Why Writing a Digital Marketing Case Study Will Convert All the People

Okay, maybe we took some poetic license with using the word “convert all the people.” However in a recent survey by B2B Marketing, of 112 marketers, two-thirds (66%) stated that case studies were “very effective” at driving leads and sales, and a further 32% found case studies to be “quite effective,” making case studies the most effective content format included in that survey. Case studies are also what the most successful business schools on the planet use to teach decision-making to future corporate leaders.

Why?

“The case method puts you in the role of the chief decision-maker as you explore the challenges facing leading companies across the globe. Learning to think fast on your feet with limited information sharpens your analytical skills and empowers you to make critical decisions in real time.“

Harvard Business School

This applies to all industries, but especially to digital marketing, where decisions often have at least some portion of uncertainty to them. Case studies help make those decisions more clear.

In this post, we’ll define what a case study is, including why case studies are important, how to make your own case study, and the top reasons why you should include case studies in your marketing.

Ready to get started creating your own case study? Download it now with the form below:

What Is a Case Study and Why Does It Matter?

In the context of marketing, a case study can be described as an intensive, systematic investigation of a single individual, group, business, marketing campaign, or some other unit where the researcher examines in-depth data relating to several variables.

For more info: https://www.pressacademia.org/definition-of-case-study/

Three Reasons You Should Include Case Studies in Your Marketing

1. Case studies establish you as a thought leader
   • To be effective, you need to leverage the power of good ideas. Doing this alone will go a long way toward demonstrating value.
2. They illustrate potential problems clients have
   • Clients want to know that you understand the challenges in their world. You can use case studies to expand on real-world problems with realistic solutions.
3. They build credibility and demonstrate your ability to meet customers’ needs
   • With a case study, you can show prospects how your product or service solved a customer’s problem and brought a return on their investment.

4 Tips for Writing a Great Case Study

1. Be realistic about the goals for your case study
   • Case studies don’t need to analyze all the details for every aspect of a business or marketing campaign. Instead, choose to focus on the ROI that most moves the needle for the company: focus on the ROI of how doing x, resulted in y.
2. Tell the story from beginning to end
   • Context is important for understanding decision-making. State the goal, the reasons for choosing to do the study, the anticipated outcome, the actual outcome of the study and what was done. The full picture is more compelling than a few ROI numbers scattered throughout.
3. Ensure your case study is in an easy to follow format by using our case study worksheet template
   • Case studies are essentially reporting on an experiment. Remember completing lab reports? When you have a template to follow, it’s a whole lot easier to focus on what you’re trying to communicate, instead of reinventing the wheel each time. Use the case study template inspired by Harvard Business School that we’ve provided here.
4. Use data to back up your findings, show ROI
   • Without data, without the evidence to back up your findings, your report will be based on opinions. It never ceases to amaze how the majority of B2B businesses rely on a spray-and-pray approach to client acquisition. By using the case study method you’ll be far ahead of the curve.

Let’s Wrap It Up

Okay, we’ve covered a lot. Case studies are one of the most important tools you can use to market your business.

Case studies matter because they:

1. Establish you as a thought leader
2. Illustrate potential problems clients have
3. Build credibility and demonstrate your ability to meet customers’ needs

Write better case studies by:

1. Being realistic about the goals for your case study
2. Tell the story from beginning to end
3. Ensure your case study is in an easy to follow format by using our case study worksheet template
4. Use data to back up your findings. Show ROI

Use the tips here to write your own, or reach out to our Market Research team and we’ll provide the plan, the research and the case study for your business.

Free Case Study Template

For those who want to conduct your own case studies, or maybe just for fun. We’ve put together an easy worksheet to create your own case study based off the tried and true Harvard business school case studies. It includes questions and prompts to make case study writing simple and effective. Download it here.