Wanna know how to make creating case studies easier?

You might be relieved to hear today’s tip–with actionable ideas–is something you’re already committed to:

Getting to know your customers. Deeply.

We just need to apply it to case study development.

➡️ For easier onboarding of story participants …

Know how they feel valued and what they value. To find out, work with your team, visit the customer’s LinkedIn profiles, ask! Then you’ll see what one customer would respond to is an invitation to speak at a conference (thought leadership), while another needs an introduction to a peer in same role (networking), while another needs an invitation to talk with product designers or even C-level (influence).

If you know that what a customer values aligns with your own values—maybe it’s social responsibility or a vision of where your industry is going—the ask gets really easy, because it is a cultural fit and matches their own identity.

➡️ For easier planning of which stories to tell …

Know where your customers are feeling the pain, where they are hemming and hawing, or where they need validation for building consensus. Sales will have lots of ideas here. Ask them what they’ve come across in the last few months. It could keep your story hopper hopping for the rest of the year.

➡️ For easier design of questions to ask in the interview …

Know their challenge, results, and impact before you get on the call. Then you can craft questions to dig deeper, to get concrete examples, to draw emotion.

Make it your goal to never ask the generic question again: “What are the benefits of using our Fantastic Solution?”

Instead, since you already know what they’re achieving and since this story is about THE CUSTOMER, use the time with the customer to get specific and their experience and the impact:

“What does Time Savings make possible for you and your team?”

“What do you do with that time?”

“How does Impact support company mission? Make your life easier?”

“Tell me about a time Impact happened. How did it feel?”

And so on.

Maybe you can’t cover all of these, but since you’ve planned ahead, you’ll know what is must-have for what the story needs to do.

➡️ For easier inclusion of metrics in stories …

Know and track your customers’ needs and success — from the first hello. Make it part of your onboarding and ongoing customer experience to think about what brought them to you and how they are achieving it.

Grammarly sends me automatic updates on how many words I’m using and how I compare to others: If I were to be interviewed for a story, I’d already have this performance score or other numbers in mind.

For storytelling, the sexiest metrics often relate to the bottom line: revenue, Customer Lifetime Value, cost savings …

Though, sexy is in the eye of the beholder. Depending on why your customers are looking at your solution, metrics that show the ease of doing business with your solution could be the most appealing: time-savings, decreased hassles, simplificiation, risk reduction …

Knowing what matters to your customers and having a system in place to track the achievements for and with them will make including metrics in your case studies virtually automatic.

➡️ For easier writing of relatable studies …

Know the trigger event that brought customers to you in the first place. Not the awesome white paper/gated asset, but the pain they felt before they even knew a solution existed.

Buyer interviews–NOT case study interviews, but conversations held with customers right after they have started using your solution–are even better than surveys at gathering information about what prompted need. This is because many customers aren’t consciously aware of what caused them to start looking for a solution.

Conducting even a few buyer interviews soon after they start using your solution can help you know what actually triggered the change and how your customers describe their experience. Pull straight from these descriptions for copywriting across your assets, and ensure the Voice of the Customer is especially featured in case studies.

By the way, customers who are involved in buyer interviews are then much more likely to agree to be in case studies down the road.

🔄 So, we’re back to where we started. I hope this is helpful. I’m always amazed at what busy marketing folks are accomplishing. And, I know “know your customer” isn’t new to you.

This is just an interviewer/writer and your fan cheering you on as you apply it to case studies.

This starts with the tale of two presentations.

• As an audience member, I entered the first with my B.S. detector at the ready, then left clicking ‘Follow’ on my phone so I could support the company’s work.

• In the second, I went in rooting for the presenter and her non-profit organization, but left shaking my head, thinking, “Missed opportunity.”

What was the difference? Stories.

The latter presentation was all numbers and mission statement. Nothing concrete or emotional. Nothing to let me feel the change they’re making. To go along for the journey starting with tension, but easing with solutions.

We all know this in our heads: stories are powerful. But, we lose it in practice.

So, let’s start earlier.

Instead of bringing stories into the mix as an afterthought, start there. Not just in presentations.

Not Impossible Labs, the memorable presentation and a super-user of customer stories, extends this invitation way back in product design:

“Consider starting with one person’s challenge. A wrong that you can help make right.”

Then, to talk in story, keep that one person in mind through the entire endeavor. Become a champion for story-building across your organization, from product research and development through sales. Especially in B2B, since it’s always a human at the other end. With this mindset and engagement, writing and filming customer stories becomes unavoidable. Sharing their success across your content is a given.

Including presentations!

I’ll go all in to say every presentation you give–inside or outside your company–is better with stories. The next time you open a slide deck, leave the numbers to the side at first. Start with the one. Start with a customer story. For that matter, continue and end with stories too.

Your audience will remember. What’s more, they’ll do something about it.

Ready to drive action by talking in story? See other Story Tips and reach out.

Gartner found more than 90% of case studies do NOT contain the necessary components to pique the target audience’s interest. (4 Mistakes That Ruin Case Studies for Tech CEOs)

So, if your last story worked, you’re in rare company. What did that one story have that nine missed? A big name? That sexy metric?

It’s squishier. And that’s what makes writing case studies and customer stories so hard.

While a recognized brand or impressive number can help, that one story goes all in on one aim: relatability.

Gartner says connecting with your target audience stems from a curated narrative. Not just a report, but a crafted account of how your solution makes the featured customer’s life and business better.

It involves strategy and storytelling. Strategy in planning who to feature and knowing what they needed. Storytelling in bringing the reader into the pain so they wince and nod their heads, then easing the tension with outcomes and impact that have them sighing in relief.

At the same time, you’ll want to stay focused, lead with meaningful metrics, and lean into emotion. It’s a lot.

Here’s some advice from Gartner. And, a pep talk from me: We can do it.

Do you have buyers who are ready to purchase one day, then back to status quo the next? Gartner Research has a name for them – fence-sitters. And they’re everywhere.

If you’re like other B2B companies, close to half of your buyers are fence-sitters (Gartner, 2021 B2B Buyer Survey, 725 respondents). These are organizations that fail to commit to a strong direction when facing change and are the most common type of buyer. They spend more time than other buyers in independent online research, but less time with social media.

How do you get fence-sitters off the fence? Gartner analysts offer three engagement strategies:

1. Provide information that helps them understand the solution as well as see that change is necessary.

2. Offer digital tools to streamline consensus creation.

3. Share customer testimonials to legitimize the opportunity for change. 

Michael Katz, Gartner Research Director (Boost Pipeline Growth, Nov 2022 webinar): “Fence-sitters will not always take your word for it. They need convincing. They want to be reassured that the solution works and why it works by seeing real examples.”

Your buyers need case studies and customer stories to advance towards purchase. See other tips on how to create compelling stories or contact me and we’ll move your fence-sitters together.

The key word here is “craft.”

Using standard questions for case study interviews yields standard results — stories that relate the facts, but lack relatability. Instead, crafting questions specific to your goals and your customers’ experience draws out more meaningful metrics, enviable impact, and quotes with personality.

This preparation takes effort, but it boils down to two essential steps:

First … Well before the interview, get clear on a few things including strategy for how the story will be used — by you and your readers — as well as the context surrounding your customer’s before, during and after.

Especially the after. You want to go into every interview knowing at least a framework for the benefits customers have seen, including KPIs you’ve tracked with them, as well as how those results may impact them and their business.

Then … Construct questions that align with this strategy and dig deeper into the customer’s experience and results. If you have a template questionnaire that’s a great start! Customize the general questions with your knowledge of the customer’s context.

For instance, in a recent story about how detectives are solving crimes with a digital forensics solution, the question “What challenges were you facing?” became:

• “What does it look like and feel like to have so many cell phones coming in?”

• “What happens if bottlenecks delay your pursuit of justice?”

The question, “What benefits have you seen?” became a series that goes beyond the numbers to reveal impact and emotion:

• “How does it feel to save almost 10 hours on each case?”

• “What does working cases 55% faster make possible for you? For public safety?”

• “Tell me about how officer wellbeing has improved. What do they say about it?”

You only get a short time, ideally 45 minutes, to gather the makings of a compelling story. Put more oopmh into interview preparation and you’ll garner more “aha!”s from potential buyers reading the case study.

Some writers will only work with you if they conduct the interviews. I respect your relationship with customers; if you prefer to do the interviewing, my rate can include help crafting questions that drive strong storytelling.