The power of case studies: authentic narratives set your blogs apart
Case studies are an often-under-valued marketing tool that can have a profound impact on your business growth. How? Through good storytelling, you can prove that what you offer consumers works.
A well-written, detailed and descriptive case study can be the most persuasive content on your website. Besides word of mouth and referrals, they are one of the most effective ways to help a potential customer over the line.
Case studies give your business credibility and build trust, which is important. Secondly, and possibly more importantly, they set your blogs apart from the piles and piles of AI-generated content out there.
While AI-generated content might dazzle with its efficiency and excel in data processing, it is not that great at the art of storytelling. AI-generated content lacks the human touch needed for the writing of a genuine case study.
And that’s the key.
Real stories of triumph and transformation based on real experiences will set you apart in the churn of automated, generic web content.
In a world saturated with AI-generated blogs, case studies will stand out to both human readers and search engines alike.
If you want to set yourself apart from the competition, then
- be honest
- be yourself and
- share your story.
The core of case studies
Case studies are not just stories; they are windows into your product or service. They explain how you provided a solution. By providing concrete examples of your ability to deliver, case studies substantiate claims of how your business can do what it says it can.
Case studies work particularly well for service-based businesses. Businesses that can’t do pretty pictures on Instagram or feel their web content may be a little boring. However, by showcasing how your product or service helped customers, you establish expertise and reliability.
According to a recent survey conducted by Marketing research firm Ascend2, case studies are the most trusted form of marketing content.
The power of the case study lies in how you use it
Not just limited to your website, case studies can be used across various marketing channels. From social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn to newsletters, they attract potential customers and help with search engine optimization (SEO) by creating backlinks from external platforms to your website.
Types of case studies
Case studies share the “how and why” of success. Therefore, they tend to follow a standard four-part format: the customer, the challenge, the solution and the benefits. A testimonial from a client is usually a great launch pad.
Problem-Solution case studies:
These focus on a specific problem faced by a customer and highlight how your product or service provided a solution. Read an example of a case study that we jointly wrote for a client’s interior decorating business.
“Desiree’s dining chairs were old and tired, and she wanted to replace them with similar ones because she liked the way they looked, and they were comfortable. But she was tired of the brown leather upholstery and thought it would be nice to introduce some colour into her “shades of brown” dining room. But what colour?
She asked family and friends for ideas and looked online for inspiration – but all she got was confused! She liked the idea of using blue, but what shade of blue and could blue work with brown? What should have been a simple decision was now in the “too hard basket”. So, she asked for my help and home decor ideas.
Get a local Auckland interior designer
I took her to a shop that sold the type of chair she wanted and also upholstered them in the customer’s choice of fabric. After she’d given them a pass on the “comfort” test, I showed her fabric swatches and she decided to be brave and go with my boldest suggestion.
Since she has 10 chairs, using only one colour for the upholstery could be too dominant or quite boring so I recommended that they be covered in 3 different fabrics. A geometric pattern in cream, dark brown, light blue and dark blue colours was used on 4 of the chairs, a plain light blue on 3 of them and a plain dark blue on the other 3. They were placed in alternating colours around the dining table according to a plan I’d drawn.
They loved my home decor help
Desiree is thrilled with the new look of her dining room which is a lot more exciting now. Her kids are amazed that blue can actually work with brown and her husband is talking about replacing the sofa and armchairs in the adjoining family room to match and further enhance the space.
Success story case studies:
These highlight achievements and positive outcomes your customers have experienced by using your product or service. Useful for demonstrating the value and impact your business can bring.
Home lighting plans
Kath and Mitchel recently purchased a new home – a wood cottage, designed and built in the 1920s. With very busy careers they didn’t have time to spare for updating and customizing the interior, so they enlisted my services.
Lighting is a key element in interior design. Knowing this, they asked me for an interior lighting plan.
Lighting for the living room
Since they used the living room to watch TV, eat on their laps and entertain, it required ambient, accent and mood lighting. It was important to them that the light fixtures reflect the character of the original cottage. They wanted the vaulted ceiling, a very special feature of the room, to be highlighted. Taking all this into consideration I came up with a living room lighting plan.
Kath and Mitchel adopted all the recommendations in the home lighting plan and are very pleased with the result.
Lighting makeover
The existing overhead spotlights functioned well in providing ambient and accent lighting, but the fixtures were outdated. I recommended replacimg them with smaller modern ones which should be positioned in the same spots but unobtrusively behind the beams so as not to distract from the beauty of the ceiling.
Additional ambient lighting should be introduced by removing the central overhead ceiling fan. It should be replaced with a chandelier, complementary in style to the cottage character and interesting enough to become a focal point. A dimmer switch allows for light to be adjusted according to the activity taking place in the room.
Mood lighting should be introduced by placing two lamps, one on each end of the table behind the sofa.
The lights on either side of the stone fireplace to be removed.
To accompany this description, I also drew a floor plan showing the placement and types of light fittings together with the dimmable, single and two-way switches.
I recommended the use of LED light bulbs and stressed the importance of having the existing wiring checked to ensure that it was up to standard.
On entering the living room, the gorgeous chandelier immediately catches the eye, draws it up to the vaulted ceiling and sets the cottage character style of the space. The variety of light fixtures available allow them to regulate the amount of light they want and where it shines.
Industry-specific case studies:
Tailored to showcase your expertise in a particular industry, they help you attract customers from a specific niche.
Before-and-after case studies:
As well as telling a story, these are great for visually demonstrating the transformation you have helped your customers with. Below is a case study for a building company.
Rather than move into a brand, spanking new home and grounds, Sandra and Terry decided to retain the character of their new home and breathe new life into it. They asked us to take an older home needing a refresh and turn it into something impressive. Sandra wanted to “make it her own”, all the while keeping the 80s farm-style feeling.
Working together, we considered the effects the renovation would have on the functionality of the house and their lifestyle. The result works beautifully.
Registered builders for renovations on the job
We worked closely with both clients and as a team we created a beautiful home. And we’re proud to say, we did it under budget. Sandra was delighted. All her boxes were ticked, and she’d been able to do all she’d wanted without blowing out expenses.
We did a full renovation. The team gutted and replaced the kitchen, fully renovated the bathrooms, laid new floors, knocked down internal walls, replaced the tired aluminium joinery, installed ranch sliders, painted throughout and built lovely big new decks. We used existing features and fittings and reshaped the original rooms, so they now flow into modern living spaces.
What we liked
We’re really pleased with the way we have managed to keep the 80s traditional, farmhouse feeling, yet created so much space and light. There are three stand-out features in this home for us. The first is the gorgeous, engineered laminate flooring throughout; we really like the tones. New cedar barn-style doors separating the dining and spacious lounge area are also a great feature.
However, the piece de resistance, we reckon anyway, is the entrance, which Wendy designed herself. The black aluminium door has mullions in the panels on either side, allowing more light in and creating an old-fashioned look.
Case studies provide social proof
When making a purchasing decision, customers want assurance that they are making the right choice. Case studies play a crucial role in providing this assurance.
They build credibility and trust and serve as valuable marketing assets that can be repurposed across various channels. Investing time and effort into creating and leveraging case studies will pay off in the long run. They will serve as powerful tools in your marketing arsenal, especially when responding to specific inquiries.
Case studies for marketing that works
If you would like help with writing case studies for your business website, get in touch. When you are close to a project it can be hard to identify the thought-provoking angles, and what others will find interesting. Getting outsourced help and an independent ear to write your case studies is the answer. I can craft compelling narratives that showcase the value your business brings, ultimately attracting and converting more customers by making it easier for them to choose your business over competitors.
