Writing a case study: the four most common pitfalls

 

Case studies are some of the most important marketing documents. But to write a good one, you’ve first got to know how to spot a bad one, says Kristel Brown, Operations Director, Writing Machine.

There is an intimate relationship between writing and reading. If you want to improve your writing it’s often a good idea to start to become more critical in your reading.

Take, for example, case studies. Most people who write them are also familiar with reading them. (Or not, because sometimes they’re just too dull – but more of that later.)

Once you start to take a more critical view of case studies and testimonials, a number of common pitfalls soon begin to emerge. And once you become aware of the common problems, it’s easy to avoid them when you come to produce your next case study.

The case study reveals a confused objective

As we teach in the Structured Writing Method™, the key to success for any good document is to start with ‘objective setting’. Case studies are no different. So what is a case study for?

Some say that case studies are a chance to show off your breadth of capabilities by saying ‘we did this’ and ‘we did that’. And although there’s clearly some merit in this, the pedants amongst us would say that this isn’t strictly speaking an objective; this isn’t what you spend your time and money writing a case study for.

Neither is the objective to wax lyrical about your favourite, internationally-famous big-name client. Indeed, although big names certainly add an important level of credibility and trust, it’s often possible to write highly powerful case studies using clients that few have ever heard of.

So let’s be clear: the objective of a case study is to add credibility to your marketing messages. It’s one thing to claim that you have the world’s best widget; it’s quite another to prove it with a case study. (It also means that if you haven’t clarified your marketing messages it’s rather too early to start writing any marketing materials, including case studies.)

The case study includes a challenge and a solution – but hardly any results

There are very different structures that can be used for case study writing depending upon what you’re hoping to achieve. However, in the classic form which is suitable for supporting product sales activities, there is a widely held convention that starts with articulating the customer challenge, discussing the solution (your product or your service) before outlining the great transformative results that you were able to deliver to your customer.

But if you see this case study, have a look at the results and ask yourself just how good and impressive are they? If you wish to improve your writing, this is a time to become a cynical reader.

Are these improvements really as impressive as they seem to indicate or are they, in fact, the very least that could be expected by any company offering that kind of product or service? If the benefits are indeed impressive, is there any proof? Hard facts are hard to deny.

The case study doesn’t contain a single customer quote

The old adages are often the best. There is certainly much wisdom in the old saying that ‘nobody sells your business better than your customers’. And in marketing communications, the dedicated home for customer quotes is the proverbial case study.

At Writing Machine we often come across companies that produce case studies without interviewing their customers and without getting customer quotes. And when we read these, we notice this fact.

To be fair, sometimes this is because the company operates in a sensitive sector and customers simply don’t want to talk on the record about how they are achieving competitive advantage. But as a rule of thumb, customer quotes should be regarded as essential for any case study.

Without quotes, all you’re saying is: “We think we’re great!” And how does that prove anything?

The case study is simply (and there’s no easy way to say this) boring

And so back to the case studies I warned you about: these case studies can be recognised by their use of long and complex words and sentences, unnecessary jargon, awkward flow of thought from one section to the next. It’s a recipe for a really dull document. A dull document won’t be read by prospects which, in turn, means that the case study will inevitably struggle to fulfil its role of adding credibility.

Kristel Brown is the Operations Director at Writing Machine.

Read more about creating a great case study:

Which case study format is right for your marketing objectives?

Case studies: the art of credibility