All decision makers appreciate measurable data. And case studies are a direct way to show measurable value of your marketing efforts. Monthly and quarterly reporting is typically made up of tracked KPIs and ROI information. However, case studies tie that data to a story to identify the posed challenges and discuss how strategy was implemented to achieve successful results.
Why is this important?
For analysts, used to looking at numbers all day, a spreadsheet of numbers and percentages may make sense without context. However, value is added whenever you can link the data with the desired results by way of telling a story through a case study.
Case Study Basics
Each company will have its own case study template to highlight the information they want to be shared the most. At the least, a template needs to identify a problem or challenge, solution, strategy and tactics for reaching the solution, and results.
A brief summary of the client and the overall strategy is also helpful to provide. Plus, a testimonial from the client is beneficial. Once you have a template in place, it makes it easier to gather the information and make all case studies look streamlined and branded. This is valuable since there are several ways to use your case studies.
Ways to Use Case Studies
Upload to your website. Once your case study is formatted, upload new case studies to your website as they come in. When potential clients or customers visit your site, they’ll see the history of some of your biggest accomplishments. This instills trust in the user, an important factor in the consideration phase.
Share on social media. Not only will case studies draw positive visibility to your brand, it may be helpful for others as well, depending on what industry you work in. Perhaps someone has faced a similar problem to one you’ve found a solution to. By providing a case study, your information and experience provide value to different audiences.
Send as marketing collateral. Going back to the trust factor, if someone has never bought from your business before, many times, they want to see proof your product or service is a) going to work and b) going to work better than your competitor. A case study is proof that is written in a way, which doesn’t blind the user with statistics and numbers that need a connecting thread or story.
Circulate as internal kudos. Sometimes after completing a project, we don’t take nearly enough time to reflect on a job well done. The benefit of doing so can help boost team morale and can be used as a learning experience for future projects. If applicable, the case study method(s) can be duplicated to use for other campaigns.
Bottom line: case studies are necessary. They help both with internal operations and external marketing efforts. Plus, isn’t it nice to revel in goals achieved through hard work?
Take a look at some of our case studies while you’re here.
