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Contents
Why Case Studies
Case studies are a vital sales tool. They prove you're good at what you do and build confidence with prospective customers.
The best case studies show how you've listened to the customer's problem, defined a strategy to overcome the problem or achieve a goal and highlights the results.
With case studies, consistency is key. Pick a format, take a position and stick to it. At Tilious, we create a case study for all clients after the first 12 months regardless of results. This builds trust with prospects and provides a realistic idea of the growth they can expect in the first year working together.
Format
Most case studies follow a problem, solution, results format. Here we breakdown one of our case studies to show how we've adapted this format to fit our business.
Title
Start with the result. Don't make prospects read all the way to the end of your case study to find out how things turned out. Include the bottom line in your title.
Introductory Paragraph
Write a short introductory paragraph on who the customer is, why they chose you and what the state of play was.
Challenge
Outline the main challenges of the project. Detail the situation the customer was in when the project started and what they were looking to achieve by using your service. Use this as an opportunity to link to the specific services the customer used.
Actions and Solutions
Describe the overarching strategy that was used to reach the desired outcome. Touch on any potential pitfalls that your strategy was designed to avoid. This is important because everything looks obvious and straightforward in hindsight.
This is the largest section of your case study because it details the specifics of the service you delivered to the customer. That said, there's no need to include absolutely everything you did. Instead, focus on 2 - 3 bullet points outlining the actions and tactics which had the biggest impact on results.
Results
Ultimately, the results are what customers pay for. Focus on specific outcomes and use these consistently across all case studies to reinforce your primary value proposition.
Follow-up
An easy way to keep case studies up-to-date is to add a follow-up section to the end. Check-in with customers on a periodic basis and use this information to keep the case study updated. This will show the ongoing value of your service and reassure prospects the results delivered weren't just a snapshot in time but rather an ongoing outcome of the way you operate.
Quote
The truth is a few sentences from a happy customer will make all the difference when it comes to the credibility of your case study. Prospects expect you to big up your service but a paying customer has no real incentive to be anything but honest.
A great way to generate quotes for your case study is to ask the customer for a review on a third-party site, like Google Reviews or Trustpilot, and simply copy a snippet for your case study. This provides you with a review for your business and case study quote in a single move.
