How to Write a Case Study That Stands the Test of Time

What makes a good B2B case study? My team at Megawatt has written hundreds of B2B case studies over the years. We've dug deep on what it takes to write a case study that moves the needle — one that increases brand trust or even pushes sales over the finish line. The key components? 📊 Data your audience actually cares about You need numbers that tell a clear and compelling story about how your product / service has made an impact for the customer. The three key metrics, put simply: Time saved, money saved, money gained. This might take a different form for certain types of companies/products, but always try to tie it back to those foundational metrics. For example, our security clients' case studies often reference metrics like mean time to detect (MTTD) an incident. That's an important metric, and one that security teams pay close attention to (rightfully). But it's also important to extrapolate out. How does speeding up the time between an incident starting and being discovered save time and *money*? That's how you make sure the case study is compelling not just to security practitioners, but to their bosses and their bosses' bosses. 💪 A hero (hint: it's not you) It's tempting to make your company sound like the hero of the story, but you have to strike a fine balance here. The real hero is your customer. You are the tool or partner that helps them avoid negative outcomes and achieve their goals. Ideally, you want the voice of at least one real person to shine through in your case study. Describe their day-to-day challenges in a way that illuminates how difficult and important their role is. Then show how choosing and implementing your tool allowed them to accomplish their objectives and move the ball forward for their company. It's better to make them shine than to focus too much on *you* and *your tool,* because whoever is reading the case study needs to imagine themselves in the shoes of the hero (your customer). 📖 A story It follows from the above that, for a case study to be interesting and worth reading, there needs to be a story. It can be a simple story (problem-solution-outcome), but the more details and specifics you weave in, the more real and compelling the case study will sound. If you can write the case study more like a news article than a rote blow-by-blow, you're more likely to attract readers and keep them invested. Thoughts? What did I miss? Tell me in the comments!👇 #B2Bmarketing #B2BCaseStudies #CaseStudies #MarketingTips

Make your case studies organically searchable. By this I mean, putting them on your blog. Listen, you can have your case studies on that special section on your site and still have them optimized. But that’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m talking about turning those case studies with the same ole structure of: Challenge Solutions Results Into very actionable content for your blog. How do you do that? You focus on the HOW they achieved the results. You focus on the unique actions they took. The unique ways that they used your product. Most case studies focus on the results bc they think that’s what compels customers to convert. That’s not necessarily true. You see, most customers think they can figure out how to do the thing on their own. Or they have a hard time seeing what sets you apart from other brands in your space. Case studies turned into helpful, actionable articles help them to clearly see your differentiators. It also gives them a chance to see just how involved certain actions are. They’ll also see you as an expert at what you do, because you’re clearly explaining each step in a way they probably haven’t seen before. They learn to trust you. So how do you execute this? 1. Have a writer that knows how to position content at the bottom of the funnel. This is a skill. Not an automatic that comes with any writer. 2. Let that writer be part of the interview process. 3. Don’t focus too much on trying to get a certain outcome with the interview. A lot of interviews boil down to the same few questions when really, you should let the interview lead itself. If you’re talking with them and hear a nugget that sparks further conversation, or that you think audiences would want to hear more about… go with it. Too many times I’m going over transcripts and really wish they’d gone deeper on something. 4. Lead with HOW, instead of results. 5. Find all the ways they uniquely used your product. Did they customize anything? Did they use one of your features more successfully than other brands? Dig deep. 6. In writing the article, focus on explaining the how. Start with the results. Then go into how to achieve them. It’s a real game changer when you can nail it.

How to craft compelling case studies: Case studies are one of your most useful marketing and sales enablement tools. But most folks get them wrong. They aren't about bragging. They should be compelling. They should be enjoyable to read. They should teach me something. They should get me to visualize myself succeeding the way your client is succeeding. Here's how to do it: 1) Client: Be specific. One case study from a person or company who is like me is better than 10 case studies from people who aren't. 2) Problem: what were the problems they had before working with you? If the client is like me, there's a good chance their problems are my problems. Get me to feel it. 3) Impact: how did those problems impact their business? How did it impact them personally? Again, the goal is to visualize the pain of status quo. 4) Methodology: What is your "proprietary method" and how did it help them with their problem? Professionals with a methodology have done it before. Methodology creates trust. 5) Application: How did you specifically apply the methodology to their problem? What actions did you and they take? 6) Outcomes: What happened to their business as a result? What happened to them personally? If you can get specific with numbers, all the better. 7) Lessons: What are the lessons or high level principles someone reading this case study should take away? Teach me something. 8) Next Steps: How can I apply what I learned today? Don't just end with "work with me" - that's implied. And there's a good chance they'l want your help to put the plan into action. Compelling content doesn't leave me hanging with the problem - it shows me how to solve it. What did I leave out? What would you change? #professionalservices #professionalservicesmarketing