3 Steps To Writing Case Studies More Effectively & Efficiently. White Paper

Transcription

1 3 Steps To Writing Case Studies More Effectively & Efficiently White Paper

2 White Paper 3 Steps To Writing Case Studies More Effectively & Efficiently Introduction Customer Case Studies are one of the most effective marketing tools available. They are the engine that drives Content Marketing campaigns on the Internet, generating excellent sales leads. Why don t companies produce more of them? Many company managers worry, Case Studies take too much time to develop. They get bogged down in long review cycles. This problem, however, can be overcome by better understanding the Case Study process and following some simple guidelines. The goal of this White Paper is to help your company reduce its Case Study development cycle from months to weeks. Writing Case Studies effectively and efficiently isn t rocket science, but it requires teamwork, discipline and focus. Step 1: Know The Process The development of a Case Study starts with marketing and sales strategy. Marketing and Sales Directors or Managers need to tell staff their Case Study goals in terms of target product lines, applications, markets and schedule. Nothing more is necessary. Let your staff do the work: The Marketing and Sales staff level team is then responsible for the Case Study selection, production, approval and distribution process (Fig 1): Customer Selection Customer Contact Upfront Approval Research Writing Review Final Approval Distribution

3 When selecting a customer for a Case Study, choose the customer who belongs to a large segment with the same problem. Look for application problems that are industry hot buttons that will appeal to trade media editors. You ll get published and receive more attention. The result is new business, growing sales and higher profits. Step 2: Writing The Story There are many ways to write a case study, but some are more effective than others. The most important guidelines are to think like your customer and think like a trade media editor. Ask yourself, What interests them? Your goal is to capture their interest. For this reason, we recommend the Inverted Pyramid Style (Fig 2) of writing because it tells the reader what s important at the start. Details are presented in diminishing order of importance, not chronological order. Very few people read an entire Case Study or any article for that matter. The same is true in watching videos, reading web pages, listening to radio, etc. The reader or viewer s attention and recall are always highest at the start and then diminish gradually. That is why we think the Overview section is the most important 3 to 5 paragraphs of any Case Study. If we have compelling customer quotes, cost savings, process improvements, lower maintenance, etc., we want to tell that story first at the top. We ll then go back and tell the whole story in a flash-back style similar to the structure of a film where you know the ending before you know how it all happened. We ll fill in the details using the classic problem-solution technique

4 as follows: Overview The Problem The Solution Your Products Your Technology Conclusions You re probably asking, Why wait so long to talk about our product? The reason is the reader is more interested in the problem and the solution. They accept that your product works, but they want to know how it solved the problem (not the product specs). Most trade media editors will tell you product and technology discussions written by manufacturers too often turn into de facto advertisements. Worse yet they may cross over into competitive bashing that makes them unpublishable. Less is really more here. Step 3: The Review Cycle Time is the enemy of all Case Study projects. The objective here is to tell the story effectively, concisely and then obtain the Customer s final approval as fast as possible. The sooner the team finishes a Case Study, the sooner it begins the next one. We recommend a team review process known as, Once and Done, (Fig 3) where all team members receive a draft simultaneously, make corrections in parallel utilizing Microsoft Word s Track Changes feature and return edited draft in 5 business days. Company serial review cycles (think chain of command) with 4 to 6 people over months are often a death march for Case Studies. Managers... please let your staff team do the work and you ll find more case studies get completed in less time.

5 If you can t complete a review in 5 business days, call the Marketing staff project leader. You may be able to tell from a quick read that there are no factual errors relating to your area of expertise... so don t feel compelled to make revisions and miss the deadline. As a reviewer, your job is to review only the facts relating to your area of expertise. There are no awards for the most revisions. Do not rewrite the case study. If there are serious problems, call the project leader, explain the problem and ask for a rewrite. The Marketing Case Study project leader integrates all reviewer comments in one company revision cycle (think Once and Done). The project leader is the referee who decides which comments are relevant and is in charge of the game clock to keep us on schedule. Marketing then gives the Case Study to the Customer for final review/approval. Customer approval can be the most time consuming aspect of the process, which is why internal team efficiency is so important. Conclusions You can develop effective Case Studies in a timely manner when you follow the three steps explained here for success. Case Study development is a team process where when everyone understands their role and works together the result is a big win. RB Marketing Communications Web: rbmarketing.com info@rbmarketing.com Tel: Fax: Address: 700 E Redlands Blvd, Ste U347 Redlands, CA 92373