Your marketing copy talks the talk. Your case studies should show how you walk the walk.
A great case study is a success story told by your customers. It convinces prospects to seek similar success by pressing that buy button.
But if your case studies are dry, corporate marketing? That shrink your customer to a single quote you clearly wrote for them? You’re wasting your biggest opportunity to persuade your prospect that you’re the right horse for their course.
Here’s how to turn your case studies into stories your prospects never forget.
After over a decade of writing case studies, I’ve learned to go face first.
Don’t worry, it’s not as painful as it sounds.
It just means I don’t write about a faceless brand, no matter how impressive that brand is. Instead, I write about a person who works at that brand. And I do this for two reasons: story and science.
Story-driven case studies get your prospects to imagine themselves as your customers, putting them one step closer to making that a reality.
Because stories put us in someone else’s shoes. They do that by making us empathise with that person. Empathy allows us to imagine what it would be like to be that person. We imagine what we would do in similar circumstances.
A face-first case study invites your prospect to put on your customer’s shoes. The customer has a similar job, faces a similar challenge, even uses similar language to them. Your prospect can easily empathise. And when your prospect sees the success your customer enjoys, they imagine what it would be like to enjoy similar success.
It leaves them imagining themselves as your customer. And it’s much easier to buy something you’ve imagined owning than something you haven’t.
“When your prospect sees the success your customer enjoys, they imagine what it would be like to enjoy similar success.”
Science says you should tell a story if you want to change someone’s mind.
Some clever boffins did a study where one group was told 3 million children were starving, and the other group was told that seven-year-old Rokia was starving. When both groups were asked to donate to Save the Children, those who had been told about Rokia donated 141.88% more.
That’s because facts are abstract. But personal experience feels real.
So yes, it’s super impressive if you worked with a big brand like Apple. But you’ll better convince your prospect if you tell them the story of how you helped Tim at Apple do his job better and impress his boss.
Story first. Facts second. Action spurred.
In short, ask them about it.
In my early days as a copywriter, I was tasked with writing up case studies based on a summary from the account manager and nothing else. So, I knew about the customer. I knew about their business. I knew some of what they were trying to achieve. I knew what we had done to help them.
But I didn’t know the small wins, the little details, the frustrations they never shared with us. All of which had helped bring them to our door.
And when you don’t know your customer’s whole story, you can’t tell it for them.
Which is how I learned how important it is to interview your customer for a case study. The customer will tell you their story and, more importantly, they’ll use the same language and talk the personal problems that mirror what your prospects are thinking.
It’s the difference between, “ACME Ltd couldn’t integrate their printers with their CRM” and “Bob was spending hours helping his colleagues print forms and didn’t have enough time to do his own job.”
The former is forgettable. The latter is relatable. It’s the latter that persuades prospects that your solution is the answer to their real problems, (as opposed to the competitor who can only talk about printer integrations.)
Which is why you want your customer’s own words. The honest, unguarded, organic words that come from a direct interview. Not the carefully curated paragraphs you get via email (or, worse, something massaged by ChatGPT.)
“You don’t know your customer’s whole story. So you can’t tell it for them.”
So an interview is key. But how do you get one?
So you know you need an interview. But your customers are busy people. How are you going to convince them to take part?
The secret is to start with the lovely ones. The ones always happy to take time out of their day for you. Always ready to do you a favour. If you asked for their dog, they’d at least consider it for a moment before saying no.
Approach these ones first and invite them to an hour-long interview.
“You want your customer’s own words. Honest, unguarded, organic words. Not carefully curated corporate quotes, and not something massaged by ChatGPT.”
Explain how you want to tell their story. To show how they took a challenge and turned it into an opportunity by working with you to create an even better service for their customers. To celebrate them and tell the world about them.
(One common objection I’ve seen is that customers don’t want to seem inept – that they couldn’t solve the problem without you. This is a matter of perspective: they are experts in what they do and, rather than try to do something outside their expertise, they hired the experts in what you do.)
And also tell them that they’ll get:
You might be less sure that other customers will want to be involved in a case study. Ask them anyway; you might be surprised. But if they’re not up for it, don’t push.
And don’t offer an incentive: people who don’t want to be interviewed give poor answers. Poor answers make for poor case studies which convince neither customer nor prospect. Leaving you stuck with no new customers and no good case studies.
Instead, just let them see the case studies you write about those lovely customers. Let them see how you champion your customers, how you create positive conversations about them and raise awareness of their brand.
You can even ask their opinion about your new case studies. “We’d appreciate your thoughts,” you can ask. “Does this case study speak to you?” Aside from slapping the case studies right in front of them, you can also gather some valuable feedback.
And if they change their minds, invite them to that interview.
And when you’ve got them on the call? What do you do then?
“Let. Them. Talk.”
The most important thing is to
Let.
Them.
Talk.
Because you are here to learn what you don’t know. And you don’t know what you don’t know. So act like you know nothing.
This can often feel uncomfortable. After all, you don’t want to see ignorant in front of your customer. But if you’re too eager to look knowledgeable, you can end up talking for your customer, which negates the point of the interview.
That’s how I learned to start every call with a variation of this introduction:
“I’m going to ask questions that might sound a bit stupid. I’m doing this because I want to make sure I’m not telling your story with any false assumptions, and I want to understand your perspective on things so I can tell your story properly.
“With that in mind, here’s my first stupid question: who are you and what do you do?”
I nearly always build on this question by asking for more about their background. Part of this is to set the customer at ease: it sets a tone of friendly curiosity, especially when you’re engaged and interested in what they’re saying.
It’s also a potentially fruitful area for the case study. Because an off-hand comment or tangent can be the key to the entire narrative. They can also reveal little details about the way they use the product or service, little benefits, or even fundamental ideas about the business that you had no idea about. Because these things seem either trivial or obvious, so they don’t mention them to you.
“Asking your customer “stupid” or “irrelevant” questions gives them an opportunity to tell you what you don’t know.”
But interviewing the compliance manager revealed he used to be in the army and has a strong philosophy around secrets, which was a fantastic framing device for a case study around data security.
And interviewing the operations manager revealed he only got the job on secondment and managed to use my client’s software to demonstrate what a great job he was doing and secure the position permanently.
And interviewing the training manager revealed she was using the app in a way my client hadn’t expected, revealing a use case they hadn’t much considered before.
Remember, you don’t know what you don’t know. Asking your customer “stupid” or “irrelevant” questions gives them an opportunity to tell you what you don’t know.
Hot tip: I use transcription tool called Otter.ai which means I can focus on the conversation instead of trying to scribble notes at the same time. The transcription itself is obviously not perfect, but Otter records the audio too so it’s easy to figure out what was actually said when the software gets confused!
* Perfection isn’t believable. Hiccups happen. Showing showing how you overcome them gives the prospect confidence you can help solve problems.
** Curating the right customers saves your sales team time and makes sure you’re not attracting prospects that won’t like your brand.
They have a story to tell. But so do you.
Tangents are potentially fruitful, but don’t forget to stay on track. After all, you have your own goals for this case study. So sometimes you’ll need to steer the conversation. Here’s some phrases I use:
“Let me jump back to…”
“I’d like to hear your perspective on…”
“This seems like a good point to talk about…”
Or even, “I’m conscious of time and I’d really like to talk about…”
And, of course, there’s always a “stupid” question to get the customer talking about something I want to hear about.
Don’t be afraid to nudge the customer into different territory. They know why they’re on the call to talk about your work together. I’ve never had a single customer begrudge a nudge!
“They have a story to tell. But so do you.”
Here’s the most important thing to remember while writing the case study: you are the sidekick. The customer is the hero in this story.
And that story should follow the Soul in a Hole format:
Fortunately, the most common and boring case study structure (almost) follows this same journey: Challenge, Solution, Results. If you’ve been using this structure, congratulations: like Bon Jovi, you’re halfway there. But instead of living on a prayer that your prospect will care, live on decent storytelling.
“Imagine you’re a journalist writing up a celebrity interview. That’s kind of the vibe you’re going for.”
Write about your customer’s background and how they came to the point where they faced their challenge. Explain how they came across you. Why they chose you. How you helped them. What their life is like now.
Display the customer’s name and face whenever you can. Aside from establishing them as the hero, it helps reassure the prospect the customer is a real person (I like to link to the customer’s LinkedIn profile too.)
And use the customer’s words. A lot. Not just a little quote at the end. Liberally scatter their words throughout the piece. Your voice should only be heard to explain details, background, or to create the connective tissue between your customer’s words.
Imagine you’re a journalist writing up a celebrity interview. That’s kind of the vibe you’re going for.
To that end, don’t be afraid to slightly edit, reword, or combine quotes. Not only will your customer will be signing off on it all anyway, but knowing you’ll tidy up their words will give your customer confidence if they’re not sure about being quoted.
(Don’t massage their words too much, though. The informal, even slightly grammatically incorrect vibe adds to the feeling of authenticity.)
Once you have your case study, use and abuse it.
Share it on socials. Not just once, but multiple times: pick some of your customer’s best quotes and share them alongside a photo of them. Got some good clips from the video call? Share them too! Just remember the tone you’re looking for: you’re celebrating your customer’s success, and you’re glad you could help.
Email your customers about it. Was there a surprising use case, benefit or result in the case study? Ask your other customers: is this the case for you too? Maybe you’re about to learn something new about your entire customer base.
Quote your case study everywhere. Web copy, articles, pitch decks, blogs, email footers, brochures, adverts. This case study is gold because it’s your customer telling everyone you’re great. Roll it out at every opportunity!
And don’t forget to share it with the customers who didn’t agree to be interviewed. Ask for their thoughts and feedback. Even if they don’t leap at the chance to get involved, it’s a way to open up a conversation and maybe gain some insights you didn’t have before.
And if they say something fantastic? Ask if you can quote them. You never know: they might not be up for a full-blown case study, but they might be happy for you to use a quote they’ve already provided.
So there you are. A decade’s worth of experience in just 2,500 words. And now you know how to go make your case studies righter. Good luck!
And don’t worry if you’re feeling uncertain. I’ve had the benefit of learning all of this in bits and pieces, building it all up into something. Trying to entirely change your case study approach, practice, and implementation all at once is no small thing!
If you’re not sure where to begin, I’d start with a proof of concept. Interview that lovely customer we already talked about. They’ll be understanding, patient, and forgiving, so you don’t have to worry if your interview technique isn’t perfect. They’ll also be happier to take a look at some different drafts as you practice the writing side.
If you can’t get started before selling the idea internally, I’m in your court. Sometimes, stakeholders listen more to an external voice. It can be frustrating, but bringing that voice in can get the job done. Alternatively, you can use a freelancer to execute a proof of concept from start to finish, both conducting the interview and writing up the case study. Then you have a finished article to show those stakeholders and sell them on your new approach.
If you have any questions, you know where to find me. Otherwise, off you pop. Go tell your customer stories and get your case studies righter.
