A case study is a fantastic way to showcase real-life examples of how your business benefits your customers. Many businesses focus on proclaiming their greatness, but consumers are primarily interested in what a business can do for them.
A case study is essentially a 400-500 word article that provides a structured analysis of how your business helped a specific customer. They are highly effective as website content for two primary reasons:
- When structured correctly, they help your website rank in search engines for various key phrases.
- Prospective customers can relate to the problems and solutions presented in the case study.
Here’s a guide to formatting a basic case study:
1. Who Your Customer Is
You can either mention the customer by name or provide a general overview of their circumstances. Try to make use as much specific information as possible such as their family circumstances, the town they live in and any unusual circumstances they are in. If were creating a case study for a Plumbing Company for example, we could provide an overview of Miss Brown, a first-time Property Developer who has just purchased a house in Guildford that is in need of major refurbishment.
2. The Problem Your Customer Faces
We want to ensure that the reader can relate to the problem being faced by Miss Brown so we’ll provide a detailed overview of what her specific issues are. For our example, Miss Brown needs to have her existing boiler removed as its quite old and a new boiler installed but in a different location from the old one. As she is having a lot of other work done on the property, she also has to work to a very tight schedule for the work to be completed.
3. How You Addressed the Customer’s Problem
This is the most important part of the case study as it may provide the solution that the reader is looking for. You need to describe the solutions you provided for your customer with particular emphasis on any unique or particularly creative solutions you provided. If you were able to save the customer money or time through your recommended solution then this should definitely be highlighted.
In our example, we could have suggested that Miss Brown used a less-expensive Boiler system than she had in mind as she won’t be living in the property, or we could provide a helpful way for Miss Brown to integrate the boiler replacement into her refurbishment schedule.
4. The Outcome
In this section, we simply want to show how the customer had a positive outcome from using your products or services. If the customer saved money then specify exactly how much. If the customer saved time, again it is important to specify just how much time they saved. In our example, we managed to save Miss Brown over £400 on the cost of her boiler and shaved two days from her property refurbishment schedule.
5. Customer Testimonial
A customer testimonial is a powerful tool in a case study. It provides a real, human perspective on the benefits of your service and helps to build trust with prospective customers. Testimonials highlight the personal experience of your customer, offering an authentic endorsement that can be more persuasive than any marketing message.
“I can’t thank John and the team at ABC Boiler Co enough. Not only did they save me a small fortune when replacing my boiler but they bent over backwards to ensure that the whole installation process worked around my refurbishment schedule. I would have no hesitation in recommending them to anyone thinking of getting a new boiler installed.”
6. Creating Effective Titles for SEO
By the end of your cast study, you should have a pretty compelling piece of content that readers will be able to relate to. However, the real benefit of case studies is the ability to personalise them for a huge range of specific search phrases simply by giving each case study page a unique page title.
Your case study should have a unique title that reflects the specific service and location, helping it rank in search results. For example:
- Case Study: Moving a Boiler from the Ground to First Floor at a Property in Guildford, Surrey.
- Case Study: Emergency Boiler Repair for Pensioners in Winchester, Hampshire.
- Case Study: London Family with an Old Boiler Have Worries About Carbon Monoxide.
Final Thoughts
By the end of your case study, you should have a compelling piece of content that readers can relate to. The real benefit of case studies lies in their ability to attract targeted traffic by ranking for specific search phrases, and they can be especially effective if your business targets customers in specific locations. Contact us to learn more on how to attract more customers!