Case studies are a great sales tool. These case studies highlight your most important benefits and use persuasive language to connect with your ideal prospects.

Buyers love case studies. 78% of B2B buyers use them to help with their research for a future purchase.

Hence, why is it that so few companies create compelling case studies for their clients?

It’s not easy to create a compelling case study. Experienced copywriters charge thousands for a single case study.

It is not easy to create case studies. It can be difficult to ask a valued client for more information, such as a request to interview them. It can also be hard to find the right copywriter that understands your industry or product. A copywriter must have unique skills to interview clients and summarize relationships that they don’t know.

A case study, like all great marketing content, is, tells a story. Your client’s success is the story behind your case study. You’d find many of the same beats in a good case study. The protagonist (the client) is faced with several obstacles before you help him overcome them and reach his ultimate goal.

This article will examine some of the most successful case studies in a range of industries. We’ll also dive into why they are so great. After reading this article, you will be able to create highly effective case studies for your business.

What makes a case study effective?

Before we get into great examples of case studies, let’s first define what makes them great. Great case studies have the same basic elements as great marketing: persuasive copywriting and great design. They also need to relate to the problem and offer a solution.

We’ll be looking at cases studies with the following characteristics in our examples:

• A great headline and story. A compelling headline is the foundation of all good copy. Even though case study copy tends to be drier, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t grab the attention of your reader with a compelling headline. Compelling case studies tell stories that link problems to solutions and results to results.

• A Reliable Brand. This case study will show you how to make your brand known to clients. It builds trust and authority. Even if your clients have achieved more impressive results, case studies that focus on clients with strong brand names will be more successful.

• Relating Problem. Your prospects should be able to relate to your case study. Your goal should be to create case studies that appeal to your ideal clients. The case studies should relate to the problems your clients are currently facing.

• A Solution that Works. How did your company assist your client in overcoming the problem? Many case studies offer vague answers. Although you don’t need to detail every aspect of your solution in thousands of words, it is helpful to give some details to prospects to help them understand what you can do for them.

• Amazing Results. Did you find the results remarkable? These case studies should be used to demonstrate impressive results and spark interest in your prospects. However, you should also set realistic expectations for your new customer. A case study will show why you achieved the results that you did in this situation.

Let’s now look at some examples of case studies after we have outlined the qualities that are required for an effective case study.

Example #1: Through content marketing, SimpleReach helps Intel drive 500,000 visitors

SimpleReach’s case study which covers their engagement with Intel is the first one we’ll look at.

Let’s begin by looking at the headline.

Marketers know that a headline is essential. It will be the prospect’s first and most important piece of information. Your prospect will be motivated to read more by a compelling case study title.

The following elements should be included in your case study title:

• The name of the client company. Here is where brand recognition comes in. An easily recognizable brand name is a magnet for attention.

• That was the solution. Did you assist the client in improving their advertising returns? Did you offer courses to help them with restructuring their sales team?

• One applicable metric. Was your client’s revenue up 10%? Did your client’s email subscription conversion rate increase by 3%? Give your reader something tangible that they can hold onto.

Your prospect should read your headline and put themselves in the shoes of your client. What prospect wouldn’t like to see their revenue grow by X percent?

SimpleReach’s case studies headline does a fantastic job of describing how they helped Intel.

They do a great job in the headline and subheadline of showing who they helped, what they did, and the results that they were able to deliver.

Intel is a big company, so it makes sense to choose them as a case study. It is very effective to use the sub-headline as a way to give more detail about their results (500,000 visits to Intel’s iQ).

They do a great job explaining the problem Intel was facing two pages later in the “Goal” section of the case study.

This section explains how crucial content is for Intel’s marketing strategy. SimpleReach then addresses the content marketing issue that Intel was facing.

Intel promoted all of its content using a fixed-spend model. This meant that they gave equal budgetary attention to different channels and content. They were able to reduce their cost per click by using SimpleReach’s predictive analysis and increase their budget.

The “Goals” page includes a graph that helps you visualize the impact that SimpleReach had on your content marketing strategy.

This is a great teaser for their “Strategy” and “Results pages. These data provide a visual insight into the final result. A case study can be enhanced by incorporating metrics and individual results. This will keep readers interested and allow them to drip-feed the story to them.

They make it easy to locate and absorb the most important points by including quotes in the right-side margins. Even the shortest case studies will be read by a large number of readers. They can increase their chances of catching the attention of prospects and persuading them to read more by making the most important information easily accessible.

Next is their “Strategy” page.

They then go deeper into the changes that they teased in the case study. In the headline and the first paragraph, they outline their main idea for the engagement. This is based on the belief that 90% of engagement comes from 10 percent of what you publish.

They outline the main benefits that their predictive system provides to clients, which estimates the expected engagement figures across multiple social media channels.

The “Strategy”, just like the “Goals”, the section has a data visualization at its bottom. This visual expand on what they’ve already shared. The first graphic shows how they helped Intel reduce their cost-per-click. This graphic reveals more about how they did it by showing how Intel’s channel spending changed after they began working together.

On the last page of their case studies, SimpleReach outlines the results that they achieved for Intel during their engagement.

SimpleReach did a great job of using graphics and data throughout the case study to build the story, but it is on this page that they truly dive into the results. They offer hard data on various metrics, including content half-life and total visits, cost per refer, cost per engagement, and cost per engagement. 

They can connect with readers by focusing on multiple metrics on the page.

They include testimonials from Intel stakeholders towards the bottom of each page. The words of the client play an important role in the perceptions of prospects about the engagement. They should see themselves enjoying similar results after working with you.

Example #2: LeadGnome Helps Host Analytics Improve Lead Quality

LeadGnome’s case study focuses on their engagement with Host Analytics. This is our next example of a successful case study.

This headline provides a clear picture of the people they helped and what they achieved. It also shows the tangible results it produced. Although it’s very simple, simplicity can be powerful.

The case study’s first page contains an introduction to Host Analytics and its lead generation challenges.

Although their introductions can seem a bit long, it is possible to provide a profile of your client so that the reader can draw comparisons with their company.

LeadGnome does a great job of providing a brief overview of Host Analytics as well as what they were trying to accomplish. Notice how the “Introduction” paragraph ends with Host Analytics’ VP of Demand Generation discovering LeadGnome. It’s a subtle way of weaving a story into your case study.

LeadGnome does something different on its first page, than SimpleReach does on theirs. On the right side, they provided a bulleted listing of results. This is a great way of picking the interest of the reader. The reader will be intrigued to read more about the results by teasing them early.

The LeadGnome case studies’ second page focuses on the engagement goals and strategies. The second page continues the story that they started on the first page, detailing how they collaborated to integrate LeadGnome into their existing systems. 

The quote at the top of the page highlights LeadGnome’s most important feature: it is extremely easy to integrate with other systems. They dispel the notion that third-party marketing teams can be difficult to integrate with internal marketing departments.

This page is very clear about the problem and its solution. The top quote explains the problem: they had previously been able to manually mine emails for data but it wasn’t scaling.

In the “LeadGnome Difference”, they look at their system and how it helped them. Finally, they reveal the exact results that they achieved. Your results should be presented in a way that makes them stand out. You shouldn’t hide them in a paragraph. They separated them into bulleted points at the top of the page.

A case study that contains a lot of data will not be able to highlight all of it. Instead, choose the most important stats to highlight. You should choose stats that align with the issues you highlighted at the beginning of your case study.

They close the page with testimonial quotes, which give more insight into the value of the interaction for Host Analytics.

Example #3: Bitly helps Vissla track Omnichannel Traffic Efficiently

Another great example of a case study is this one from Bitly. This case study was chosen because it’s in a different format than the others. This case study is shorter and more visually appealing. It focuses on self-serve software, rather than consulting services.

This is a different approach than the ones in the previous examples. They don’t identify the client in the headline. However, they do mention the type and issue of the company they helped (ecommerce), but not the client (omnichannel).

The bottom of the page is where they explain their services and tell readers that they have worked with some of the largest companies around the globe. Although it would have been smart to name brands in this section, it is a great idea to state that they have worked with top brands. This helps build trust and establish authority.

The case study’s second page focuses on the engagement goals.

Bitly highlights some common omnichannel issues they can help ecommerce businesses solve. Bitly focuses a lot on simplifying complex problems.

They provide key statistics from Forrester on the right-hand side of the page. These statistics are not specific to Vizsla’s interaction, but they show how common the integration and omnichannel tracking problem is for ecommerce businesses. Prospects may struggle with one or more issues in their own company if they read this case study.

Billy’s next page is a departure from the traditional case study. 

Bitly Campaigns is an easy-to-use software solution that can be used by anyone. Bitly staff are not required to participate in the process. This makes them a major focus of this case study. The platform is positioned as an easy solution on this page. This page focuses on the fact that they break down the process into four simple steps.

Bitly’s Results page does not include statistics on business outcomes but instead focuses more on the process benefits. This case study has been narrowed to address a specific problem: the complexity of omnichannel media platforms. The real benefit is in the time and effort saved by helping clients to identify the best channels for their content. It is clear that their system is easy to use, and it explains how they helped Vissla solve its omnichannel problems.

Although Billy’s case study may not be as detailed as the others, it does a great job of highlighting some of the problems their platform solves. They further emphasize this point by dedicating a whole page to explaining how their platform works.

Promotion and Use of Case Studies

These examples are just a few of the reasons we think case studies are so important. However, it isn’t about creating them. It is more about what you do once they have been assembled. It’s not worth spending a lot of money on a case study to just put it up on your site and hope that your prospects will find it.

A case study can be a powerful tool to persuade. It is useless if it doesn’t get in front of potential buyers. Throughout the buyer’s journey, you should include case studies.

Here are some ways you can get the most from your case study investment.

• It can be used as sales collateral. A case study can be a powerful tool for any sales team. This case study demonstrates the utility of your solution within specific industries. This gives prospects a glimpse of your product by showing how similar companies have used it to improve their businesses.

• It can be emailed to prospects as part of the nurturing process. A case study can help convince someone skeptical about your product. To extend the life of your investment and to get more value, integrate your case study into your automated nurturing process.

• It can be handed out at conferences and events. A case study is a great addition to an information packet you give out at industry events. You can print a professional-looking, physical copy of your case studies and give it to your visitors at your booth.

• In other content, use figures and quotes. You can use the client quotes and figures you used in your case study for other purposes. To maximize your return on investment, you can reuse some of your case study content in blog posts, email newsletters, and social media updates.

Although case studies published on “Resources”) pages are still valuable, but it is important to find ways to increase their value in order to maximize your ROI.

Evergreen Case Studies Deliver Lasting Results

A great case study can help you and your marketing team to close new clients for many years after it is published. However, case studies must be well-constructed and allow prospects to see themselves in the shoes that the clients highlighted them.

Although the case studies in this article are all different, they all highlight specific benefits of the product or service. The case study can help readers visualize themselves working with your company, and experiencing the same benefits as the client. A case study is a great way to provide your sales team with marketing collateral that drives sales.