How to Write a Case Study: Bookmarkable Guide & Template
By brbecker@hubspot.com (Braden Becker)
Earning the trust of prospective customers can be a struggle. Before you can even begin to expect to earn their business, you need to demonstrate your ability to deliver on what your product or service promises.
Sure, you could say that you’re great at X, or that you’re way ahead of the competition when it comes to Y. But at the end of the day, what you really need to win new business is cold, hard proof.
One of the best ways to prove your worth is through a compelling case study. In fact, HubSpot’s 2020 State of Marketing report found that they are so compelling that they are the fifth most commonly used type of content used by marketers.
Below, I’ll walk you through what a case study is, how to prepare for writing one, what you need to include in it, and how it can be an effective tactic. To jump to different areas of this post, click on the links below to automatically scroll.
Case Study Definition
A case study describes a specific challenge a business has faced, and the solution they’ve chosen to solve it. Case studies can vary greatly in length and focus on a number of details related to the initial challenge and applied solution, and can be presented in various forms like a video, white paper, blog post, etc.
In professional settings, it’s common for a case study to tell the story of a successful business partnership between a vendor and a client. Perhaps the success you’re highlighting is in the number of leads your client generated, customers closed, or revenue gained. Any one of these key performance indicators (KPIs) are examples of your company’s services in action.
When done correctly, these examples of your work can chronicle the positive impact your business has on existing or previous customers and help you attract new clients.
To help you arm your prospects with information they can trust, we’ve put together a step-by-step guide on how to create effective case studies for your business — as well as free case study templates for creating your own. Get them using the form above, and then get creating using the steps below.
1. Get started with case study templates.
Telling your customer’s story is a delicate process — you need to highlight their success while naturally incorporating your business into their story.
If you’re just getting started with case studies, we recommend you download HubSpot’s Case Study Templates. Included are three plain-text and three designed templates to explain how your customers thrived while using your product or service.
2. Determine the case study’s objective.
All business case studies are designed to demonstrate the value of your services, but they can focus …read more
Source:: HubSpot Blog
