The Anatomy of a Valuable Case Study

Everyone loves a good story.  In business, the stories of happy clients or successful projects hold incredible value. To flip Aristotle’s famous phrase, “The sum of the parts ARE actually greater than the whole”- meaning each individual piece of the story has its own unique value – but ONLY if you know where to look.

Let me explain.

If you think about building a successful case study or success story about one of your clients, what are the main components?  It’s the facts, right?  Facts, of course, are key to weaving the narrative of a problem/solution structure typically used for a good case study.  The “facts” say that the client had the wrong solution or no solution at all – and your company came in and gave them what they needed. End of story, right?  It doesn’t have to be, and it shouldn’t be – especially if you want to set your company apart.

Interview the client and/or partner like you’re writing an article for the NY Times.

Ask open-ended questions like how they felt before, during, and after the project was initiated.  Were they really frustrated with their previous setup?  Did their old provider leave them high and dry when it came to communications and service? How was the onboarding process with your company? Did they feel informed and heard along the way?  What about the partner? Did they feel in sync with the implementation? Taking the time to engage in a deeper conversation is key.

After you’ve gathered details on the “experience” portion of the engagement, now’s the time to really dig in to uncover the value.  What are the real business benefits that resulted?  Even if it just made Sally Sue’s job easier, that is a soft saving that needs to be captured and highlighted. 

While the dollars and cents savings are certainly an important part of the story, the other benefits that give color to your narrative are only discovered if you ask. 

Everyone likes to talk about themselves and/or their business.

To get to the meat of any good success story, you must take the approach of “tell me about your business.”  You can correlate the same differentiators that set their business apart-like service or stellar products.  This goes for clients and partners alike, as everyone likes to share their mission statement and future plans.

Here’s an interview example:

Interviewer: So, Mr. Client, tell me a little bit about your business history.  Have you always sold widgets and bits to the manufacturing industry?

Mr. Client: Actually, we started out only selling bits but by modifying our processes we were able to expand and add widgets which have grown and evolved us to the business we are today.

Interviewer: Interesting and inspirational! So, what does the next phase of business growth look like for you Mr. Client?

Mr. Client: Great question. Our next growth plan resides in taking our business online.  This is why we were looking for new Broadband, SD-WAN, and a Security solution.  We have distributors all over the world and they need to be able to quickly and securely access inventory through our SaaS apps.

Interviewer: Your new solutions should definitely help you achieve those goals.  Do you feel comfortable with them?  Were you and your team able to get all of your questions answered?

Mr. Client: Absolutely.  Your support team has been extremely responsive and patient in helping us to get the most out of this new system.  The technology isn’t something we are really familiar with, so the guided approach was invaluable.

Now I don’t have to tell you that the last part of that example is the highly coveted client quote that is the pièce de résistance for any case study or success story. If you follow the dialogue train, you can see how the dots connect from questions about business goals to the client appreciating the support and guidance that was received to help them get to the next level. 

While much of this information may be obvious, it’s always good to have a reminder that for a case study to have immeasurable value “beyond the facts you need to embrace the art of the interview. 

Read some of BullsEye’s current Case Studies to get inspired for your next story!