Copywriter, content marketer and ghostwriter
Copywriter, content marketer and ghostwriter
B2B case studies are powerful marketing assets – if you can get them. And that’s always the sticking point, isn’t it? Case studies are notoriously hard to get approved. I’ve personally seen a case study languish for over a year before the client deigned to approve it – and that process can be completely soul-destroying for the marketer trying desperately to get the thing over the line. Especially if there’s an irate sales person on the other end of Teams who is convinced that their big deal will fall completely to bits without it.
I’ve learned a thing or two about getting case studies out the door quickly in my decade as a professional copywriter. In this blog, I’m sharing three tips for writing case studies that get approved fast, so you can keep sales (and yourself!) happy.
Between the brand guidelines, the legal team hanging over your shoulder, and worries about whether your words will mortally offend the client, it’s easy to produce something that’s… well, beige. Something that describes what happened, and how happy everyone is, without ever giving the impression that what happened was exciting or that anyone was really happy.
You want your client to look forward to reading the case study – so make it a great read. There are a few ways you can do that:
On that subject, my next tip is…
Your customer is Luke Skywalker; you are Obi-Wan. They are Crash Bandicoot; you are Aku-Aku. They are the hero; you help them win the day. Don’t be afraid to make your case study a story about their personal success delivering whatever transformation they’ve achieved. If you can do it stylishly, then the client is much more likely to try and get the case study approved – after all, it’s a story that makes them look good.
I’ve seen clients of my customers use case studies to secure promotions, new jobs, and industry awards. And of course, if you can tie your organisation to their success like that, you can open up the opportunity for future partnerships wherever they end up.
The case study I mentioned above that took a year to get approved sat with my client for two months before they approved it. By that time, my client’s customer had forgotten all about it. All the momentum was lost, and we were at the mercy of their workloads.
Obviously, you need to make sure that the story is right and well-written, whether you’ve got an in-house person writing the story or you’re working with a freelancer. But when someone sends you a draft, don’t sit on it for a week. Try and read it that day and get the thing finalised ASAP.
I’ve just got a case study written for my newest client, u-blox, in 18 business days. A big part of that success is the fact that I got the copy drafted in under a week, the client turned it around in the same time, and got it straight off to their client.
One of the most mystifying things I’ve encountered in the world of B2B case studies is the fear, or awe, that my clients sometimes have of their customers. Case in point: one of my best clients was creating a case study about their work with a household name brand. My contacts were terrified of writing anything that the customer might have possibly maybe found slightly not to their taste, simply because of who they were. So we wrote this very timid case study and handed it to them on bended knee, and unsurprisingly it’s still languishing in the end customer’s inbox, awaiting review.
Now, of course you should be sensitive to your customer’s likes and dislikes in a case study. But writing a case study is a collaborative process, and even the biggest brands are run by human beings. And if you’re writing a case study with them, that means your company has done some business with them; your product or services has impressed them. It’s not a Prince and the Pauper situation, where you’re begging for their favour and hoping they’ll notice you and deign to approve your copy. It’s a meeting of equals, to create a document that could be of value to both parties. Approaching the process with that in mind often sets the tone for a faster approval than if you behave like you’re emailing the Pope.
I hope the tips in this blog have been useful. If you’re on the lookout for some case study support, I’d love to help. I’ve been writing and filming case studies for B2B clients for over ten years, working with everyone from household brands to scientists developing cures for Alzheimers. I work fast and well, and have a proven track record of writing case studies that get approved by the end customer.
Click below to learn more about my case study writing services and how I work. Or, if you’d like to get in touch, you can click on the bottom banner to drop me an email.