Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
Case studies are like pure gold. They’re a super sneaky way to advertise via third party validation and indisputable proof your product has helped someone achieve an incredible goal.
But it’s even better than that. 👇
Studies increasingly show that Word of Mouth Marketing (“WOMM” if you’re one of those people who loves acronyms) is viciously effective. One study even showed that WOMM results in 5 times more sales than a paid media impression. 🤯
And the best part? Case studies are worth their weight in gold, offering exceptional value for the money.
Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
The price tag, of course.
Case studies are nothing more than customer experiences presented in a brilliant package. And that makes all the difference. Your customer is providing you the wine (quotes, comments and stats), but you get to control how it’s presented. It’s like WOMM on demand.
So, cork or screw top? Standard bottle or something hand-blown? Are we going with the classy label or “fun and fresh”?
Oh, and don’t forget the price tag!
We all know these accompanying elements subconsciously affect people’s perception of the wine’s flavor (…I mean other, less sophisticated, people of course), so we should be out-of-our-minds excited we get to create this same experience around our case studies.
Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
Because we’re thinking about them all wrong.
We think the point of the case study is to show how happy Joe Consumer was that he bought our bottle of wine. But it’s not.
Your customer doesn’t care about Joe (no hard feelings, Joe). They want to be Joe. They want to know if and how your product or service is going to work for them.
Here’s what marketers miss when ideating first thoughts for their case study outline: They need to understand that the goal of every paragraph, every sentence and every word should serve as a mirror in which their prospects can see themselves and their future success. (Sort of like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
And, just as importantly, we need to ruthlessly cut out anything that fogs this mirror.
Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
Because they shouldn’t have to.
You’ve hopefully heard by now that people make decisions based on emotion and then justify their decisions with logic. The people reading your case study have likely already made their decision emotionally, and now they’re looking for the logic to justify that decision.
Make it easy for them by providing skimmable content that supports their decision. Be thorough and be honest — but also be concise. You don’t want to turn them off by adding a lot of unnecessary information that isn’t relevant to their decision. Organize the content well, use bullets when possible and include a strong call to action.
Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
The main objective should be to establish a strong sense of trust in the social proof you’ve provided and his way they can tell themselves (or their boss) that “this thing worked for someone like us, and I’m sure it can work for us too!”
The sooner we can get them to that moment, the more likely we’ve given them a credible reason to trust our solution, because each wasted word is chance for them to tune out and click the next link.
Now that you have the right lenses on, let’s hop into the anatomy of a case study that’s worth your prospect’s time.
Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
Key point of contact / quotable key stakeholders
Why did the client choose your solution above everyone else in the market?
Client testimonials on how the product has changed their performance / mindset
Client’s challenge / what they’re looking to improve / baseline stats
Company’s solution / ideation through implementation / final results
Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
Most companies approach case studies retroactively (“Well, that one worked out well. We should make a case study out of it!”), but these case studies often turn out feeling stale.
Readers can tell it’s just a bunch of re-packaged afterthoughts. That’s why working with your sales team to procure case studies as they learn about new customer success stories, is a grade A+ strategy for designing and writing case studies that connect deeply to the types of problems prospective customers are facing.
Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
Everything you need to collect to gain exceptional results with your next customer story.
Focus on what makes the case study special. Need a flair for the specific.
When I worked at a startup, most companies told us they could “boost our revenue.” Literally everyone said that…but how?
Let’s be clear — the point of giving the background of the person or company you’re featuring is for your prospect person or company to find it relatable.
Make it hurt, but, again, make it relatable. E.g. “…which could mean life or death for a company in this industry”
Make sure you express “how easy it was” to get your solution implemented and provide *very light* details on how your target customer was able to integrate your solution.
Again, this isn’t about “your solution.” It’s about them achieving their desired result.
(If applicable). Try not to make this too corny, but use it as an option to show off what else is in your portfolio.
Influence this ahead of time.
Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
Embed them in your blog posts, eBooks and long-form assets as social proof to what your solution solves for your customers.
Add them as a pop-up for specific landing pages to validate presentation of your solution, by customers who are actually winning with it.
Make case studies a critical part of your sales enablement process through your one-sheeters, drip (email campaigns) and follow-up communication post demo calls.
Remind your employees of your top and latest case studies. Everyone doesn’t have the writing confidence to post on social media platforms such as LinkedIn so be sure to provide a couple sample posts to boost employee engagement and advocacy.
Rinse & repeat with updated data on product performance and customer satisfaction.
Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
So are you ready to take more thoughtful approach to writing your next B2B case study?
Here’s the quickest way to getting all your highlights in a one-sheeter outline: Grab our fillable one-sheeter PDF to jot down key points.
It’ll provide a snapshot of what’s most important to your prospects when it comes to featuring current customer success and give you the confidence you need to create marketing content that’s worth your future customers’ time.
Anatomy of a Killer B2B Case Study
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