companies with success stories. Case studies demonstrate your potential for growth and development.
4 Rules for a Great Case Study
Focus on solving a specific problem, not describing your work. Otherwise it's just marketing nonsense.
Focus on one topic, one problem, and one solution. Don't lump multiple issues and solutions together, or the reader will be left confused.
Leave the reader thinking "Wow, it could work like that? I want that too!"
Make it visual. Use photos, infographics, screenshots, videos etc. to help the reader understand the problem and solution.
How to Write a Case Study
Before writing the case study, take this important first step:
Define the case study topic, format and publication channel
First, formulate the topic based on your company's business objectives.
Then decide the format (text, video, podcast, slideshow etc.) and where it will be published - your website, YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram etc.
For example, at our agency:
Business objective: Increase sales of our "PR Support for IT Companies Entering New Markets" product.
Case study topic: The story of an IT client we helped enter a new market through PR support.
Format: Text with images.
Channel: Our website.
The Classic Case Study Structure
Title Situation and Problem
Solution and Implementation
Results
Conclusion
1. Title
A title's job is to grab the reader's attention so they recognize themselves in the case study and want to read it.
Most important at this stage:
Keep it short and concise, avoid excessive creativity, ad clichés, and overly complex phrasing.
Use the language of your audience so they don't have to google terms, make assumptions, or lose interest.
If you can, specify the industry so the reader immediately sees the relevance.
If the topic isn't clear from the title alone, rewrite it.
2. Situation and Problem
Start by describing the client/company and the problem you solved. This allows the reader to see themselves in it: "I'm in the same situation with the same problem."
This section can include:
Brief background on the client company, industry, and why they needed your services.
The specific problem they wanted to solve and why it arose, OR the goal they had and why.
Why you and your product were suited to solve this problem.
How the client previously solved such problems and why that stopped working.
Choose the relevant points from this list and expand on them to immerse the reader in the backstory and make them want to keep reading.
Focus not on what you did and how you worked, but on how you solved the problem. Find a way to frame even routine work as the solution to a particular problem.
Be tactful and professional - don't denigrate the company or make them look foolish.
3. Solution and Implementation
You've described the problem or goal; now outline how you planned to solve it. Describe the concept, show the path from analysis to conclusions on why this approach should work.
Then describe the project implementation in moderate detail, being careful neither to get mired in unnecessary minutiae nor to make it too superficial.
You could cover:
Target audiences - their particular traits, constraints etc.
Choice of communication formats and channels, justifying why those specific ones based on the audience segments.
Commentary on execution - which formats/channels worked better and why.
This is a chance to add some drama - things rarely go exactly as planned in reality, so show how you overcame fresh challenges to solve the client's problem. This reinforces the value of your solution.
For example:
Contractors missed deadlines, so you rapidly found a new way to implement the concept without sacrificing quality.
Your posts got bombed with negative comments, but you skillfully turned the negativity around by engaging support.
You worked with bloggers or key media who initially rejected your pitch - explain how you overcame their reluctance.
A brand ambassador unexpectedly passed away during the campaign - how did you handle that?
Use visuals here to illustrate your approach.
4. Results
Main insight here:
Always tie results back to the original objectives and challenges. If the goal was to stimulate sales, don't just state media numbers - show how that impacted sales figures. Otherwise the reader will leave disappointed.
In this section, present the outcomes of your work. Be generous with explanations for each data point, showing how it proves the client's problem was solved and goal achieved.
Use screenshots, quotes from influencers, end customers, the client themselves - anything that validates your claims.
Again, make it visually punchy. Prominently display key metrics first, followed by supporting numbers. If there are many results, list them, separating quantitative from qualitative for easy scanning.
5. Conclusion
You can include a thank-you quote from the client here.
Most importantly(if relevant), insert a call-to-action for readers with similar challenges to reach out to you. Otherwise, why put in all that effort describing an impressive case study?
For example: "Not getting enough media hits? Press releases ignored? Journalists missing your stories? Our 20+ years of experience promoting IT companies can make your brand stand out. We'll ensure your stories get published. Contact us at..."
Check out our recent case study on launching an AI-powered press release generator for a great example.
This isn't the only way to write a successful case study, but it provides a solid starting framework. Add your own tweaks, and make your case studies so compelling that your target audience's hearts skip a beat!
This article was translated with the aid of the AI language model Claude. If you find any errors in the translation, please let us know so we can improve welcome@itcomms.io