Increase Sales with Case Studies

By Jesse Hopps

Case studies are an excellent way to profile your target customers while
demonstrating how you solved their specific business challenge. They
are often used by Sales to illustrate how an organization has helped
clients in a similar industry, size, or other relevant demographic. Use
our downloadable Case
Study Template to save time & effort with building an
effective case study that can help you win more new business.

What is a Case Study?

A case study is a communication tool that outlines how an
organization solved a particular business challenge. Typically, case
studies include: the problem, analysis of alternatives, recommended
solution, implementation, and measurable results.

Case Study Best Practices:

• Always base your case study on an issue that has a significant
  impact on your target audience. What are the problems that your solution
  solves?
• Support your case study with hard numbers. Use charts, tables,
  figures or statistics where applicable to enhance your credibility, but
  don’t overload.
• Avoid using proprietary terms or technical jargon.
• Insert names, titles, and quotes from customers or partners
  involved.
• Communicate both the expected and achieved Return on Investment.

Action Plan:

1. Profile your Target Customer – every organization
   finds a sweet spot in the market that is particularly suited for their
   products/services. This demographic may be based on Annual Sales, or
   industry, or any other relevant characteristic. Identify a prototypical
   customer who had a very strong need for your solution.
2. Contact & Gain Permission – contact your target
   customer and ask them if they would be willing to work with you to
   complete a brief case study. They will need to provide you with a quote
   or testimonial and/or act as a reference.
3. Develop a Case Study Template – you may wish to
   build more than one case study, so keep them consistent. Use Demand
   Metric’s downloadable Case
   Study Template to quickly format your case study.
4. Complete & Sign Off – complete your case study
   and send a proof to the profiled customer for sign off. Never post or
   distribute a case study that has not been approved, as many companies
   restrict marketing collateral rights.
5. Launch your Case Study – ensure your case study is
   easily accessible to your Sales, Management, or Services staff. Consider
   sending your case study out in a company newsletter (internal or
   external) or to potential prospects. Be sure to post your case study on
   your corporate website under ‘Customers’.

Bottom-Line:

Case Studies can be a very effective method for strengthening your
relationship with key accounts, and increase new sales. As these don’t
need to take a long time to complete, consider developing a different
Case Study for each business problem your solution can solve.