Truth is increasingly hard to find on the web and customers know this. That’s why social proof content has become more important than ever before if you want to market your business as reliable and trustworthy. 

Enter business case studies, a type of content that can help you showcase past projects and clients who are satisfied with your products/services. Writing case studies can help convert both B2C and B2B leads into recurring customers and brand advocates if you do it the right way. They can be more effective than any content marketing or PPC you could come up with, so let’s talk about how to write them properly.

Reasons to Write Business Case Studies

Let’s start with the fundamentals of case studies in regards to businesses as clients you serviced in the past. Case studies represent comprehensive overviews of how certain clients used your products/services in the past. For example, you’ve created a new VR app for a client and would like to showcase it on your website with project details, client comments, etc. This is considered a case study. 

Case studies are very effective at convincing B2B clients of establishing contact with you to discuss potential project collaborations. This can only be done however if the case studies you write are representative of the quality they can expect to receive from you. Here are some great reasons to put some time and effort into writing business case studies for your website:

• Case studies are evergreen, meaning that they’ll be as effective in a year as they are today

• Case studies showcase how well-versed and knowledgeable you are about the industry

• Case studies build your brand’s reputation and professional image online

• Case studies are amazing storytelling opportunities for your content creators

• Case studies can be shared via newsletters, social media pages, etc. for marketing purposes

Image source: Unsplash.com

5 Steps to Write a Business Case Study

1. Describe the Business in Detail

Starting your case study with an outline of what the business does will give readers a good idea of what to expect in the study. Whether you’ve created solutions for healthcare, IT, or marketing firms, potential clients will look for those which are the closest to their business models. Start the case study by talking about your client’s business in a few sentences and talking about what they do for their clients.

2. Define the Initial Problem and your Solution

Why did the client approach your business initially? Did they need a new website or did they simply subscribe to your SaaS and achieved certain results over time? To get an answer to this question, you should talk to your client and ask them for comments and insight. What was the original problem which led them to your business? Likewise, what was your solution to the issue they faced? Pair the problem with your solution in the second part of the case study to illustrate just how you approached the challenge.

3. Outline the Achieved Project Results

Businesses that consider using your products/services won’t be interested in inspiring copywriting so much as tangible, objective results. To that end, what exactly did you achieve by working on your client’s project? How did their business and revenue improve once they started working with you? Include 3-5 metrics or KPIs with your client’s help as to how their business performance improved by using your products/services. Things like “Customer conversion increased by X %” work very well in case studies. Including numeric or empiric data on how the business improved will significantly impact whether cold leads are convinced by your case studies.

4. Quote your Client on their Experience with your Brand

You can humanize your case studies by discussing the project you worked on with the clients themselves while writing. What was their experience working with your company like? Would they hire you again or recommend your products/services to their B2B network? You can collect snippets of your conversions with them and feature them in the case study as client testimonials. These quotes are very convincing for business representatives who are weighing whether to reach out to you for potential collaboration.

5. Make the Business Case Study Easy to Skim and Scan

Lastly, before you publish your business case studies, make sure that they are easy to read even for non-native speakers. You can do that by breaking down your text into short paragraphs, using bolds and italics, and using bullet points for the metrics you include. You can also use multimedia (before/after images, video showcase, etc.) to further improve your case studies’ legibility and visual appeal. The easier your case studies are to read; the more leads will be convinced by your abilities as a product/service provider.

In Conclusion

Regardless of your business’ scale or product portfolio, business case studies are a valuable addition to your marketing strategy. They are evergreen pieces of content that can be featured on your website for long periods and contribute to your SEO and conversions alike. All you need to do is be careful about the information you’re presenting cold leads with, how you format it, and what multimedia you’re including. 

Case studies need to be presentable, marketable, and sharable – they are not research papers nor are they simple blog posts. Get in touch with the client you want to cover in an upcoming case study and ask for any additional info or testimonials to include. With some luck, any new potential client who comes to your website will be impressed with your business case studies enough to reach out momentarily.