When making a bigger purchase, you want to feel confident that you’ve weighed up your options and that the final product or service you’re going with is right for you.
This is especially true for B2B buyers, who follow a long and complex purchase journey, which often requires input from multiple people at their company.
The 2022 Content Preferences Survey, which was based on data from a survey of 174 executives, found that 62% of B2B buyers engage with three to seven pieces of content before contacting a salesperson.
As prospects seek information about your product or service to determine whether it’s what they’re looking for and whether to enquire to find out more, case studies paint a clear picture of how it looks in action and establish greater credibility.
While any company can say they have a great offering, a well-written case study that showcases your past successes and clients’ real experiences in their own words shows that your claims aren’t just sales talk – they’re the reality.
However, if you’re going to write case studies, there are a few key areas you want to get right to ensure you tell your clients’ stories effectively, make their testimonials shine, positively represent your company and leave a lasting impact on prospects.
1. Tell the whole story
When writing a case study, avoid only focusing on the outcome. Instead, make sure to clearly show where your client was in the beginning and the strategies that got them to the final result.
Here’s a quick guide for the structure of a case study that ticks all of the boxes:
- Provide some background on the client. This is a brief introduction to their business that gives readers context with relevant information, such as their area of expertise.
- Identify the problem they were facing. This is the driving force behind why they decided to purchase your product or service.
- Clearly state the objective or what they specifically wanted to achieve through working with you.
- Determine any additional challenges and complex elements of the project that the client was concerned about or believed were setting them back.
- Establish the solution, which is the specific product or service that your company was able to provide in this instance.
- Detail the implementation of this solution, including what it involved and any comments the client shared about how they found this process. Mention any ways that you made the process easier for them, and make sure to discuss specific strategies to avoid being too vague.
- Share the outcome, being as specific as possible. Refer back to the main objective and ensure you only include information the client is comfortable with sharing, especially if you’re planning to include profit figures or similar.
2. Make it easy to read
When you’re writing a case study, you want to make sure the reader has all of the most important information clearly laid out so that they can quickly and easily understand the context of the project, how it progressed and the outcome.
The goal is to present your case study in a way that’s accessible and reader-friendly for your target audience.
One of the best ways to do this is by using a clear and concise structure, which uses headers, subheadings and bulleted points to break up the text and make it more scannable.
Opt for shorter sentences and break down large paragraphs into smaller ones for each specific point. This makes your writing easier to follow, prevents information overload and improves readability.
It’s also best to avoid using jargon-heavy or overly formal language and instead aim for clarity and simplicity to create a more approachable tone.
3. Write from your customer’s perspective
Showing your client’s perspective is what case studies are all about. B2B buyers are reading because they want to hear your customer’s stories in their words.
Avoid making the case study about your company and getting too sales-focused – this is an opportunity to let your customer’s experience speak for itself.
Include plenty of direct quotes throughout your case study to establish credibility and make it more relatable. As potential clients read the case study, there may be certain viewpoints they resonate with, such as concerns your client had before starting the project. Hearing how they navigated these in their own words can address hesitancies by showing readers how they can do the same, which ultimately makes prospects more likely to take the next step in the buyer journey.
Get in touch for assistance with B2B content marketing
At The Lead Agency, we are an experienced B2B marketing firm that has worked with various industries across the B2B sector. If you’re interested in developing an effective B2B content marketing strategy, get in touch with us today.
