How to Create a Case Study
Case studies are the ideal way to show potential customers how valuable your products and services are by giving real-life examples of how they satisfy a need or help clients accomplish their goals.
They are also great ways to examine a problem, create a report on data gathered from an activity or event, or observe and investigate a specific person or group.
In this article, we are going to review what you need to include in your customer case study and how to create it with the Stormboard Case Study Template.
What is a case study?
Mainly used for research purposes, a case study looks at a specific case (real-life instances) in which there was an issue or something of importance occurring and what was done about it.
When used by companies that offer products and services, case studies are often used to show how a product or service helped or was beneficial to a consumer.
Reading through an example of a well-crafted case study can inspire ideas for your customer. Take this case study on how Stonewall Consulting owner Cameron Fraser uses Stormboard to facilitate meetings here.
Do I need a case study for my business?
Case studies are not essential for every business or product, but they are very useful for attracting more of your ideal customer for one important reason: Case studies tell the story of a problem being solved with your product or service, the same problem that your website visitor or Instagram follower is seeking a solution to.
What’s included in a case study?
The contents of a case study can vary from business to business, so a great place to start is looking through current positive customer feedback and identifying two or three common trends amongst customers.
Once you have solidified this information, you can then recruit happy customers who you think would be eager to share their story that fits within the particular trend. After nailing down their story, creating content for your active media channels and distributing their story will allow you to create opportunity for potential customers facing the same dilemmas.
Stormboard’s Case Study Template
The Case Study Template is where you can bring together all the data that you’ve gathered to create a clear and concise report that you can use to market your product or service, present to your executive team, or further your research.
The template is divided into 12 sections: Clients Business, Client Problem, Approach, Outcomes, Learning Points, Lasting Benefits, Tools & Techniques, Client Contact, Team Responsible, Fundamental Learnings, Photos or Screenshots, and Testimonials.
How to use the Case Study Template
Each section of the template guides you through a step in a real-life experience using your product or service.
Begin by identifying your client, what their business is, and what the main problem(s) or issue(s) were that they were trying to solve with your product.
Next, document the approach you took with the client to help resolve their problem, the outcomes your product/service provided to the client, and the learning points (what was learned from the experience of working with the client).
You’ll then want to identify the lasting benefits the client will have after working with you/has had since working with you, and the techniques you used to solve their issue(s). You can also provide insight on how much contact you had with the client (met with them every day, talked with them once or twice a week, etc.).
The team that worked on the case study can be identified if they consent to be mentioned — include this information in the team responsible section. Use the next section to provide any learning points the client took away from the experience and/or what future clients can take away if they also use your product or service.
And no case study would be complete without examples and testimonials from the clients that were involved with the study. Examples can include photos and/or videos that prove the work that took place so prospective clients can see the results of the process.
Testimonials are positive quotes (written, audio, or visual) that the client provides to endorse your product or service. These can help greatly with attracting new clients to your business. The quotes are usually posted on a website, on advertisements, or anywhere else a prospective client will be able to see them.
This template is ideal for companies and businesses that want to showcase their positive track record/reputation with past (or current) clients. If you have positive case studies, people will be more likely to want to work with you.
Are you interested in creating a case study with Stormboard’s template? Check out our FREE trial here.
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