Benefits of Case Studies

by Bradley Nice, Content Manager at ClickHelp — all-in-one help authoring tool

Technical writers communicate complicated technical information to an audience in a simple and efficient manner. Sometimes a case study is what can help with this task. A case study is a story-based structure, a research methodology that describes how a customer or business problem was overcome by using a business, product, or service.

Benefits and Disadvantages of Case studies

A case study can have both strengths and weaknesses. Since it takes time and energy to create a case study, you should consider the pros and cons before deciding if this type of study is appropriate for your needs. The benefits of case studies are the following:

• Collects large amounts of information
• Builds brand trust and loyalty
• Helps formulate hypotheses
• Discovers new insights into a subject
• Engages customers through stories

On the negative side:

• Responses from interviews are subjective
• Subjects may tailor responses to the researcher
• Studies can’t always be replicated
• In certain industries, analyses can take time and be expensive

Although, these limitations may vary according to the industry.

How to Write a Case Study

A case study creates a story around a brand partnership. To makes this reading engaging, the following tips can help:

• Diversification. Depending on the target industry, the style and focus of your case study should be tailored for the potential customers. Use stats that pertain to that type of user or business. Use relevant jargon. Try to focus on how your product has helped out that customer and their work so that other potential customers in the same segment can relate.
• Captivation. No person wants a long boring text or enter their email to download the content. Your case study should be easily accessible and easy to read. A short page on your site will do. Make the case visually interesting with photos, screenshots, GIFs, or videos. The text should be kept to a minimum, focusing on your customer’s words — they hold much more weight than yours.
• Relevance. Display your case studies prominently on your site. Whenever users come to your site, there should be a clear way to see your product’s success. For example, include links to your case studies in your blogs. Have precise CTAs and compelling data or quotes from your case studies. Present logos of clients on your homepage and other pages. Your product will look legitimate and communicate value through the validity from other companies.
• Rotation. Case studies should not just be a simple page on your site. You want to make case studies work. They may serve more purposes outside your website. You can share statistics, quotes, or customer testimonials from a case study. Use these to get new customers and keep current ones.
• Actionability. Inspire action with your case study. Customers should understand what to do next with CTAs, and the next steps should be clearly outlined. Ask them to schedule a demo or invite them to sign up for a free trial. Create specified pop-ups for customers. Multiple CTAs are also helpful in boosting engagement and ensuring that customers don’t just bounce out.

Conclusion

A case study brings the understanding of a complex issue or object; it is applied in different disciplines. The main point to remember is that case studies are real — based on actual events with actual customers. So they’re more believable to people straightaway.

People love to read stories about other people. If you can tell them how you’ve helped them solve a problem, they can relate to it — because they’ve got the same problems. The words and results of your current users are probably your most powerful marketing and sales tool. Case studies help you summarize that value. They are an excellent tool for analyzing brands.

Have a nice day!

Bradley Nice, Content Manager at ClickHelp.com — best online documentation tool for SaaS vendors