"This product is amazing!"

"Your service is the best!"

"I am thrilled by this experience!"

Testimonials like this sound nice and they make you feel awesome, but they really don't tell potential customers very much. Potential customers need to know HOW a product or service can help them. A string of generic (albeit glowing) adjectives does not achieve that. That’s the limitation of the testimonial: it’s something the customer writes and the majority of people don’t like to write. Sure, you could ask your customers to write something more specific, something that shows in greater detail how you helped them. But they’re busy, and do you really want to annoy them by asking for essays? Fortunately, there’s another option. Case studies allow you to showcase your strengths in a meaningful, tangible way. Let me break it down so I can show you just how effective case studies can be.

Section 1 of a Case Study: the Customer’s Problem

The number one reason why anybody buys anything is this: to solve a problem. Your marketing copy should present your brand as the solution to your customers’ problems, but before you can do that you have to demonstrate a solid understand of what the client’s problem is. In a case study, the first thing you should do is describe a specific problem that one of your customers had. Here’s an example: (please note, this is entirely fictional) The Halcyon Sugar Plant in Mora, Minnesota, had a dust collection system that was very old and out of date. In many parts of the plant, it failed to do its job altogether, causing sugar dust to be a constant presence. The risk of a dust explosion was very high. The owners of HSP wanted to replace the old system with something specifically designed to mitigate explosion risk and protect the health and safety of their workers. They also wanted it done as quickly as possible, with minimal downtime. That’s why they called us, Dust Explosions Stoppers, Inc.

Section 2 of a Case Study: Your Solution

In a screenplay, every description has to be something the reader can see. For example, in the text of a screenplay, you won’t see “Tim is lazy” because that statement is vague. It forces the actors and director to do the extra work of deciding what ‘lazy’ looks like. Instead, a screenplay will say, “Dirty dishes are stacked up in Tim’s sink. His clothes are strewn in random places all over the apartment. He’s stretched out on the couch watching an informercial. He reaches for the remote but gives up because it’s too far away.” Can you see how much more impactful that example is? When writing a case study, think like a screenwriter. SHOW potential customers how you helped solve a problem. Example: Dust Explosion Stoppers performed a thorough evaluation of the Halcyon plant. We noted areas that posed the most explosion risk and drew up plans accordingly. We created a configuration of dust collection systems specifically designed to address the plant’s layout. With a 20-person crew, we installed the systems overnight while the plant was offline. After the installation was complete, we ran several tests to ensure that it was working properly and that there were no weaknesses in the system.

Section 3: the Customer’s Reaction

Again, you do not want to tell your readers, “The customer said it was awesome.” You want to show how your customer benefitted after receiving your product or service. Last example: In the morning, the Halcyon Sugar Plant owners and workers were bowled over when work began, and they noticed how clean the air in the plant was – for the first time in decades!

Focus on Case Studies

By now, you should see why case studies are better than testimonials (if not I haven’t done a very good job on this post.) Testimonials tell. Case studies show. Showing is powerful. There are some drawbacks with case studies. They take time and sometimes customers have non disclosure agreements, which make it a little more difficult. But we’ll address that in a future post. If you want to write up case studies for your website but don’ t have the time or need help getting started, let us know. We can help. Photo credit: Sakura sorral via Foter.com / CC BY