The Untapped Power of Case Studies

In years past, case studies were often an afterthought in marketing. A “nice to have” sort of thing. But a funny thing has happened as marketing dynamics have changed over the past decade. The lowly case study has become a stronger and stronger  tool in the marketer’s toolbox. Nowhere is that more true than in the video industry.

Why is that?  There are several reasons.

• Case Studies are credible. They resonate as more true and more believable than marketing brochures because they lay out facts, not claims. They are specific and build trust that you can do what your marketing claims say you can do. They make features and benefits real.
• Case Studies tell stories. In Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind”, he writes of the power of stories, and how they often persuade more than facts. Properly written, a case study tells a story that a reader can empathize with.
• Case Studies take your general claims and make them very specific. Successful marketing with case studies is more than writing out every success story. They involve identifying your key target client groups, then writing your case studies to reach them where they are. Case studies build trust.
• Case Studies are easy to use in a variety of marketing efforts. These are not just one sheet pieces that you hand out. Properly formatted they cross market in every media, increasing their impact. They become PDF’s on your web site. They can have links to social media like Facebook, Twitter and Linked In.  They can be folded into proposals. They can be attached to press releases.
• Case Studies create customer satisfaction. When you have finished a successful project, your client is proud of the accomplishment. Involving them in the writing, and their knowing that this article will be circulated is publicity for them, and they like that. Some of my clients even present framed copies of the case study to their customers, which inevitably end up on a wall, and become a billboard for your company.

Case studies though, are not easy to write. They take time, and if not written by someone who understands the industry you are in, will often miss the mark.

I have been writing case studies, in our industry, for over 15 years, and I have learned how to do them right. Here are some lessons I have learned.

• Involve the customer from the beginning, and in every major step. That way you not only have a great case study, but you have an enthusiastic reference.
• Create a template – a clean graphic template helps your branding. At Quarry House we often write to other’s templates, and we just as often help clients create a template.
• Start with a Bang – Use a strong quote, or paint a powerful general statement of challenges and benefits to grab the reader’s attention.
• Use Selling words – It’s common copywriting knowledge that certain words and phrases resonate in people’s minds and help guide them to buying. Be careful with your language.
• Use Pictures – In our industry in particular, pictures tell a story. Get several good shots of any facility you are featuring. You can supply your own if you have a good photographer handy, or in our case, we often also take the pictures.
• Be Specific, but End General – give some specific information on the problem, solution and benefits, but always end with reminding the client or customer how your project and company is the right one to work with.

You may want to think in terms of expanding your case studes into a white paper. Once you have several studies built around a target group or issue, creating a white paper from these case studies is a cost and time effective way to create another highly credible sales tool.

Writing a case study is half art and half science, but having a good case study strategy can be a remarkably cost efficient and effective marketing tool.

At Quarry House, we LOVE writing case studies. We’re good at crafting an effective strategy if you don’t have one, We write well and effectively. If you have neither the time or expertise to do it and do it well, consider calling us and letting us help you create effective, powerful, flexible case studies to help your company grow. That’s what we do.

Tom

PS - if you would like to have the above article as a PDF, you can download it here.