Research consistently reveals the importance of customer referrals and references. According to the B2B Sales Benchmark study, customer and employee referrals generate 3.63% conversion rate, almost double than the next channel—websites with 1.55% conversion rate. Social has 1.47% conversion rate and paid search 0.99%. The worst performing channels are lead lists with 0.02% conversion rate, events with 0.04% conversion rate and email campaigns with 0.07% conversion rate.

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Case Studies Bring Customer Referrals to Life

Customers, however, are busy and cannot be available on demand.  Case studies provide an excellent alternative. Well written case studies give your company credibility and a customer reference at the same time. Case studies bring referrals to life. Writing a successful case study takes time.

We have found that these 8 tips are helpful for writing effective case studies.

1. Make it Collaborative: Include the customer in the process. Be sure to obtain customer permission before writing the document, secure input during the development and secure written approval of the final document.

2. Do the Heavy Lifting: Make participating in the process in process as easy as possible for your customers. Draft the copy and customer quotes for them to edit and revise. This will help insure the quotes support your key messages.

3. Names Matter: Generic case studies may support a sales process but don’t carry near the same weight and credibility as case studies that include a name and title.

4. Reflect your Brand: Case studies are part of your content arsenal and reflect your brand. Establish a document template that will you use consistently for every case study. A template serves as a road map for the case study process and ensures that the document looks, feels and reads consistently. Visually, the template helps build the brand; procedurally, it simplifies the actual writing. Define 3-5 specific elements to include in every case study.

5. Action: Use action verbs and emphasize benefits in the case study title and subtitle. Include a short (less than 20 – word) customer quote in larger text. Then, summarize the key points of the case study in 2 – 3 succinct bullet points. The goal should be to tease the reader into wanting to read more.

6. Connect to the Pain: Organize your case study according to problem, solution, and benefits. In the problem section, begin with a general discussion of the issue that faces the relevant industry. Then, describe the specific problem or issue that the customer faced. In the solution section, describe how the solution solved this specific problem; then indicate how it can also help resolve this issue more broadly within the industry.

7. Impact: Quantify the benefits of the work when possible. Customers’ may not always be

willing to share hard number. If they can’t weave in the impact of the work on the business.

8. Use visuals:  We live in a visual “infographic” world.  If appropriate and possible use illustrations, charts and graphs.

Check out our case studies, let us know how well we’re drinking the champagne.

FAQ:

1. Make it collaborative: Involve the customer throughout and secure approvals.
2. Do the heavy lifting: Draft copy and quotes for customer review to streamline participation.
3. Names matter: Use real names and titles for authenticity and credibility.
4. Reflect your brand: Use a consistent, branded template with defined elements.
5. Action: Use action verbs, benefit-focused headlines, and concise customer quotes; summarize key points in bullet form.
6. Connect to the pain: Structure by problem, solution, and benefits—start broad, then address the specific client issue.
7. Impact: Quantify benefits when possible; if not, describe the business impact qualitatively.
8. Use visuals: Incorporate charts, graphs, and illustrations to enhance engagement.

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