case study format

As we explain in the Structured Writing Method™, the structure of a document is determined by its objective. And although all case studies exist to add credibility to marketing messages, it’s also true that they are used in different parts of the sales funnel to very different effect. This matters because it can have a significant impact on the structure of the ideal document.

So, how do you decide which format is best for your specific objectives? Here, we’re going to explore a range of  alternatives, and how each case study format can be used to help you achieve different marketing goals.

Perhaps the most common form of case study is the linear-narrative, case study. At Writing Machine we call these ‘supporting’ case studies because they are intended to provide support for sales.

These case studies tend to be rather formulaic and typically follow a variant of the following structure:

  • Who was the client?
  • What was their problem?
  • What was the solution?
  • What were the business benefits / results?
  • Conclusion / plans for the future

It’s a format that works very well when companies are interested in you and your products. And that is the case towards the bottom of the sales funnel when you’re seeking to add credibility to sales situations.

This format can also work reasonably well in publications aimed at a captive audience – that is, when the readership is familiar with your company and would generally be interested in your products.

This structure does not, however, have the flexibility you need if you want to catch the attention of a reader who isn’t interested in either your company or what you contribute to the world in terms of products or services. Neither is it the case study format to choose if you’re trying to use a credibility message to persuade a reader to change their mind about something.

When you’re trying to grab the attention of people who are not interested in you or your products you are, essentially, facing an evangelical challenge.

Unlike a supporting case study, ‘evangelical’ case studies assume that the audience is psychologically programmed to hear things that are specifically aimed at them. Written more in the style of a magazine article, they take a generic subject which you believe to be of interest to your reader. This means your story will resonate with your audience – and at this point it is relatively straightforward to introduce your client which just so happens to have found a solution using, as it happens, your products and/or services.

Because these stories assume no knowledge of your company on the part of the reader, they work extremely well for PR purposes, inclusion in magazines and in DM campaigns. They are also ideal for combining messages about success with thought leadership when communicating to a senior CxO audience.

Some organisations are lucky enough to be able to produce ‘business case’ documents. These are in-depth, business-level studies – typically of at least 10 pages in length – which are designed to make a compelling business case to board level individuals for choosing your organisation. They also tend to produce great raw material for inclusion in bids and tender documents.

The conditions for writing a business case have to be just right. At Writing Machine Agency, we’ve produced a number of these for our clients, but we only write them when they fulfil four important criteria:

  1. Our client has the opportunity to make a board-level sale
  2. Our client has a really ‘big name’ customer they wanted to write about
  3. That customer has been involved in a very interesting and very high profile story
  4. The story ties in well with our client’s competitive positioning at the corporate or campaign level

It’s no good producing a business case document if you can only fulfil one of these criteria. For example, if you’ve just got a big name, so what? Lots of companies do. If it’s a really interesting story but no-one’s heard of the company, it’s perhaps not worth the effort. And if the story doesn’t reinforce any of your competitive messages, then why bother?

Which case study format is right for you?

If you’re not sure which case study format you need, then why not follow the flow chart below?

Ultimately, whichever case study you choose must be fit for your purpose if it’s going to be effective. Don’t let yourself be constrained by how you think your case study should be written. To get the greatest value from your written investment, think hard about your story, your prospects and what you want your case study to achieve, before you decide how to write it.

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Read more about case studies:

Writing a case study: the most common pitfalls

Case studies: the art of credibility

Kristel Brown is the Operations Director at Writing Machine.

case study format

If you or your marketing team are writing lots of case studies, you might be interested in the blended learning version of our Structured Business Writing training course. The course is based on the Structured Writing Method and is customised for each team to focus on the particular documents that they need help with.

Meanwhile, Writing Machine Agency has been writing case studies or running credibility programmes for many of the world’s largest companies for nearly 30 years. If you want to chat about how we create such content so that it can be used in all your sales and marketing channels, please get in touch.