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TESTIMONIAL
"Thanks, Karen, for doing such a good job on this case study. It's really gone over well internally — which is an achievement in itself. And we're confident that it will be a great tool for our sales team. You've elevated our case studies to a new level with really engaging copy that really captures the high caliber of professionalism that clients experience when they work with Prudential — in specific ways that are not always easy to convey."
View Karen's most recent ClickZ columns on B2B Email Marketing.
Current & Archived Newsletters
- Volume 3, Issue 2 - June, 2007
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Case Study How-To's
Case studies are powerful marketing tools — especially for those of us in service businesses.
We can all say we offer "quality service" and "professionalism", but those words get tired and trite with repeated use. A case study demonstrates these characteristics in action — and in the words of our own clients, which of course, is the most credible copy of all.
Case studies can be used by your sales staff to introduce your company to a client — or as a leave-behind after a meeting. They can be featured on your website or offered in an email as an incentive. They can also be sent to your PR department and the media to get the word out about your successes.
So if case studies are so valuable and indispensable — why don't we generate one about every successful project we work on? Because they take time to write — and often require client buy-in and permission to publish.
Recently, I've been writing case studies for Prudential Financial about the retirement solutions they manage for large and midsize organizations. Prudential has been extremely happy with the quality of the case studies, which really brought the value of their superior customer service, financial acumen, and communications strategies to light. And so, I thought I'd step back — and retrace my own steps to see what made these case studies go over so well:
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Download a PDF of the Case Study
- Well-Prepared Creative Brief: My client sent over a great creative brief — detailing the background of the project — and the overall message the case study should center around. For example, she would tell me "This is a great story about how Prudential helped a client consolidate a number of plans into one" or "This case study really shows our communications expertise." Understanding the key message gave me a direction to hone in on during interviewing, research, and in the writing.
- Preparing Interview Questions in Advance: This is probably the most critical part of the process. It's important for the copywriter to write out the questions, run them by the client, and then send them to the interviewees prior to the call so that they can prepare their answers. Some of the questions I like to ask:
- What were the initial reasons for selecting this company as a provider?
- What challenges did you face prior to working with this company?
- What were the goals you were looking to achieve?
- Now that you have experienced working with the company, what has been your experience?
- On a scale of 1 to 5 (with five being the highest grade), how would you rate the experience?
- What has impressed you most about working with the company?
- Are there any notable experiences that really stand out in your mind?
- If you had a colleague looking for a provider, would you recommend this company and what would you say that you think would be the convincer?
- How has working with the company helped you on a day-to-day basis? Has your job gotten easier?
- Did upper management and other key stakeholders buy-in to your decision immediately? How do they feel about working with the company now?
- What quantifiable results can you share about the success of this project?
- Do you see this partnership expanding in the future, and if so, in what ways?
- Of course, in each case, there are more specific questions to be asked, but these general questions are great for producing the really positive "sound bites" you will want to highlight in the case study.
- Equally important, before you get on the phone, find out from your client the questions NOT to ask. There may be sensitive "land mines" that you should avoid at all costs. If you feel that the service issues are going to come up during the call, you may want to have other questions planned to divert the conversation quickly away to a more positive train of thought. You may also want to have a client relationship manager on the call with the copywriter so that if the discussion goes down the wrong road, it can be put back on track.
- Record the interviews (with permission) and take notes anyway. I have a small digital tape recorder that plugs into the phone. But like all technology, it's not failsafe. I find it's important to test the recorder out before a call — and then to still take notes like crazy during the discussion just in case the audio quality isn't right. I have my assistant immediately transcribe the interview — and then review my notes to fill in any of the inaudible parts. The beauty of taping the interview is that you capture your interviewee's thoughts in their own words — which makes the copy much more believable. It is also often very difficult to take notes at the speed at which people speak — particularly if you are conducting a group interview with a number of people chiming in at the same time and completing each other's sentences.
- Write the case study like a story — with an engaging lead. Many case studies that are written internally tend to be as dry as dust. It's a miracle anyone reads them. I guess the feeling is that they have to be "business-like" rather than interesting. Yet, if you look at the Wall Street Journal or the other popular business magazines, the articles always start off with a compelling lead that captures the readers' attention. That's the level of writing to strive for.
- What I generally find works best is to start the copy at the place where the reader is now — either by starting with a popular misconception or a current challenge. For example, in a case study for Scottsdale Healthcare, a Prudential client, the lead captured a common industry perception that has been proven wrong, "In theory, giving employees the choice of investment options in a retirement savings plan seems like a great thing. But in reality, having too many options can be overwhelming. And as a result, many employees decide to do nothing — the most financially disastrous decision of all."
- Once you have the introduction established, lead the reader through the highpoints of the case study — in priority order — recognizing that it is unlikely they will read the whole story. It's important to break up the copy with benefit-oriented subheads — and to sprinkle actual client quotes in the copy to keep it interesting. In fact, I try to make the client testimonials tell the whole story — and just write copy as bridges and transitions between their comments, since whatever they say is usually better and more believable than any copy I can cook up.
- Summarize key points in sidebars and editorial panels. On the first page of a case study, you should always have a prominent callout box that highlights the main challenge and results — to help the reader self-identify whether this case study is applicable to their situation. On subsequent pages, sidebars and callout boxes should highlight all key points — so that if the reader never gets to the main copy, they still get the gist of it.
- Match the case story to the prospective client's needs. Don't forget that while a case study trumpets your achievements, it's not really about you. It's about conveying to prospective clients that you can meet their needs. So when writing the copy, think about what your prospect needs to know in order to be convinced that you provide a real and credible solution to their current challenges — and that they can recommend you to their own bosses for further consideration.
- Don't Forget the "Call to Action". Remember, the case study is a sales tool. So you want to give your prospect an easy way to get in touch with you should they want to take the discussion further.
When the copywriter has written a first draft of the copy, it should be reviewed by everyone in contact with the client to make sure it is on strategy — and that any potential problems with the copy are removed or fixed. Once it's determined to be pitch-perfect internally, only then should it be sent to the client for approval.
Some real-world tips on what to expect during the case study experience:
Not all case studies are ready for prime time. Before ever approaching a client about a case study, check with your relationship managers to make sure that 1) the client is super-happy with their experience and 2) that there are no outstanding service issues that need to be addressed. If you don't feel the client is in a position to enthusiastically talk about their experience, do not proceed further until client satisfaction is where it needs to be. On the other hand, if the client is over-the-top happy at this point in time, strike while the iron is hot — since everything in business is subject to change.
Have realistic timeframes for interviewing and writing.
- Synchronizing phone interviews internally and on the client side can take time — even a few weeks depending on everyone's schedules. And interviews are frequently canceled and postponed.
- Transcribing interviews can take 2 or 3 times the length of the interview itself.
- Once the interviews are completed, writing the first draft of the case study can take a week or two, depending on the length of the story, the amount of additional research needed, and the writer's workload. Subsequent drafts can usually be turned around in a few days.
Looking to make your case studies really shine? Call Karen for a case study "makeover."