How to create a case that impresses every client

Marketing and sales teams who want to increase conversions will find a great case study a gold mine.

This is especially true for B2B, where potential clients want to see proof of long-term results from other companies before they make their buying decision. A complete B2B marketing strategy will require you to know how to create a case that clearly shows your company's ability and delivers.

Recent research has shown that 73% of B2B marketers use case studies in their content marketing strategies. It's important that your case studies stand out.

Here are 7 ways to create case studies that will impress your clients and increase conversions.

Quick Take-Aways

• Potential clients are most interested in case studies during the latter stages of their buyer journey.

• It is essential that case studies include specific details about the client, their problem, or need, as well as the solution.

• Real numbers, examples and testimonials can help you make your case studies more impactful.

• Visuals can make your case studies more memorable and engage.

• Your website's main navigation menu should include a list of case studies.

How do case studies fit into your buyer journey?

Understanding your buyer journey is key to creating a case study that delivers results.

Did you know that an average B2B buyer journey can last several months? Before reaching out to you, your customers conduct a lot of research online. Your content is convincing customers that you are the best choice.

A big part of this is case studies. You can better understand the motivations of your potential customers to seek out and read case studies so you can craft them in a way that makes an impact.

Marketers agree that case studies fall within the final stages of the buyer journey, the consideration and decision phases. These are the stages where you have already captured your leads. Now, you need to nurture and convert them.

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What does this mean?

These potential customers will likely be familiar with your company and what you do. This information doesn't have to be lengthy in case studies. Instead, you can get to the point and show how your services are able to deliver on your promises to clients.

How to make a case study that impresses your clients

Your case studies should be relatable

Case studies are designed to show how your services can be of value to clients by solving their specific problems and needs. This goal can be achieved by focusing on making your case studies relatable.

Consider your ideal client. What industry is this client from? What are their most pressing needs and problems when they contact you?

So that your potential client can relate to the case studies, you want to create them. They will trust you more if they feel the same.

You may have clients from many industries, with different needs and challenges that you can help. If this is the case then you should create case studies that represent a variety of clients and situations to ensure that you have something relevant to share with your potential buyers.

Be specific

When creating a case study, don't forget to include all the details. You must be as precise as possible, even if you are required to keep client confidentiality intact or provide certain information at client request.

These are the key areas that you should be as specific and precise as possible.

Your client

Be specific about your client.

Use their name if you are allowed to. If you are unable to use their name, please describe them as best as possible. If your client is Walmart, it would be impressive! Although you cannot say it directly, you could say, “One of the largest retailers in the world, with more that 2 million employees and thousands store locations throughout the country.”

Sometimes, even a description without a company name can reveal a client's identity. Talk to your client about their concerns regarding anonymity. Most cases will allow you to strike a compromise that preserves your client's privacy and provides strong context for your case study.

The problem or the need

Do not ignore the problem and get on to the results. While results are important, and we'll discuss them more later, the most relevant part of your case study for potential clients is the problem. When they read your case studies, you want them to say “Yes, this is exactly the problem we are dealing with!”

Results

Your case study will have more impact if you are specific in your discussion of results. To demonstrate results, use real numbers and metrics. Your company's value to your client should be clearly stated (e.g. What benefits do they now enjoy as a result of your work?

Tell the whole story

This is an important one. While case studies should be simple and clear, they must also tell the whole story. Begin with the first contact with the client, and continue the story through long-term results.

This is a brief overview of the most important components that every case study should contain:

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You may need patience to tell the whole story in your case study strategy.

Before you create a case study, wait until your client has actually experienced the results that you promised. You can update case studies that you have already written to include more information about your client and results over a longer period of time.

Remember that not all client-company relationships are linear. Do not be afraid to discuss any setbacks that you and your client have experienced. Consider it an opportunity for you to demonstrate how resilient you are and how you have found solutions to unexpected problems.

Clear results

The problem or challenge section in your case study might be the most relatable, but the results section is what clients care about most. The results section is where your brand's value and the solutions that you offer are demonstrated.

The culmination of your story is the results section. The results section should be built up and made a strong conclusion to all the other sections. Use real numbers and examples as evidence to show what you have achieved.

Your results section should not be unclear. Your results section should be a demonstration of how you can deliver on client expectations.

Include testimonials and quotes

This is what 97% of B2B customers said was the most trustworthy type of content: testimonials and peer recommendation. A 92% increase in B2B customers who have read a positive review are more likely than others to purchase. These are big numbers!

It is important to remember that even peer reviews can be trusted by consumers, so they will read many reviews before making a purchase decision.

In short, your case studies should include testimonials from clients.

Customers shouldn't be expected to believe what you say. Ask clients to provide testimonials about their experiences when you are working with them to create a case study. Your clients will understand why you are creating a case study and will most likely be willing to help.

Include strong visuals

Case studies are full of data and information. There is a lot of information to include and it is important. How can you make your case study easier to understand without omitting the most important content?

It's very simple: Make it visual.

Visual content is more effective than text content. Visual content can be used to highlight key points, make them more memorable, and increase the shareability of case studies.

Venngage offers some great visual case studies templates that you can use. The one below does a great job visually highlighting the results.

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Make a collection of case studies

Don't hide your work! You can create an online library of case studies that you have developed with clients over time.

This is the best and easiest way to do it. Add a page dedicated to case studies to your website. Highlight the most important case studies on your case studies page. Other ways to highlight your clients include including testimonials and logos on the page.

You can find inspiration on our case studies page.

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Case studies can help you reach your target audience and win them over

We would love to assist you in using case studies to reach new customers and engage them. Marketing Insider Group is a specialist in blog writing, subscription marketing strategy, and blog writing. Our proven strategies can help you elevate your content for better search engine rankings, increase your online traffic, or win the right customers.

The Content Builder Service provides clients with all the content they need in order to win new customers. Our team includes writers, strategists, and researchers who can create and promote the content that your audience wants. You can have case studies or other content added to your package.

To get started, schedule a quick consultation.