Case Studies – How to maximise your value

Conversations with friends & family are the most trusted form of content (74% of users), followed by Peer Reviews (68%)” – Source: Crowdtap, Mar-14 Research paper

This compares with 19-40% ‘trustworthiness’ for traditional forms of advertising, such as banner ads, online adverts & tv.

So Case Studies do deliver. However, they are often criticised for not being ‘scaleable’ enough, costing too much in terms of time and effort to put together.

Here’s 4 ways in which a good writer can maximise the value of Case Stuies:

1. Determine the outputs, Plan your questions

• Case Studies generate unique content
• The outputs can be widely used; e.g. website copy, website Case Study, Brochures, Standalone pdf Case Studies…etc
• The Case Study content required for these outputs will vary from high level ‘Company X is one of our most trusted providers’ to the very detailed ‘Using Product ‘Y’ has increased our sales by 35% over the past year’.
• So, plan the questions according to the desired outputs

2. Think one-stop shop, like a newspaper

• Think of a major newspaper interview – it takes time to research, set up, co-ordinate the photos, schedules…etc, and then the interviewer usually only has 1 chance to get as much information as possible from the interviewee (i.e. the Case Study customer).
• Once the interview is over, the ‘moment’ has passed, and it can be very difficult, if not impossible, to ask any additional questions after the event.
• Likewise with Case Studies interviews -remember, not everything you write will make it into the final Case Study, but it is far easier to ‘edit down’ than it is to ‘call up’!

3. Sign off the copy AND the notes

• You might not use all the content from the interview immediately, but who’s to say you won’t use it at some point in the future?
• Hence, send draft copy AND the notes to the interviewee.
• Remember – this is not a newspaper article where the aim is to be provocative – this is a Case Study where the aim is to be collaborative

4. Engage, don’t just report

• A Case Study is a unique opportunity for a 3rd party to listen to a customer.
• It shouldn’t take the place of proper Customer Research, but it should help to add value to your client
• E.g. An open-ended question at the end of the interview such as ‘Is there anything Company X could do better in your opinion?’ often yields a more interesting response – the interviewee has already said a lot of nice things about the company, so any small gripes/wishes are more easily expressed in this context.
• This is essential feedback for your client, who can then follow up themselves or commission more extensive customer research