How to write a case study | Crisp Content

B2B Writer Secrets: How to Write a Killer Case Study

How do you showcase the amazing products and services your B2B company offers, without it sounding like a sales pitch?

Have you thought about a case study? Case studies are incredible at building trust and credibility with prospects. They demonstrate the very best of your company - and enable prospects to envision what it would be like to work together.

After writing (many!) case studies, these are this B2B case study writer's top tips.

Top 9 tips for writing incredible B2B case studies

1. Frame your case study as a story

The best case studies are stories. They take your reader on a journey - that showcases how your organization helped a company just like theirs overcome a challenge.

A simple formula to follow is:

  • Background (company + client)
  • Challenge(s)
  • Approach
  • Results
  • Testimonial

2. Keep it short

With our ever-shortening attention spans, we have just a couple seconds to catch someone's interest. Maximize the readability of your case study with these tips:

  • Keep your case study to 1-2 pages
  • Break up text into dedicated sections, i.e. Challenge, Approach, Results
  • Use plenty of white space to enable your reader to easily see and process the important text

3. Interview your customer

I’ve found that live interviews lead to the best case studies. The real-life chatter leads to a richer story, compared to sending a list of questions and having someone email their responses back.

Before the interview, I make a list of questions that will lead the conversation. I ask questions in a way that encourages responses that reinforce product or service features the company wants to highlight.

4. Include quantifiable metrics

Did you increase something? Decrease something? What numbers are associated with the work you’ve done? Being able to say, revenue increased from X to Y is significantly stronger than ‘we successfully increased revenue’.

5. Get a testimonial

After a successful engagement/project, most customers are happy to share a few kind words. The key is simply to ask.

However, some are hesitant to agree. When this happens, I offer to write something up and have them tweak it. This option is usually greeted with a smile and a sigh of relief.

Just make sure you get permission to use their name, title, and company name before you publish the case study. If that's not possible, you can always list a title and type of company instead.

For example:

  • W Coyote, VP of Sales at Anvils-R-Us becomes
  • VP of Sales, Global Manufacturing Firm

6. Use great, real photos

If you spend any time on the internet you see the same stock photos on repeat. Real photos are a great way to showcase who your company really is – the smiling employees, the helpful staff. Let your prospects see your real company.

7. Include contact info

Feature your logo, colors, and contact information on your case study. This helps the reader easily glance at the doc, absorb your information, and intuitively know what to do next.

8. Make it pop

Imagine a magazine without pictures. Case studies are a blend of facts and design. Making your content pop with rich images and powerful metrics helps your reader easily understand and appreciate your value.

If you don't have a graphic designer on staff, I highly recommend Canva for easily making case studies that pop or hiring the creative firm Evolve Creative.

9. Amplify your case study

Case studies are excellent sales enablement tools. They empower your sales team to clearly show how your products and/or services help your customers.

In addition to equipping your sales team:

  • Share your case studies with your organization
  • Post to your social pages
  • Add to your website

Free B2B Case Study Template

Grab your free case study template here: How to Write a Case Study Template. Simply fill in the information, change the colors/logo, and update the pictures.

Have a question? Want some help?

I've written a ton of B2B case studies. If you have a question, let me know.

... Or if you would like for someone (anyone!) else to write instead of staring at a blank page, I'd love to write your case study!

Book a quick chat

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