Let’s talk about why most case studies suck. First? Because they’re completed without any sort of strategy. A happy customer shows up, and there’s a five alarm fire to capture their win without any thought to business, marketing, sales, or revenue goals. Second? Because they’re done without a plan. A customer is fed through a weird meat grinder of awkwardly coordinated events and uncomfortable asks without much foresight. Third? Because companies write these like weird brand fan fiction, taking way too much credit while making their customers look like hapless idiots in the process. Fourth? Because they’re written to nobody in particular. No target audience. No persona. No specific role or buyer with specific questions and specific needs. Fifth? Subpar creative and storytelling. A list of bullet points and some nice quotes does not a compelling story make. I could go on. There are so many reasons the average case study isn’t worth watching or reading. Thank goodness my team and I aren’t interested in average.
Are your case studies written with a purpose?
Joel Klettke shared this interesting quote from April Dunford last week. Along with some great additional thoughts on what’s wrong with most case studies.
Treat your case studies as an opportunity to show your buyers exactly how your product delivers on your unique value promise.