One of my favorite marketing books is Crossing the Chasm, by Geoffrey Moore. If you haven’t read it, buy a copy right now and read it. It will change your view on how to market your products and services to consumers. One of his key points is to generate client stories. Hearing a peer speak highly of your product is one of the best ways to convince a prospect to purchase.
There are many different ways to create case studies. Some people claim that they should be short (500 words) others claim they should be long. It really depends on how you plan on using them. If your goal is to drive greater traffic to your site, you will need something with adequate keywords in it, so longer may be what you need. If your sales force is just looking for something to share with prospects, you could go with a shorter, scannable version of a case study. I don’t think there is a “one-size-fits-all” formula for them. In my experience of writing dozens and dozens of case studies, there are a few things that should be included:
- About the Client
- The Challenge
- The Solution
- The Results
- Call-to-Action
Everything else is just filler because most prospects are going to skim it looking for relevant information and results. Here are some case study examples and resources to help you out.
Case Study Template (HubSpot)
How to write a Case Study (Zapier)
Ultimate Marketing Case Study Template (Curata) [NOTE: Be sure to scroll down on this one to see the Bitly example. Or just click here.]