Case study tips for small businesses.

Can a Small Business Benefit from a Case Study?

Countless enterprises, including NetflixApple, and Pandora, benefit from case studies every year. Mega-corporations frequently share success stories about how they improved their products, solved customer complaints, or fixed an issue within their company that was affecting their clients. The popularity of the case study method among major companies proves that this type of marketing can be highly effective for increasing customer loyalty and attracting new clients; so why don’t small business owners conduct case studies more often?

ADVANTAGES OF CASE STUDIES

A great case study resonates with a company’s intended audience by sharing positive stories of satisfied customers. For example, LinkedIn wrote a brief case study that explained how their services helped one specific business increase their followers by 83%. Any company owner that uses LinkedIn would likely feel reassured after seeing these results, and those who don’t use the site may feel more inclined to create a page.

Your own small business can experience an improvement in conversion rates after showing  proof of your company’s expertise and commitment to your clients. In addition, conducting an in-depth case study can help you create more content for your blog or website later. You can follow up on one of your customers, further explain how a product or service works, or share other details about what the case study process entailed.

CASE STUDY GUIDELINE

Every company that chooses to invest their time into a case study will naturally approach the project in a different way. While writing a report is the traditional method of sharing results of a case study, some businesses may choose to create a video, infographic, or blog post instead. However, stylistic differences aside, the basic structure of a case study stays relatively the same:

  • Describe the problem. Begin your case study with a thorough description of a pain point or problem that one of your clients is facing. Share some background information about how the issue specifically affects them and how their life could be improved if a better solution was introduced.
  • Highlight possible solutions. Describe the research you conducted when you were trying to find viable solutions to your client’s problem. Include any trial-and-error experiments you and your employees attempted when creating a solution, and compare your solutions with other products or services offered by other companies. Ask yourself how your ideas stand out from your competitors in order to appeal to your readers.
  • Explain the final results. It can be helpful to think of the final paragraph of your case study as a conclusion to a research paper. Write a brief recap of the problem you solved, and provide some reasons why your final solution was the best option for your customer.  

However, unlike a research paper, you can feel free to get creative while writing your case study. Make your customers and potential clients want to read it by making it relatable to them. The end goal of a case study isn’t to publish a comprehensive report about a business strategy; it’s to share a customer’s success story and showcase your company’s commitment to helping others!

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