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5 Benefits of Learning Through the Case Study Method

• 28 Nov 2023

While several factors make HBS Online unique —including a global Community and real-world outcomes —active learning through the case study method rises to the top.

In a 2023 City Square Associates survey, 74 percent of HBS Online learners who also took a course from another provider said HBS Online’s case method and real-world examples were better by comparison.

Here’s a primer on the case method, five benefits you could gain, and how to experience it for yourself.

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What Is the Harvard Business School Case Study Method?

The case study method , or case method , is a learning technique in which you’re presented with a real-world business challenge and asked how you’d solve it. After working through it yourself and with peers, you’re told how the scenario played out.

HBS pioneered the case method in 1922. Shortly before, in 1921, the first case was written.

“How do you go into an ambiguous situation and get to the bottom of it?” says HBS Professor Jan Rivkin, former senior associate dean and chair of HBS's master of business administration (MBA) program, in a video about the case method . “That skill—the skill of figuring out a course of inquiry to choose a course of action—that skill is as relevant today as it was in 1921.”

Originally developed for the in-person MBA classroom, HBS Online adapted the case method into an engaging, interactive online learning experience in 2014.

In HBS Online courses , you learn about each case from the business professional who experienced it. After reviewing their videos, you’re prompted to take their perspective and explain how you’d handle their situation.

You then get to read peers’ responses, “star” them, and comment to further the discussion. Afterward, you learn how the professional handled it and their key takeaways.

HBS Online’s adaptation of the case method incorporates the famed HBS “cold call,” in which you’re called on at random to make a decision without time to prepare.

“Learning came to life!” said Sheneka Balogun , chief administration officer and chief of staff at LeMoyne-Owen College, of her experience taking the Credential of Readiness (CORe) program . “The videos from the professors, the interactive cold calls where you were randomly selected to participate, and the case studies that enhanced and often captured the essence of objectives and learning goals were all embedded in each module. This made learning fun, engaging, and student-friendly.”

If you’re considering taking a course that leverages the case study method, here are five benefits you could experience.

5 Benefits of Learning Through Case Studies

1. take new perspectives.

The case method prompts you to consider a scenario from another person’s perspective. To work through the situation and come up with a solution, you must consider their circumstances, limitations, risk tolerance, stakeholders, resources, and potential consequences to assess how to respond.

Taking on new perspectives not only can help you navigate your own challenges but also others’. Putting yourself in someone else’s situation to understand their motivations and needs can go a long way when collaborating with stakeholders.

2. Hone Your Decision-Making Skills

Another skill you can build is the ability to make decisions effectively . The case study method forces you to use limited information to decide how to handle a problem—just like in the real world.

Throughout your career, you’ll need to make difficult decisions with incomplete or imperfect information—and sometimes, you won’t feel qualified to do so. Learning through the case method allows you to practice this skill in a low-stakes environment. When facing a real challenge, you’ll be better prepared to think quickly, collaborate with others, and present and defend your solution.

3. Become More Open-Minded

As you collaborate with peers on responses, it becomes clear that not everyone solves problems the same way. Exposing yourself to various approaches and perspectives can help you become a more open-minded professional.

When you’re part of a diverse group of learners from around the world, your experiences, cultures, and backgrounds contribute to a range of opinions on each case.

On the HBS Online course platform, you’re prompted to view and comment on others’ responses, and discussion is encouraged. This practice of considering others’ perspectives can make you more receptive in your career.

“You’d be surprised at how much you can learn from your peers,” said Ratnaditya Jonnalagadda , a software engineer who took CORe.

In addition to interacting with peers in the course platform, Jonnalagadda was part of the HBS Online Community , where he networked with other professionals and continued discussions sparked by course content.

“You get to understand your peers better, and students share examples of businesses implementing a concept from a module you just learned,” Jonnalagadda said. “It’s a very good way to cement the concepts in one's mind.”

4. Enhance Your Curiosity

One byproduct of taking on different perspectives is that it enables you to picture yourself in various roles, industries, and business functions.

“Each case offers an opportunity for students to see what resonates with them, what excites them, what bores them, which role they could imagine inhabiting in their careers,” says former HBS Dean Nitin Nohria in the Harvard Business Review . “Cases stimulate curiosity about the range of opportunities in the world and the many ways that students can make a difference as leaders.”

Through the case method, you can “try on” roles you may not have considered and feel more prepared to change or advance your career .

5. Build Your Self-Confidence

Finally, learning through the case study method can build your confidence. Each time you assume a business leader’s perspective, aim to solve a new challenge, and express and defend your opinions and decisions to peers, you prepare to do the same in your career.

According to a 2022 City Square Associates survey , 84 percent of HBS Online learners report feeling more confident making business decisions after taking a course.

“Self-confidence is difficult to teach or coach, but the case study method seems to instill it in people,” Nohria says in the Harvard Business Review . “There may well be other ways of learning these meta-skills, such as the repeated experience gained through practice or guidance from a gifted coach. However, under the direction of a masterful teacher, the case method can engage students and help them develop powerful meta-skills like no other form of teaching.”

How to Experience the Case Study Method

If the case method seems like a good fit for your learning style, experience it for yourself by taking an HBS Online course. Offerings span seven subject areas, including:

• Business essentials
• Leadership and management
• Entrepreneurship and innovation
• Finance and accounting
• Business in society

No matter which course or credential program you choose, you’ll examine case studies from real business professionals, work through their challenges alongside peers, and gain valuable insights to apply to your career.

Are you interested in discovering how HBS Online can help advance your career? Explore our course catalog and download our free guide —complete with interactive workbook sections—to determine if online learning is right for you and which course to take.

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What Is a Case Study and Why You Should Use Them

Case studies can provide more insights into your business while helping you conduct further research with robust qualitative data analysis to learn more.

If you're in charge of running a company, then you're likely always looking for new ways to run your business more efficiently and increase your customer base while streamlining as many processes as possible.

Unfortunately, it can sometimes be difficult to determine how to go about implementing the proper program in order to be successful. This is why many business owners opt to conduct a case study, which can help significantly. Whether you've been struggling with brand consistency or some other problem, the right case study can identify why your problem exists as well as provide a way to rectify it.

A case study is a great tool that many businesses aren't even aware exists, and there are marketing experts like Mailchimp who can provide you with step-by-step assistance with implementing a plan with a case study. Many companies discover that not only do they need to start a blog in order to improve business, but they also need to create specific and relevant blog titles.

If your company already has a blog, then optimizing your blog posts may be helpful. Regardless of the obstacles that are preventing you from achieving all your professional goals, a case study can work wonders in helping you reverse this issue.

What is a case study?

A case study is a comprehensive report of the results of theory testing or examining emerging themes of a business in real life context. Case studies are also often used in the healthcare industry, conducting health services research with primary research interest around routinely collected healthcare data.

However, for businesses, the purpose of a case study is to help small business owners or company leaders identify the issues and conduct further research into what may be preventing success through information collection, client or customer interviews, and in-depth data analysis.

Knowing the case study definition is crucial for any business owner. By identifying the issues that are hindering a company from achieving all its goals, it's easier to make the necessary corrections to promote success through influenced data collection.

Why are case studies important?

Now that we've answered the questions, "what is a case study?" Why are case studies important? Some of the top reasons why case studies are important include:

• Understand complex issues: Even after you conduct a significant amount of market research , you might have a difficult time understanding exactly what it means. While you might have the basics down, conducting a case study can help you see how that information is applied. Then, when you see how the information can make a difference in business decisions, it could make it easier to understand complex issues.
• Collect data: A case study can also help with data tracking . A case study is a data collection method that can help you describe the information that you have available to you. Then, you can present that information in a way the reader can understand.
• Conduct evaluations: As you learn more about how to write a case study, remember that you can also use a case study to conduct evaluations of a specific situation. A case study is a great way to learn more about complex situations, and you can evaluate how various people responded in that situation. By conducting a case study evaluation, you can learn more about what has worked well, what has not, and what you might want to change in the future.
• Identify potential solutions: A case study can also help you identify solutions to potential problems. If you have an issue in your business that you are trying to solve, you may be able to take a look at a case study where someone has dealt with a similar situation in the past. For example, you may uncover data bias in a specific solution that you would like to address when you tackle the issue on your own. If you need help solving a difficult problem, a case study may be able to help you.

Remember that you can also use case studies to target your audience . If you want to show your audience that you have a significant level of expertise in a field, you may want to publish some case studies that you have handled in the past. Then, when your audience sees that you have had success in a specific area, they may be more likely to provide you with their business. In essence, case studies can be looked at as the original method of social proof, showcasing exactly how you can help someone solve their problems.

What are the benefits of writing a business case study?

Although writing a case study can seem like a tedious task, there are many benefits to conducting one through an in depth qualitative research process.

• Industry understanding: First of all, a case study can give you an in-depth understanding of your industry through a particular conceptual framework and help you identify hidden problems that are preventing you from transcending into the business world.
• Develop theories: If you decide to write a business case study, it provides you with an opportunity to develop new theories. You might have a theory about how to solve a specific problem, but you need to write a business case study to see exactly how that theory has unfolded in the past. Then, you can figure out if you want to apply your theory to a similar issue in the future.
• Evaluate interventions: When you write a business case study that focuses on a specific situation you have been through in the past, you can uncover whether that intervention was truly helpful. This can make it easier to figure out whether you want to use the same intervention in a similar situation in the future.
• Identify best practices: If you want to stay on top of the best practices in your field, conducting case studies can help by allowing you to identify patterns and trends and develop a new list of best practices that you can follow in the future.
• Versatility: Writing a case study also provides you with more versatility. If you want to expand your business applications, you need to figure out how you respond to various problems. When you run a business case study, you open the door to new opportunities, new applications, and new techniques that could help you make a difference in your business down the road.
• Solve problems: Writing a great case study can dramatically improve your chances of reversing your problem and improving your business.
• These are just a few of the biggest benefits you might experience if you decide to publish your case studies. They can be an effective tool for learning, showcasing your talents, and teaching some of your other employees. If you want to grow your audience , you may want to consider publishing some case studies.

What are the limitations of case studies?

Case studies can be a wonderful tool for any business of any size to use to gain an in-depth understanding of their clients, products, customers, or services, but there are limitations.

One limitation of case studies is the fact that, unless there are other recently published examples, there is nothing to compare them to since, most of the time, you are conducting a single, not multiple, case studies.

Another limitation is the fact that most case studies can lack scientific evidence.

Types of case studies

There are specific types of case studies to choose from, and each specific type will yield different results. Some case study types even overlap, which is sometimes more favorable, as they provide even more pertinent data.

Here are overviews of the different types of case studies, each with its own theoretical framework, so you can determine which type would be most effective for helping you meet your goals.

Explanatory case studies

Explanatory case studies are pretty straightforward, as they're not difficult to interpret. This type of case study is best if there aren't many variables involved because explanatory case studies can easily answer questions like "how" and "why" through theory development.

Exploratory case studies

An exploratory case study does exactly what its name implies: it goes into specific detail about the topic at hand in a natural, real-life context with qualitative research.

The benefits of exploratory case studies are limitless, with the main one being that it offers a great deal of flexibility. Having flexibility when writing a case study is important because you can't always predict what obstacles might arise during the qualitative research process.

Collective case studies

Collective case studies require you to study many different individuals in order to obtain usable data.

Case studies that involve an investigation of people will involve many different variables, all of which can't be predicted. Despite this fact, there are many benefits of collective case studies, including the fact that it allows an ongoing analysis of the data collected.

Intrinsic case studies

This type of study differs from the others as it focuses on the inquiry of one specific instance among many possibilities.

Many people prefer these types of case studies because it allows them to learn about the particular instance that they wish to investigate further.

Instrumental case studies

An instrumental case study is similar to an intrinsic one, as it focuses on a particular instance, whether it's a person, organization, or something different.

One thing that differentiates instrumental case studies from intrinsic ones is the fact that instrumental case studies aren't chosen merely because a person is interested in learning about a specific instance.

Tips for writing a case study

If you have decided to write case studies for your company, then you may be unsure of where to start or which type to conduct.

However, it doesn't have to be difficult or confusing to begin conducting a case study that will help you identify ways to improve your business.

Here are some helpful tips for writing your case studies:

1. Your case study must be written in the proper format

When writing a case study, the format that you should be similar to this:

Administrative summary

The executive summary is an overview of what your report will contain, written in a concise manner while providing real-life context.

Despite the fact that the executive summary should appear at the beginning of your case studies, it shouldn't be written until you've completed the entire report because if you write it before you finish the report, this summary may not be completely accurate.

Key problem statement

In this section of your case study, you will briefly describe the problem that you hope to solve by conducting the study. You will have the opportunity to elaborate on the problem that you're focusing on as you get into the breadth of the report.

Problem exploration

This part of the case study isn't as brief as the other two, and it goes into more detail about the problem at hand. Your problem exploration must include why the identified problem needs to be solved as well as the urgency of solving it.

Additionally, it must include justification for conducting the problem-solving, as the benefits must outweigh the efforts and costs.

Proposed resolution

This case study section will also be lengthier than the first two. It must include how you propose going about rectifying the problem. The "recommended solution" section must also include potential obstacles that you might experience, as well as how these will be managed.

Furthermore, you will need to list alternative solutions and explain the reason the chosen solution is best. Charts can enhance your report and make it easier to read, and provide as much proof to substantiate your claim as possible.

Overview of monetary consideration

An overview of monetary consideration is essential for all case studies, as it will be used to convince all involved parties why your project should be funded. You must successfully convince them that the cost is worth the investment it will require. It's important that you stress the necessity for this particular case study and explain the expected outcome.

Execution timeline

In the execution times of case studies, you explain how long you predict it will take to implement your study. The shorter the time it will take to implement your plan, the more apt it is to be approved. However, be sure to provide a reasonable timeline, taking into consideration any additional time that might be needed due to obstacles.

Always include a conclusion in your case study. This is where you will briefly wrap up your entire proposal, stressing the benefits of completing the data collection and data analysis in order to rectify your problem.

2. Make it clear and comprehensive

You want to write your case studies with as much clarity as possible so that every aspect of the report is understood. Be sure to double-check your grammar, spelling, punctuation, and more, as you don't want to submit a poorly-written document.

Not only would a poorly-written case study fail to prove that what you are trying to achieve is important, but it would also increase the chances that your report will be tossed aside and not taken seriously.

3. Don't rush through the process

Writing the perfect case study takes time and patience. Rushing could result in your forgetting to include information that is crucial to your entire study. Don't waste your time creating a study that simply isn't ready. Take the necessary time to perform all the research necessary to write the best case study possible.

Depending on the case study, conducting case study research could mean using qualitative methods, quantitative methods, or both. Qualitative research questions focus on non-numerical data, such as how people feel, their beliefs, their experiences, and so on.

Meanwhile, quantitative research questions focus on numerical or statistical data collection to explain causal links or get an in-depth picture.

It is also important to collect insightful and constructive feedback. This will help you better understand the outcome as well as any changes you need to make to future case studies. Consider using formal and informal ways to collect feedback to ensure that you get a range of opinions and perspectives.

4. Be confident in your theory development

While writing your case study or conducting your formal experimental investigation, you should have confidence in yourself and what you're proposing in your report. If you took the time to gather all the pertinent data collected to complete the report, don't second-guess yourself or doubt your abilities. If you believe your report will be amazing, then it likely will be.

5. Case studies and all qualitative research are long

It's expected that multiple case studies are going to be incredibly boring, and there is no way around this. However, it doesn't mean you can choose your language carefully in order to keep your audience as engaged as possible.

If your audience loses interest in your case study at the beginning, for whatever reason, then this increases the likelihood that your case study will not be funded.

Case study examples

If you want to learn more about how to write a case study, it might be beneficial to take a look at a few case study examples. Below are a few interesting case study examples you may want to take a closer look at.

• Phineas Gage by John Martin Marlow : One of the most famous case studies comes from the medical field, and it is about the story of Phineas Gage, a man who had a railroad spike driven through his head in 1848. As he was working on a railroad, an explosive charge went off prematurely, sending a railroad rod through his head. Even though he survived this incident, he lost his left eye. However, Phineas Gage was studied extensively over the years because his experiences had a significant, lasting impact on his personality. This served as a case study because his injury showed different parts of the brain have different functions.
• Kitty Genovese and the bystander effect : This is a tragic case study that discusses the murder of Kitty Genovese, a woman attacked and murdered in Queens, New York City. Shockingly, while numerous neighbors watched the scene, nobody called for help because they assumed someone else would. This case study helped to define the bystander effect, which is when a person fails to intervene during an emergency because other people are around.
• Henry Molaison and the study of memory : Henry Molaison lost his memory and suffered from debilitating amnesia. He suffered from childhood epilepsy, and medical professionals attempted to remove the part of his brain that was causing his seizures. He had a portion of his brain removed, but it completely took away his ability to hold memories. Even though he went on to live until the age of 82, he was always forced to live in the present moment, as he was completely unable to form new memories.

Case study FAQs

When should you do a case study.

There are several scenarios when conducting a case study can be beneficial. Case studies are often used when there's a "why" or "how" question that needs to be answered. Case studies are also beneficial when trying to understand a complex phenomenon, there's limited research on a topic, or when you're looking for practical solutions to a problem.

How can case study results be used to make business decisions?

You can use the results from a case study to make future business decisions if you find yourself in a similar situation. As you assess the results of a case study, you can identify best practices, evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention, generate new and creative ideas, or get a better understanding of customer needs.

How are case studies different from other research methodologies?

When compared to other research methodologies, such as experimental or qualitative research methodology, a case study does not require a representative sample. For example, if you are performing quantitative research, you have a lot of subjects that expand your sample size. If you are performing experimental research, you may have a random sample in front of you. A case study is usually designed to deliberately focus on unusual situations, which allows it to shed new light on a specific business research problem.

Writing multiple case studies for your business

If you're feeling overwhelmed by the idea of writing a case study and it seems completely foreign, then you aren't alone. Writing a case study for a business is a very big deal, but fortunately, there is help available because an example of a case study doesn't always help.

Mailchimp, a well-known marketing company that provides comprehensive marketing support for all sorts of businesses, can assist you with your case study, or you can review one of their own recently published examples.

Mailchimp can assist you with developing the most effective content strategy to increase your chances of being as successful as possible. Mailchimp's content studio is a great tool that can help your business immensely.

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Why Are Case Studies Important? Top 4 Reasons

Updated April 2024: Has a boss or colleague ever asked you, “Why are case studies so important?” This is a question all SaaS marketers must be able to answer, especially when it comes time to create your marketing budget for the year.

SaaS case studies are still the #1 marketing tactic to increase sales

The importance of a case study can’t be underestimated. For the second year in a row, SaaS marketers ranked case studies the #1 most effective marketing tactic to increase sales —ahead of general website content, SEO, blog posts, social media and other marketing tactics. 

These metrics come from the 115 SaaS marketers we surveyed for our 2024 Customer Story Trends & Insights Report . (We’d encourage you to check out the report.)

Importance of a case study is undeniable

Why are case studies so important? What is the need and significance of a case study? Case studies are top-tier marketing tools for SaaS companies to showcase the value of their products to potential customers, helping to drive sales and revenue.

Customers are our best marketers. I love getting to know our customers through these stories, especially because documenting their successes helps advance their careers and gives more senior leaders the chance to celebrate their teams.

Why are case studies important in marketing?

Case studies are essentially a play-by-play of how your customer recognized that they had a challenge they needed to overcome, why they chose you, what products or services you provided, and how those products or services helped them solve their challenge.

And what makes case studies even more valuable? They’re a great investment because case studies can be repurposed so heavily —everything from PDFs and videos to infographics to social.

In this post, we’ll demonstrate the importance of a case study in business and discuss the top 4 advantages of using case studies in your marketing mix.

Need a hand with writing case studies? We are a SaaS content marketing agency that specializes in writing case studies for companies like ClickUp, WalkMe and LeanData. Check out our case study writing services .

What are 4 advantages of case studies?

1. case studies demonstrate your expertise in your niche.

As a SaaS marketer, your job is to know how to produce a business case study in a way that makes your product or service stand out among your competitors.

Creating case studies is an effective way to capture the attention of buyers in your industry because the content—including the products, services and use cases covered in the piece—will be highly relevant to your target audience and will therefore have a strong chance of resonating with them.

If you’re still wondering, “Why are case studies important?”, then put yourself in your buyer’s shoes. Say you’re evaluating several different customer relationship management (CRM) platforms. All three vendors have an eye-catching website with informative and clever product copy, but only one has a repository of case studies that illustrate how its clients have landed 50% more sales since they’ve implemented this particular CRM. Sounds like a winner to us (and it demonstrates case study importance)!

Case studies are important because our prospects want to see that we’ve helped customers who are in the same industry and have similar pain points. Reference calls are helpful, but it’s important to have stories that sales folks can share easily.  

2. Case studies provide social proof in an original way

What is the importance of a case study? Well, nearly 90% of consumers read product reviews before they make a purchase, which means gathering and publishing social proof is a crucial activity for your SaaS company.

Changing consumer behavior is another reason why case studies are important. Case studies give your readers what they’re looking for, which is confirmation from other B2B buyers just like them that your products and services are the real deal.

Another advantage of case studies is that by nature, they’re original stories about individuals with specific challenges and goals. Knowing how to write a case study that goes beyond generic product reviews is critical.

When writing a case study, dig deep into everything from how your team helps customers implement your software to what your customer’s future use cases could include. This type of content gives your prospect thorough insight into what it’s like to use your products and work with your company.

Case studies offer social proof for how we provide value to our customers. Our sales team uses our case studies to build credibility and offer “proof points” for why (and how) Crossbeam can solve their problems.

3. Case studies help your SaaS company close sales

Let’s quickly recap the last 2 points:

1) Case studies capture your buyers’ attention with highly relevant content that positions your SaaS company as an expert in the products or services you deliver.

2) Case studies also build trust by sharing social proof in an interesting format that uses storytelling to weave a narrative. For those two reasons, case studies are fantastic content marketing tools to help you close sales. 

In addition, especially if your offerings are complex, it’s essential to help potential customers understand how your software will meet their needs. Case studies give you an opportunity to explain— with real-world examples and visual aids —the more complicated aspects of your products and services.

Case studies are important because they provide real-life examples of positive customer outcomes and sentiment—a critical part of gaining buy-in from prospects during a sales cycle.

4. Strengthen customer relationships

If you’re hesitant to ask your customers to participate in case studies, you’re not alone. It’s normal to feel like you might be imposing on a customer by asking them to take time out of their busy schedule for an interview, but chances are they’d be happy to help you craft a case study to illustrate your mutual success working together.

When it comes to the question, “Why are case studies important?”, one of the best answers is that they can help you strengthen customer relationships by letting your customers know you believe they have a valuable story. This gesture of goodwill can increase customer retention, which can in turn grow your SaaS company’s revenue by as much as 95% .

Case studies are important because they give you the opportunity to celebrate an existing customer, which in and of itself is of immense value. Secondarily, for both customers and prospects alike, they always prefer to “see someone like them” rather than just hear you spew what-ifs at them.

Need a hand with your case studies ?

Now that you understand why case studies are so important, it’s time to take action—and we can help.

As a SaaS content marketing agency , we write case studies for high-growth B2B SaaS companies like ClickUp, WalkMe and Okta. Check out our case study writing service then get in touch.

As the founder of Uplift Content, Emily leads her team in creating done-for-you case studies, ebooks and blog posts for high-growth SaaS companies like ClickUp, Calendly and WalkMe. Connect with Emily on Linkedin

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7 Favorite Business Case Studies to Teach—and Why

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• Case Teaching
• Course Materials

FEATURED CASE STUDIES

The Army Crew Team . Emily Michelle David of CEIBS

ATH Technologies . Devin Shanthikumar of Paul Merage School of Business

Fabritek 1992 . Rob Austin of Ivey Business School

Lincoln Electric Co . Karin Schnarr of Wilfrid Laurier University

Pal’s Sudden Service—Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth . Gary Pisano of Harvard Business School

The United States Air Force: ‘Chaos’ in the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron . Francesca Gino of Harvard Business School

Warren E. Buffett, 2015 . Robert F. Bruner of Darden School of Business

To dig into what makes a compelling case study, we asked seven experienced educators who teach with—and many who write—business case studies: “What is your favorite case to teach and why?”

The resulting list of case study favorites ranges in topics from operations management and organizational structure to rebel leaders and whodunnit dramas.

1. The Army Crew Team

Emily Michelle David, Assistant Professor of Management, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS)

“I love teaching  The Army Crew Team  case because it beautifully demonstrates how a team can be so much less than the sum of its parts.

I deliver the case to executives in a nearby state-of-the-art rowing facility that features rowing machines, professional coaches, and shiny red eight-person shells.

After going through the case, they hear testimonies from former members of Chinese national crew teams before carrying their own boat to the river for a test race.

The rich learning environment helps to vividly underscore one of the case’s core messages: competition can be a double-edged sword if not properly managed.

Executives in Emily Michelle David’s organizational behavior class participate in rowing activities at a nearby facility as part of her case delivery.

Despite working for an elite headhunting firm, the executives in my most recent class were surprised to realize how much they’ve allowed their own team-building responsibilities to lapse. In the MBA pre-course, this case often leads to a rich discussion about common traps that newcomers fall into (for example, trying to do too much, too soon), which helps to poise them to both stand out in the MBA as well as prepare them for the lateral team building they will soon engage in.

Finally, I love that the post-script always gets a good laugh and serves as an early lesson that organizational behavior courses will seldom give you foolproof solutions for specific problems but will, instead, arm you with the ability to think through issues more critically.”

2. ATH Technologies

Devin Shanthikumar, Associate Professor of Accounting, Paul Merage School of Business

“As a professor at UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, and before that at Harvard Business School, I have probably taught over 100 cases. I would like to say that my favorite case is my own,   Compass Box Whisky Company . But as fun as that case is, one case beats it:  ATH Technologies  by Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard.

ATH presents a young entrepreneurial company that is bought by a much larger company. As part of the merger, ATH gets an ‘earn-out’ deal—common among high-tech industries. The company, and the class, must decide what to do to achieve the stretch earn-out goals.

ATH captures a scenario we all want to be in at some point in our careers—being part of a young, exciting, growing organization. And a scenario we all will likely face—having stretch goals that seem almost unreachable.

It forces us, as a class, to really struggle with what to do at each stage.

After we read and discuss the A case, we find out what happens next, and discuss the B case, then the C, then D, and even E. At every stage, we can:

see how our decisions play out,

figure out how to build on our successes, and

address our failures.

The case is exciting, the class discussion is dynamic and energetic, and in the end, we all go home with a memorable ‘ah-ha!’ moment.

I have taught many great cases over my career, but none are quite as fun, memorable, and effective as ATH .”

3. Fabritek 1992

Rob Austin, Professor of Information Systems, Ivey Business School

“This might seem like an odd choice, but my favorite case to teach is an old operations case called  Fabritek 1992 .

The latest version of Fabritek 1992 is dated 2009, but it is my understanding that this is a rewrite of a case that is older (probably much older). There is a Fabritek 1969 in the HBP catalog—same basic case, older dates, and numbers. That 1969 version lists no authors, so I suspect the case goes even further back; the 1969 version is, I’m guessing, a rewrite of an even older version.

There are many things I appreciate about the case. Here are a few:

It operates as a learning opportunity at many levels. At first it looks like a not-very-glamorous production job scheduling case. By the end of the case discussion, though, we’re into (operations) strategy and more. It starts out technical, then explodes into much broader relevance. As I tell participants when I’m teaching HBP's Teaching with Cases seminars —where I often use Fabritek as an example—when people first encounter this case, they almost always underestimate it.

It has great characters—especially Arthur Moreno, who looks like a troublemaker, but who, discussion reveals, might just be the smartest guy in the factory. Alums of the Harvard MBA program have told me that they remember Arthur Moreno many years later.

Almost every word in the case is important. It’s only four and a half pages of text and three pages of exhibits. This economy of words and sparsity of style have always seemed like poetry to me. I should note that this super concise, every-word-matters approach is not the ideal we usually aspire to when we write cases. Often, we include extra or superfluous information because part of our teaching objective is to provide practice in separating what matters from what doesn’t in a case. Fabritek takes a different approach, though, which fits it well.

It has a dramatic structure. It unfolds like a detective story, a sort of whodunnit. Something is wrong. There is a quality problem, and we’re not sure who or what is responsible. One person, Arthur Moreno, looks very guilty (probably too obviously guilty), but as we dig into the situation, there are many more possibilities. We spend in-class time analyzing the data (there’s a bit of math, so it covers that base, too) to determine which hypotheses are best supported by the data. And, realistically, the data doesn’t support any of the hypotheses perfectly, just some of them more than others. Also, there’s a plot twist at the end (I won’t reveal it, but here’s a hint: Arthur Moreno isn’t nearly the biggest problem in the final analysis). I have had students tell me the surprising realization at the end of the discussion gives them ‘goosebumps.’

Finally, through the unexpected plot twist, it imparts what I call a ‘wisdom lesson’ to young managers: not to be too sure of themselves and to regard the experiences of others, especially experts out on the factory floor, with great seriousness.”

4. Lincoln Electric Co.

Karin Schnarr, Assistant Professor of Policy, Wilfrid Laurier University

“As a strategy professor, my favorite case to teach is the classic 1975 Harvard case  Lincoln Electric Co.  by Norman Berg.

I use it to demonstrate to students the theory linkage between strategy and organizational structure, management processes, and leadership behavior.

This case may be an odd choice for a favorite. It occurs decades before my students were born. It is pages longer than we are told students are now willing to read. It is about manufacturing arc welding equipment in Cleveland, Ohio—a hard sell for a Canadian business classroom.

Yet, I have never come across a case that so perfectly illustrates what I want students to learn about how a company can be designed from an organizational perspective to successfully implement its strategy.

And in a time where so much focus continues to be on how to maximize shareholder value, it is refreshing to be able to discuss a publicly-traded company that is successfully pursuing a strategy that provides a fair value to shareholders while distributing value to employees through a large bonus pool, as well as value to customers by continually lowering prices.

However, to make the case resonate with today’s students, I work to make it relevant to the contemporary business environment. I link the case to multimedia clips about Lincoln Electric’s current manufacturing practices, processes, and leadership practices. My students can then see that a model that has been in place for generations is still viable and highly successful, even in our very different competitive situation.”

5. Pal’s Sudden Service—Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth

Gary Pisano, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

“My favorite case to teach these days is  Pal’s Sudden Service—Scaling an Organizational Model to Drive Growth .

I love teaching this case for three reasons:

1. It demonstrates how a company in a super-tough, highly competitive business can do very well by focusing on creating unique operating capabilities. In theory, Pal’s should have no chance against behemoths like McDonalds or Wendy’s—but it thrives because it has built a unique operating system. It’s a great example of a strategic approach to operations in action.

2. The case shows how a strategic approach to human resource and talent development at all levels really matters. This company competes in an industry not known for engaging its front-line workers. The case shows how engaging these workers can really pay off.

3. Finally, Pal’s is really unusual in its approach to growth. Most companies set growth goals (usually arbitrary ones) and then try to figure out how to ‘backfill’ the human resource and talent management gaps. They trust you can always find someone to do the job. Pal’s tackles the growth problem completely the other way around. They rigorously select and train their future managers. Only when they have a manager ready to take on their own store do they open a new one. They pace their growth off their capacity to develop talent. I find this really fascinating and so do the students I teach this case to.”

6. The United States Air Force: ‘Chaos’ in the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron

Francesca Gino, Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

“My favorite case to teach is  The United States Air Force: ‘Chaos’ in the 99th Reconnaissance Squadron .

The case surprises students because it is about a leader, known in the unit by the nickname Chaos , who inspired his squadron to be innovative and to change in a culture that is all about not rocking the boat, and where there is a deep sense that rules should simply be followed.

For years, I studied ‘rebels,’ people who do not accept the status quo; rather, they approach work with curiosity and produce positive change in their organizations. Chaos is a rebel leader who got the level of cultural change right. Many of the leaders I’ve met over the years complain about the ‘corporate culture,’ or at least point to clear weaknesses of it; but then they throw their hands up in the air and forget about changing what they can.

Chaos is different—he didn’t go after the ‘Air Force’ culture. That would be like boiling the ocean.

Instead, he focused on his unit of control and command: The 99th squadron. He focused on enabling that group to do what it needed to do within the confines of the bigger Air Force culture. In the process, he inspired everyone on his team to be the best they can be at work.

The case leaves the classroom buzzing and inspired to take action.”

7. Warren E. Buffett, 2015

Robert F. Bruner, Professor of Business Administration, Darden School of Business

“I love teaching   Warren E. Buffett, 2015  because it energizes, exercises, and surprises students.

Buffett looms large in the business firmament and therefore attracts anyone who is eager to learn his secrets for successful investing. This generates the kind of energy that helps to break the ice among students and instructors early in a course and to lay the groundwork for good case discussion practices.

Studying Buffett’s approach to investing helps to introduce and exercise important themes that will resonate throughout a course. The case challenges students to define for themselves what it means to create value. The case discussion can easily be tailored for novices or for more advanced students.

Either way, this is not hero worship: The case affords a critical examination of the financial performance of Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathaway, and reveals both triumphs and stumbles. Most importantly, students can critique the purported benefits of Buffett’s conglomeration strategy and the sustainability of his investment record as the size of the firm grows very large.

By the end of the class session, students seem surprised with what they have discovered. They buzz over the paradoxes in Buffett’s philosophy and performance record. And they come away with sober respect for Buffett’s acumen and for the challenges of creating value for investors.

Surely, such sobriety is a meta-message for any mastery of finance.”

More Educator Favorites

Emily Michelle David is an assistant professor of management at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). Her current research focuses on discovering how to make workplaces more welcoming for people of all backgrounds and personality profiles to maximize performance and avoid employee burnout. David’s work has been published in a number of scholarly journals, and she has worked as an in-house researcher at both NASA and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Devin Shanthikumar  is an associate professor and the accounting area coordinator at UCI Paul Merage School of Business. She teaches undergraduate, MBA, and executive-level courses in managerial accounting. Shanthikumar previously served on the faculty at Harvard Business School, where she taught both financial accounting and managerial accounting for MBAs, and wrote cases that are used in accounting courses across the country.

Robert D. Austin is a professor of information systems at Ivey Business School and an affiliated faculty member at Harvard Medical School. He has published widely, authoring nine books, more than 50 cases and notes, three Harvard online products, and two popular massive open online courses (MOOCs) running on the Coursera platform.

Karin Schnarr is an assistant professor of policy and the director of the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) program at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada where she teaches strategic management at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels. Schnarr has published several award-winning and best-selling cases and regularly presents at international conferences on case writing and scholarship.

Gary P. Pisano is the Harry E. Figgie, Jr. Professor of Business Administration and senior associate dean of faculty development at Harvard Business School, where he has been on the faculty since 1988. Pisano is an expert in the fields of technology and operations strategy, the management of innovation, and competitive strategy. His research and consulting experience span a range of industries including aerospace, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, health care, nutrition, computers, software, telecommunications, and semiconductors.

Francesca Gino studies how people can have more productive, creative, and fulfilling lives. She is a professor at Harvard Business School and the author, most recently, of  Rebel Talent: Why It Pays to Break the Rules at Work and in Life . Gino regularly gives keynote speeches, delivers corporate training programs, and serves in advisory roles for firms and not-for-profit organizations across the globe.

Robert F. Bruner is a university professor at the University of Virginia, distinguished professor of business administration, and dean emeritus of the Darden School of Business. He has also held visiting appointments at Harvard and Columbia universities in the United States, at INSEAD in France, and at IESE in Spain. He is the author, co-author, or editor of more than 20 books on finance, management, and teaching. Currently, he teaches and writes in finance and management.

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The Importance of Case Studies

Case studies are, arguably, one of the most essential components of any marketing or communications strategy. They may take time and effort, but the payoffs are well worth their effort and have been seen time and again, from organizations both big and small.

As Business Analysts, we’re often involved in creating or contributing to case studies, so it is important we understand what they are, the purpose they serve, and the benefits that they can bring. 

What Are Case Studies?

In essence, a case study is a report published by a company that highlights its approach to a challenge, the strategy used to solve the issue(s), and the effectiveness of the solution. It presents a holistic, in-depth review with valuable information about the costs involved, the expertise of the company employed, and the benefits achieved.

The Many Benefits of Case Studies

Case studies have a huge range of benefits, from insight to influence. They are used in nearly every industry, from finance to health care and they offer organizations the ability to convert observations into useable data.

But that barely scratches the surface of the many benefits of case studies. Let’s dig a little deeper and look at some of the long-lasting effects that case studies can have.

1. Boost Customer Confidence

Case studies are an excellent way to display your team’s skill and expertise in action. It’s one thing to propose a plan for improvement, or a solution to a challenge, but some customers may be skeptical of your team’s ability to follow through or produce the appealing results you’re promising. 

Case studies are exactly the type of proof they need to help push them past skepticism and into belief, and possibly, across the finish line to approval of your partnership. If it’s an internal project, case studies could be enough to convince decision-makers to pursue your solution to a challenge.

2. Improve Brand Awareness and Reputation

The reality of the world today is that every company in every industry has competition. Consumers are also becoming smarter about marketing tactics and messaging, so providing proof and backing up claims is essential for presenting your company as genuine in its promises. That’s where case studies come in. 

Case studies are social proof that the promises and claims that your company is making are true. They provide facts and statistics to show how your company improved productivity for your clients by ‘x’ amount, increased profits by ‘x’ amount, or implemented ‘x’ solution to combat a specific issue. 

Providing such proof of expertise bolsters your reputation and can increase brand awareness. Case studies can be published and distributed to current customers to remind them of why they partnered with you initially, and can help increase your company’s reputation and brand image as new potential customers discover you. 

3. Provide a Strategic Solution

No customer wants to partner with a company that acts erratically or thoughtlessly. Case studies provide insight into real challenges and an in-depth look at how your company goes about solving them. They give you a chance to display your strategic thinking and approach, your expertise and innovation, and your ability to follow through on your promised solution. 

4. Assist with Furthering Research

A case study helps show how different aspects of your business work together. They highlight a problem and how the executed solution provided value. They can also play a role in broader research. As you explore and analyze new ideas, other theories and methods can surface. This additional information can help you refine your strategies and further grow the value you provide. Case studies make great reference points that can show, not only how innovative, productive, and proficient your company and teams have become, but how trends have unfolded within your customers and services.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, case studies play a crucial role in the communication of how your team and you, as a Business Analyst, face challenging situations head-on and provide strategic, value-driven solutions for your customers. Once you have a better understanding of case studies and the deep benefits they provide to you and your brand, it’s easy to justify the time and effort that goes into creating them. As you create your next case study, use it as a reminder to take pride in the hard work you’ve done and the results you’ve achieved.

– Written by Jeremy Aschenbrenner, The BA Guide

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16 Important Ways to Use Case Studies in Your Marketing

Updated: September 08, 2020

Published: July 30, 2020

When you're thinking about investing in a product or service, what's the first thing you do?

Usually, it’s one or both of the following: You'll likely ask your friends whether they've tried the product or service, and if they have, whether they would recommend it. You'll also probably do some online research to see what others are saying about said product or service. Nowadays, 90% of consumers used the internet to find a local business in the last year , and 82% of consumers read online reviews. This shows that the majority of people are looking to peers to make a purchasing decision. Most customers know that a little online research could spare them from a bad experience and poor investment of your budget.

What Is a Marketing Case Study?

A case study is the analysis of a particular instance (or "case") of something to demonstrate quantifiable results as a result of the application of something. In marketing, case studies are used as social proof — to provide buyers with the context to determine whether they're making a good choice.

A marketing case study aims to persuade that a process, product, or service can solve a problem. Why? Because it has done so in the past. By including the quantitative and qualitative outcomes of the study, it appeals to logic while painting a picture of what success looks like for the buyer. Both of which can be powerful motivators and objection removers.

Why Use Case Studies?

In essence, case studies are an invaluable asset when it comes to establishing proof that what you're offering is valuable and of good quality.

According to HubSpot's State of Marketing Report 2020 , 13% of marketers name case studies as one of the primary forms of media used within their content strategy. This makes them the fifth most popular type of content, outshined only by visual content, blogs, and ebooks.

Okay, so you know case studies work. The question is, how  do they work? And how can you squeeze the most value out of them? 

When to Use a Case Study

Here are the ways you can market your case studies to get the most out of them.

As a Marketing or Sales Asset

1. use a case study template to create pdfs for email or downloads . .

Do not underestimate the value of providing social proof at just the right time in order to add value and earn their business. Case studies are extremely effective in the consideration stage of the buyer's journey when they are actively comparing solutions and providers to solve a problem they're experiencing. 

For this reason, case studies in an independent PDF format can be helpful in both marketing and sales. Marketers can use these PDFs as downloads in web content or email campaigns. Sales reps can utilize these assets in demonstrations, in a follow-up, or to overcome objections. 

The easiest way to create PDF case studies is by using a case study template . Doing so can decrease the amount of time you spend creating and designing your case study without sacrificing aesthetics. In addition, you can ensure that all your case studies follow a similar branded format. 

We've created a great case study template (and kit!) that's already locked and loaded for you to use. All you have to do is input your own text and change the fonts and colors to fit your brand. You can download it here .

On Your Website

2. have a dedicated case studies page..

You should have a webpage exclusively for housing your case studies. Whether you call this page "Case Studies, "Success Studies," or "Examples of Our Work," be sure it's easy for visitors to find.

Structure on that page is key: Initial challenges are clear for each case, as well as the goals, process, and results.

Get Inspired:  Google’s Think With Google  is an example of a really well structured case study page. The copy is engaging, as are the goals, approach, and results.

3. Put case studies on your home page.

Give website visitors every chance you can to stumble upon evidence of happy customers. Your home page is the perfect place to do this.

There are a number of ways you can include case studies on your homepage. Here are a few examples:

• Customer quotes/testimonials
• A call-to-action (CTA) to view specific case studies
• A slide-in CTA  that links to a case study
• A CTA leading to your case studies page

Get Inspired: Theresumator.com  incorporates testimonials onto their homepage to strengthen their value proposition.

Bonus Tip: Get personal.

Marketing gurus across the world agree that personalised marketing is the future . You can make your case studies more powerful if you find ways to make them “match” the website visitors that are important to you.

People react to familiarity -- for instance, presenting someone from London with a case study from New York may not resonate as well as if you displayed a case study from the U.K. Or you could choose to tailor case studies by industry or company size to the visitor. At HubSpot, we call this "smart content."

Get Inspired: To help explain smart content, have a look at the example below. Here, we wanted to test whether including testimonials on landing pages influenced conversion rates in the U.K. The landing page on the left is the default landing page shown to visitors from non-U.K. IP addresses. For the landing page on the right, we used smart content to show testimonials to visitors coming from U.K. IP addresses.

4. Implement slide-in CTAs.

Pop-ups have a reputation for being annoying, but there are ways to implement that that won't irk your website visitors. These CTAs don't have to be huge, glaring pop-ups -- instead, relevant but discreet slide-in CTAs can work really well.

For example, why not test out a slide-in CTA on one of your product pages, with a link to a case study that profiles a customer who's seen great results using that product?

Get Inspired:  If you need some help on creating sliders for your website, check out this tutorial on creating slide-in CTAs .

5. Write blog posts about your case studies.

Once you publish a case study, the next logical step would be to write a blog post about it to expose your audience to it. The trick is to write about the case study in a way that identifies with your audience’s needs. So rather than titling your post “Company X: A Case Study," you might write about a specific hurdle, issue, or challenge the company overcame, and then use that company's case study to illustrate how the issues were addressed. It's important not  to center the blog post around your company, product, or service -- instead, the customer’s challenges and how they were overcome should take centre stage.

For example, if we had a case study that showed how one customer generated twice as many leads as a result of our marketing automation tool, our blog post might be something along the lines of: "How to Double Lead Flow With Marketing Automation [Case Study]." The blog post would then comprise of a mix of stats, practical tips, as well as some illustrative examples from our case study.

Get Inspired:   Check out this great example of a blog post from Moz , titled "How to Build Links to Your Blog – A Case Study."

6. Create videos from case studies.

Internet services are improving all the time, and as a result, people are consuming more and more video content. Prospects could be more likely to watch a video than they are to read a lengthy case study. If you have the budget, creating videos of your case studies is a really powerful way to communicate your value proposition.

Get Inspired: Check out one of our many video testimonials for some ideas on how to approach your own videos.

7. Use case studies on relevant landing pages.

Once you complete a case study, you'll have a bank of quotes and results you can pull from. Including quotes on product pages is especially interesting. If website visitors are reading your product pages, they are in a "consideration" mindset, meaning they are actively researching your products, perhaps with an intent to buy. Having customer quotes placed strategically on these pages is a great way to push them over the line and further down the funnel.

These quotes should be measured, results-based snippets, such as, “XX resulted in a 70% increase in blog subscribers in less an 6 months” rather than, “We are proud to be customers of XX, they really look after us."

Get Inspired: I really like the way HR Software company Workday incorporates video and testimonials  into its solutions pages.

Off Your Website

8. post about case studies on social media..

Case studies make for perfect social sharing material. Here are a few examples of how you can leverage them on social:

• Share a link to a case study and tag the customer in the post. The trick here is to post your case studies in a way that attracts the right people to click through, rather than just a generic message like, “New Case Study ->> LINK." Make sure your status communicates clearly the challenge that was overcome or the goal that was achieved. It's also wise to include the main stats associated with the case study; for example, "2x lead flow," "125% increase in X," and so on.
• Update your cover image on Twitter/Facebook showing a happy customer. Our social media cover photo templates should help you with this!
• Add your case study to your list of publications on LinkedIn.
• Share your case studies in relevant LinkedIn Groups.
• Target your new case studies to relevant people on Facebook using dark posts. ( Learn about dark posts here. )

Get Inspired: MaRS Discovery District  posts case studies on Twitter to push people towards a desired action.

9. Use case studies in your email marketing.

Case studies are particularly suited to email marketing when you have an industry-segmentable list. For example, if you have a case study from a client in the insurance industry, emailing your case study to your base of insurance-related contacts can be a really relevant addition to a lead nurturing campaign.

Case studies can also be very effective when used in product-specific lead nurture workflows in reactivating opportunities that have gone cold. They can be useful for re-engaging leads that have gone quiet and who were looking at specific areas of your product that the case study relates to.

Get Inspired: It's important that your lead nurture workflow content includes the appropriate content for where prospects are in the sales cycle. If you need help on how to do this, check out our post on how to map lead nurturing content to each stage in sales cycle .

Pro tip: When sending emails, don't forget about the impact a good email signature can make. Create your own using our free Email Signature Generator .

10. Incorporate case studies into your newsletters.

This idea is as good for your client relations as it is for gaining the attention of your prospects. Customers and clients love feeling as though they're part of a community. It’s human nature. Prospects warm to companies that look after their customers; companies whose customers are happy and proud to be part of something. Also, whether we are willing to admit it or not, people love to show off!

Get Inspired: Newsletters become stale over time. Give your newsletters a new lease of life with our guide on how to create newsletters that don't suck .

11. Equip your sales team with case studies.

Tailored content has become increasingly important to sales reps as they look to provide value on the sales call. It's estimated that consumers go through 70-90% of the buyer's journey before contacting a vendor. This means that the consumer is more knowledgeable than ever before. Sales reps no longer need to spend an entire call talking about the features and benefits. Sales has become more complex, and reps now need to be armed with content that addresses each stage of the buyer’s process. Case studies can be really useful when it comes to showing prospects how successful other people within a similar industry has benefited from your product or service.

Get Inspired: Case studies are just one type of content that helps your sales team sell. They don't always work by themselves, though. Check out our list of content types that help sales close more deals .

12. Sneak a case study into your email signature.

Include a link to a recent case study in your email signature. This is particularly useful for salespeople. Here's what my email signature looks like:

Get Inspired: Did you know that there are lots more ways you can use your email signature to support your marketing? Here are 10 clever suggestions  for how you can do this.

13. Use case studies in training.

Having customer case studies is an invaluable asset to have when onboarding new employees. It aids developing their buy-in, belief in, and understanding of your offering.

Get Inspired: Have you completed our Inbound Certification course  yet? During our classes, we use case studies to show how inbound marketing is applied in real life.

In Lead-Gen Content

14. include case studies in your lead gen efforts..

There are a number of offers you can create based off of your case studies, in the form of ebooks, templates, and more. For example you could put together an ebook titled “A step-by-step guide to reaching 10,000 blog subscribers in 3 months…just like XX did.” You could create a more in-depth version of the case study with access to detailed statistics as an offer. (And don’t forget, you can also u se quotes and statistics from case studies on the landing page promoting the ebook, which adds credibility and could increase your conversion rates.) Or, you could create a template based on your customer's approach to success.

Get Inspired:   If you think you need to be an awesome designer put together beautiful ebooks, think again. Create ebooks easily using these customisable ebook templates .

You can also use case studies to frame webinars that document how to be successful with X. Using case studies in webinars is great middle-of-the-funnel content and can really help move your leads further down the funnel towards becoming sales qualified leads.

Get Inspired: Webinars are really effective as part of a lead nurturing workflow. Make sure your next webinar is spot on by following these simple webinar tips.

15. Create a bank of evergreen presentations.

It’s important to build up a bank of evergreen content that employees across your organisation can use during presentations or demos. Case studies are perfect for this.

Put together a few slides on the highlights of the case study to stir people’s interest, and then make them available to your sales and customer-facing teams. It's helpful if the marketer who created the presentation is the one who presents it to anyone who might use them in the future. This ensures they can explain the presentation clearly and answer any questions that might arise.

Get Inspired: What to create presentations people want to use? Here's a list of tools to make your presentations great.

16. Create SlideShares based on case studies.

Following on from a few short slides, you could also put together a more detailed presentation of the case study and upload it to SlideShare. After all, not only is SlideShare SEO-friendly (because Google indexes each presentation), but there is a huge pre-existing audience on SlideShare of over 60 million users you can tap into. SlideShare presentations are also easy to embed and share, and allow you to capture leads directly from the slides via a lead capture form.

Get Inspired:   Want to generate more leads with SlideShare, but not sure how to get started? Check out this blog post .

Now that you understand the value of a marketing case study and the different ways that they can be used in your content marketing (and even sales) strategy, your next step is to think about what would convince your target audience to do business with you. 

Have you recently accomplished something big for a client? Do you have a process or product with demonstrable results? What do your potential clients hope that you'll do for them? 

The answers to those questions will help you craft compelling content for your case study. Then, all that's left is putting it into your audience's hands in formats they want to consume.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in January 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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• What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on May 8, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyze the case, other interesting articles.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

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Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

• Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
• Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
• Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
• Open up new directions for future research

TipIf your research is more practical in nature and aims to simultaneously investigate an issue as you solve it, consider conducting action research instead.

Unlike quantitative or experimental research , a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

Example of an outlying case studyIn the 1960s the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania was discovered to have extremely low rates of heart disease compared to the US average. It became an important case study for understanding previously neglected causes of heart disease.

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience or phenomenon.

Example of a representative case studyIn the 1920s, two sociologists used Muncie, Indiana as a case study of a typical American city that supposedly exemplified the changing culture of the US at the time.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

• Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
• Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
• Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews , observations , and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data.

Example of a mixed methods case studyFor a case study of a wind farm development in a rural area, you could collect quantitative data on employment rates and business revenue, collect qualitative data on local people’s perceptions and experiences, and analyze local and national media coverage of the development.

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

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In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis , with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyze its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Normal distribution
• Degrees of freedom
• Null hypothesis
• Discourse analysis
• Control groups
• Mixed methods research
• Non-probability sampling
• Quantitative research
• Ecological validity

Research bias

• Rosenthal effect
• Implicit bias
• Cognitive bias
• Selection bias
• Negativity bias
• Status quo bias

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12 Steps to Create a Business Case Study That Converts

Learn how to make a case study presentation. Know how to write and structure it, and measure its business value. Plus examples & samples.

Dominika Krukowska

10 minute read

Short answer

What are the steps to create a case study.

• Determine a customer use case
• Go over existing clients that meet the use case
• Reach out to the clients that you know are happy with your solution
• Set success criteria or KPIs
• Set measurements
• Set time period for observation
• Conduct post interview to assess results
• Get data from client - or process data you own
• Write case study based on interview and data
• Design case study
• Get client’s approval
• Distribute case study

Most case studies inform rather than engage. They earn yawns rather than trust.

A great product or service is only half the battle; the other half is telling its story effectively.

The problem is most case studies are written to inform instead of telling a story. They are dry as a biscuit in the sun. Throwing numbers and company info at prospects won’t make them care, let alone trust you.

Unfortunately most companies don’t realize they're sitting on a gold mine of compelling narratives - their customer success stories.

Not sharing these tales results in missed opportunities, lower brand credibility, and, ultimately, fewer conversions.

Let me take you on a short guide on how to turn your client victories into captivating business case studies that constantly bring you loyal customers.

Let’s see how to uncover your case study material, how to write irresistible success stories, and how to track their engagement and business impact.

Let’s get started!

How to prepare for creating a case study?

Every customer success story is a marketing powerhouse just waiting for you to unlock its potential.

12 steps for creating impactful case studies:

1. Determine a customer use case

Begin by highlighting a problem that your product or service solved for a customer. This scenario should resonate with potential customers facing similar challenges, ensuring your case study feels relevant and impactful to your target audience.

2. Go over existing clients that meet the use case

Once you've defined the use case, scan your existing client list for a standout example. You're looking for someone who's experienced tangible success with your solution, ideally in a way that's inspiring, unexpected, or dramatic.

3. Reach out to the clients that you know are happy with your solution

When you've found a good match, get in touch. Clients who are genuinely delighted with your service will typically be eager to share their experience, and their enthusiasm can give your case study real authenticity and appeal.

Approaching clients with a request to participate in a case study is not trivial. It requires mutual trust and a good working relationship.

Knowing this full well, our CEO Itai Amoza had this tip to give you:

“Always be grateful to your clients. They are doing you a big favor and you shouldn't take this for granted. Aside from thanking them, offering perks like a discount, a bigger package, or even just exposing their brands to your customers can make them feel you really appreciate they have taken the time to do this with you. "

—Itai Amoza, Storydoc Founder and CEO

4. Set success criteria or KPIs

Before diving into the creation process, define what success looks like. Setting clear KPIs will provide concrete, measurable outcomes to demonstrate the effectiveness of your solution.

5. Set measurements

How will you quantify success? Will it be revenue growth? Customer retention ? Decide on the metrics that best align with your defined KPIs and use case.

6. Set time period for observation

Choose a timeframe that's long enough to demonstrate meaningful results, but not so long that the end of your case study feels disconnected from its start. This period should be relevant to your chosen metrics and reasonable within your industry.

7. Conduct post interview to assess results

Once your observation period is over, interview the client to gather their personal insights and feedback. Their perspective can add depth to your data, providing a richer, more complete picture of their experience.

8. Get data from client - or process data you own

Get relevant data from the client or use your own data to validate your story. Remember, this is not just about showcasing positive numbers, but about demonstrating real, meaningful impact on the client’s business.

9. Write the case study based on interview and data

Create a compelling narrative that weaves together your client’s voice, your data, and your solution. Use clear, relatable language to make your case study accessible and engaging.

10. Design the case study

Pay close attention to visual presentation. Use images, graphs, or infographics to make your data digestible and your narrative visually engaging. A well-made case study design can captivate audiences who might not engage with a text-heavy document.

11. Get client’s approval

Before you distribute your case study, make sure your client is happy with how their story is told. Their approval not only maintains a positive relationship, but also validates the truth of your case study.

12. Distribute the case study

Now it’s time to share your case study! Use platforms like LinkedIn and email to reach potential customers with similar profiles.

If you rely a lot on case studies to oil your sales prospecting cascades, don’t miss out on Storydoc’s case study creator . It lets you make amazing, easily shareable and trackable interactive case studies.

But beyond that it makes your distribution and tracking a breeze by connecting with your CRM and letting you send, track, and personalize your case studies directly from there.

Here's what our Salesforce integration looks like:

How to write an impactful case study

A customer success story is much more than a recital of benefits and features. It's the narrative of a journey a customer embarked upon with your product or service, overcoming challenges, and reaching their goals along the way.

Contrary to popular belief, these narratives aren't always about monetary gains. Surprisingly, a Gartner study found that only 13% of case studies showcased clear return on investment (ROI) figures.

Instead, these narratives capture the value and positive impact your offerings have on customers.

They play a dual role: for prospects , they showcase real-life instances of your solution at work, aiding informed purchasing decisions. For existing customers , they act as testimonials, validating their choice and accelerating their learning curve.

However, crafting an impactful customer success story that resonates with prospects is an art few have mastered. Research by Gartner reveals that over 90% of case studies miss the mark.

4-step guide for writing compelling customer success stories

This short guide is based on Gartner's content framework . You can dig deeper into the ins and outs by reading our full guide on how to write a case study .

1. Take an audience-centric approach

First, identify your target audience. Understand their challenges and desires, then find potent stories that address these issues in an engaging manner.

Use tools like customer reviews, sales team insights, surveys, and industry trends to comprehend your audience's concerns and needs.

2. Have a clear storyline

Your story should have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Starting with the customer's problem, then detailing your solution's implementation, and concluding with the positive results achieved.

The spotlight should be on the customer's journey and the value they derived, rather than just your product's features.

Here's our recommended storyline structure:

3. Include relatable elements

Stories that form a personal connection are the most effective. Make your story more relatable by identifying story elements that mirror your prospects' circumstances and demonstrating how your solution can help resolve these issues.

4. Show data-driven results

Use quantifiable metrics like increased sales, improved efficiency, or reduced costs to demonstrate your product's efficacy. Comparing these results with industry standards can further emphasize your product's impact.

Including such data in your customer success stories can significantly reinforce your offering's credibility.

Tips and best practices for creating a case study

Crafting an effective business case study requires more than just laying out the facts. It's about strategically weaving together your narrative to engage, convince, and convert your audience.

Below are some tips and best practices to guide you in creating a business case study.

1. Start with a strong hook

Just like the opening scene of a blockbuster movie, your business case study should begin with a strong hook to instantly capture your audience’s attention.

This could be a compelling quote from the client, a surprising statistic, or a provocative question related to the problem you’re addressing.

Here's an example of an intro slide:

2. Use visuals to support your content

An image can save the need to say a thousand words. Use graphs, charts, infographics, or photographs to supplement your text and bring more clarity with less words.

This not only makes your customer success story more engaging but also makes it easier for readers to quickly grasp the key points.

3. Provide an interactive experience

Making your case study interactive will increase its engagement. Consider embedding interactive elements such as videos, calculators, or clickable tabs to enrich the reader's experience.

All this is easily available to you when creating a case study with Storydoc.

Here are some examples of interactive components you can use:

4. Make it easy for readers to share your case studies

In the age of digital content, sharing should be as effortless as a click. And this is where Storydoc shines. Unlike static downloadable docs, Storydoc allows your readers to easily share your case studies using social buttons and an email form.

Making this process as simple and hassle-free as possible increases the possibility of your case studies getting shared with the world.

Here's a short guide on how to share your presentations with Storydoc:

5. Deliver critical messages directly from clients

Include quotes from the client that highlight the benefits and impact of your solution. Authentic testimonials can significantly enhance your case study's credibility and persuasive power.

Here’s an example I like of a testimonial slide:

6. Be fanatical about clear and concise writing

Avoid industry jargon and keep your language simple and straightforward. The aim is to communicate your customer success story clearly and concisely, making it easy to understand and follow by all readers, regardless of their background.

7. Include a Call to Action (CTA)

Lastly, always include a CTA at the end of your business case study.

This could prompt the reader to contact your sales team, learn more about your product, download a free trial, or any other action that progresses them through your sales funnel.

Here’s how one of our clients added a calendar to book a meeting as their CTA:

How to measure case study business value?

Creating a compelling case study is just half of the equation. To truly harness its power, it's crucial to track and measure its performance effectively.

But if you’re using PDFs or PowerPoints for your case studies you’re flying blind. And if you house your case studies on your website you need to set up custom events on Google Analytics 4 or another third party tracking tool.

If you want out-of-the-box tracking and analytics you have Storydoc. You get practical and timely insights into your case study engagement and conversion from the first second it’s published.

Simply send your decks and Storydoc will track every touchpoint , filling your analytics dashboard with real-time customer data.

Here's some of the tracking you get:

1. Engagement metrics

These reveal how users are interacting with your case study. Key metrics include the number of views, time spent on the page, scroll depth, reading completion, and interactions with interactive elements.

High engagement indicates that your customer success story is resonating with your audience.

2. Conversion metrics

Your case study should have a clear call-to-action (CTA), such as booking a demo, signing up, or downloading a resource.

The number of users who take this action is your conversion rate. A high conversion rate suggests that your case study is persuasive and compelling enough to drive action.

3. Lead generation

If your case study is gated (i.e., requires users to fill out a form to access), you can track how many leads it generates. The quality of these leads—how well they align with your target audience—is equally, if not more, important.

Check out this demo of Storydoc analytics dashboard:

How to design a business case study?

Your case study design is an integral part of the narrative , and a powerful tool that can either underscore your findings or undermine them. As such, it requires careful consideration and strategic decision-making.

Here are 3 common case study design approaches:

1) Design for a website

Creating a case study directly on your website? Now that's an exciting prospect.

Imagine bringing your case study to life with interactive features, painting vivid stories with data visualization tools, and creating an immersive experience for your audience. The sky's the limit with what you can do.

But here's the problem: it's no walk in the park. This approach needs you to roll up your sleeves and manage this project. It will involve your product marketing team, design team, and developers. No way around it.

It’s like guiding a delivery truck to your destination through confusing alleyways. You know how to get there, but telling it to someone else on the phone and on a tight schedule makes it super frustrating.

2) Design for PDFs

PDFs is a common way to design and distribute case studies. They allow you a free canvas for arranging your content according to your exact vision. But there's a catch…

PDFs offer a horrible reading experience. They were originally meant for print so they were built for one fixed (an A4 paper). That’s not how people consume content in the digital age.

Sure you get full control over visuals and typography, but your audience will hate it. They will struggle to read it on their computer. And on their phone? No way.

Bad content experience is the reason we built Storydoc. So don’t kill engagement with PDF case studies. There’s a better way.

3) Design with Storydoc

Storydoc is an intuitive drag-and-drop case study designer tool powered by AI. You’ll turn hours of design into minutes with smart slides and templates built based on what works in the real world and guided by AI.

You won't need to fuss over code or design intricacies; instead, you can focus on what truly matters - the content of your case study.

It’s a simple and magical way to design captivating content with a powerful narrative at its heart.

You don’t just want your case study to inform, do you? You want it to engage, build trust, and convert prospects to clients. That’s what Storydoc does for you.

Grab a case study template

Starting a business case study from scratch can be daunting, like staring at a blank canvas waiting for inspiration to strike.

But, you can bypass the initial jitters by simply using case study templates .

These templates have been designed for engagement based on real-world insights from over 100K presentation sessions and tried-and-tested for any device. They also come with built-in tracking and analytics.

Hi, I'm Dominika, Content Specialist at Storydoc. As a creative professional with experience in fashion, I'm here to show you how to amplify your brand message through the power of storytelling and eye-catching visuals.

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How to write a case study — examples, templates, and tools

It’s a marketer’s job to communicate the effectiveness of a product or service to potential and current customers to convince them to buy and keep business moving. One of the best methods for doing this is to share success stories that are relatable to prospects and customers based on their pain points, experiences, and overall needs.

That’s where case studies come in. Case studies are an essential part of a content marketing plan. These in-depth stories of customer experiences are some of the most effective at demonstrating the value of a product or service. Yet many marketers don’t use them, whether because of their regimented formats or the process of customer involvement and approval.

A case study is a powerful tool for showcasing your hard work and the success your customer achieved. But writing a great case study can be difficult if you’ve never done it before or if it’s been a while. This guide will show you how to write an effective case study and provide real-world examples and templates that will keep readers engaged and support your business.

In this article, you’ll learn:

What is a case study?

How to write a case study, case study templates, case study examples, case study tools.

A case study is the detailed story of a customer’s experience with a product or service that demonstrates their success and often includes measurable outcomes. Case studies are used in a range of fields and for various reasons, from business to academic research. They’re especially impactful in marketing as brands work to convince and convert consumers with relatable, real-world stories of actual customer experiences.

The best case studies tell the story of a customer’s success, including the steps they took, the results they achieved, and the support they received from a brand along the way. To write a great case study, you need to:

• Celebrate the customer and make them — not a product or service — the star of the story.
• Craft the story with specific audiences or target segments in mind so that the story of one customer will be viewed as relatable and actionable for another customer.
• Write copy that is easy to read and engaging so that readers will gain the insights and messages intended.
• Follow a standardized format that includes all of the essentials a potential customer would find interesting and useful.
• Support all of the claims for success made in the story with data in the forms of hard numbers and customer statements.

Case studies are a type of review but more in depth, aiming to show — rather than just tell — the positive experiences that customers have with a brand. Notably, 89% of consumers read reviews before deciding to buy, and 79% view case study content as part of their purchasing process. When it comes to B2B sales, 52% of buyers rank case studies as an important part of their evaluation process.

Telling a brand story through the experience of a tried-and-true customer matters. The story is relatable to potential new customers as they imagine themselves in the shoes of the company or individual featured in the case study. Showcasing previous customers can help new ones see themselves engaging with your brand in the ways that are most meaningful to them.

Besides sharing the perspective of another customer, case studies stand out from other content marketing forms because they are based on evidence. Whether pulling from client testimonials or data-driven results, case studies tend to have more impact on new business because the story contains information that is both objective (data) and subjective (customer experience) — and the brand doesn’t sound too self-promotional.

Case studies are unique in that there’s a fairly standardized format for telling a customer’s story. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for creativity. It’s all about making sure that teams are clear on the goals for the case study — along with strategies for supporting content and channels — and understanding how the story fits within the framework of the company’s overall marketing goals.

Here are the basic steps to writing a good case study.

1. Identify your goal

Start by defining exactly who your case study will be designed to help. Case studies are about specific instances where a company works with a customer to achieve a goal. Identify which customers are likely to have these goals, as well as other needs the story should cover to appeal to them.

The answer is often found in one of the buyer personas that have been constructed as part of your larger marketing strategy. This can include anything from new leads generated by the marketing team to long-term customers that are being pressed for cross-sell opportunities. In all of these cases, demonstrating value through a relatable customer success story can be part of the solution to conversion.

2. Choose your client or subject

Who you highlight matters. Case studies tie brands together that might otherwise not cross paths. A writer will want to ensure that the highlighted customer aligns with their own company’s brand identity and offerings. Look for a customer with positive name recognition who has had great success with a product or service and is willing to be an advocate.

The client should also match up with the identified target audience. Whichever company or individual is selected should be a reflection of other potential customers who can see themselves in similar circumstances, having the same problems and possible solutions.

Some of the most compelling case studies feature customers who:

• Switch from one product or service to another while naming competitors that missed the mark.
• Experience measurable results that are relatable to others in a specific industry.
• Represent well-known brands and recognizable names that are likely to compel action.
• Advocate for a product or service as a champion and are well-versed in its advantages.

Whoever or whatever customer is selected, marketers must ensure they have the permission of the company involved before getting started. Some brands have strict review and approval procedures for any official marketing or promotional materials that include their name. Acquiring those approvals in advance will prevent any miscommunication or wasted effort if there is an issue with their legal or compliance teams.

3. Conduct research and compile data

Substantiating the claims made in a case study — either by the marketing team or customers themselves — adds validity to the story. To do this, include data and feedback from the client that defines what success looks like. This can be anything from demonstrating return on investment (ROI) to a specific metric the customer was striving to improve. Case studies should prove how an outcome was achieved and show tangible results that indicate to the customer that your solution is the right one.

This step could also include customer interviews. Make sure that the people being interviewed are key stakeholders in the purchase decision or deployment and use of the product or service that is being highlighted. Content writers should work off a set list of questions prepared in advance. It can be helpful to share these with the interviewees beforehand so they have time to consider and craft their responses. One of the best interview tactics to keep in mind is to ask questions where yes and no are not natural answers. This way, your subject will provide more open-ended responses that produce more meaningful content.

4. Choose the right format

There are a number of different ways to format a case study. Depending on what you hope to achieve, one style will be better than another. However, there are some common elements to include, such as:

• An engaging headline
• A subject and customer introduction
• The unique challenge or challenges the customer faced
• The solution the customer used to solve the problem
• The results achieved
• Data and statistics to back up claims of success
• A strong call to action (CTA) to engage with the vendor

It’s also important to note that while case studies are traditionally written as stories, they don’t have to be in a written format. Some companies choose to get more creative with their case studies and produce multimedia content, depending on their audience and objectives. Case study formats can include traditional print stories, interactive web or social content, data-heavy infographics, professionally shot videos, podcasts, and more.

5. Write your case study

We’ll go into more detail later about how exactly to write a case study, including templates and examples. Generally speaking, though, there are a few things to keep in mind when writing your case study.

• Be clear and concise. Readers want to get to the point of the story quickly and easily, and they’ll be looking to see themselves reflected in the story right from the start.
• Provide a big picture. Always make sure to explain who the client is, their goals, and how they achieved success in a short introduction to engage the reader.
• Construct a clear narrative. Stick to the story from the perspective of the customer and what they needed to solve instead of just listing product features or benefits.
• Leverage graphics. Incorporating infographics, charts, and sidebars can be a more engaging and eye-catching way to share key statistics and data in readable ways.
• Offer the right amount of detail. Most case studies are one or two pages with clear sections that a reader can skim to find the information most important to them.
• Include data to support claims. Show real results — both facts and figures and customer quotes — to demonstrate credibility and prove the solution works.

6. Promote your story

Marketers have a number of options for distribution of a freshly minted case study. Many brands choose to publish case studies on their website and post them on social media. This can help support SEO and organic content strategies while also boosting company credibility and trust as visitors see that other businesses have used the product or service.

Marketers are always looking for quality content they can use for lead generation. Consider offering a case study as gated content behind a form on a landing page or as an offer in an email message. One great way to do this is to summarize the content and tease the full story available for download after the user takes an action.

Sales teams can also leverage case studies, so be sure they are aware that the assets exist once they’re published. Especially when it comes to larger B2B sales, companies often ask for examples of similar customer challenges that have been solved.

Now that you’ve learned a bit about case studies and what they should include, you may be wondering how to start creating great customer story content. Here are a couple of templates you can use to structure your case study.

Template 1 — Challenge-solution-result format

• Start with an engaging title. This should be fewer than 70 characters long for SEO best practices. One of the best ways to approach the title is to include the customer’s name and a hint at the challenge they overcame in the end.
• Create an introduction. Lead with an explanation as to who the customer is, the need they had, and the opportunity they found with a specific product or solution. Writers can also suggest the success the customer experienced with the solution they chose.
• Present the challenge. This should be several paragraphs long and explain the problem the customer faced and the issues they were trying to solve. Details should tie into the company’s products and services naturally. This section needs to be the most relatable to the reader so they can picture themselves in a similar situation.
• Share the solution. Explain which product or service offered was the ideal fit for the customer and why. Feel free to delve into their experience setting up, purchasing, and onboarding the solution.
• Explain the results. Demonstrate the impact of the solution they chose by backing up their positive experience with data. Fill in with customer quotes and tangible, measurable results that show the effect of their choice.
• Ask for action. Include a CTA at the end of the case study that invites readers to reach out for more information, try a demo, or learn more — to nurture them further in the marketing pipeline. What you ask of the reader should tie directly into the goals that were established for the case study in the first place.

Template 2 — Data-driven format

• Start with an engaging title. Be sure to include a statistic or data point in the first 70 characters. Again, it’s best to include the customer’s name as part of the title.
• Create an overview. Share the customer’s background and a short version of the challenge they faced. Present the reason a particular product or service was chosen, and feel free to include quotes from the customer about their selection process.
• Present data point 1. Isolate the first metric that the customer used to define success and explain how the product or solution helped to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
• Present data point 2. Isolate the second metric that the customer used to define success and explain what the product or solution did to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
• Present data point 3. Isolate the final metric that the customer used to define success and explain what the product or solution did to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
• Summarize the results. Reiterate the fact that the customer was able to achieve success thanks to a specific product or service. Include quotes and statements that reflect customer satisfaction and suggest they plan to continue using the solution.
• Ask for action. Include a CTA at the end of the case study that asks readers to reach out for more information, try a demo, or learn more — to further nurture them in the marketing pipeline. Again, remember that this is where marketers can look to convert their content into action with the customer.

While templates are helpful, seeing a case study in action can also be a great way to learn. Here are some examples of how Adobe customers have experienced success.

Juniper Networks

One example is the Adobe and Juniper Networks case study , which puts the reader in the customer’s shoes. The beginning of the story quickly orients the reader so that they know exactly who the article is about and what they were trying to achieve. Solutions are outlined in a way that shows Adobe Experience Manager is the best choice and a natural fit for the customer. Along the way, quotes from the client are incorporated to help add validity to the statements. The results in the case study are conveyed with clear evidence of scale and volume using tangible data.

The story of Lenovo’s journey with Adobe is one that spans years of planning, implementation, and rollout. The Lenovo case study does a great job of consolidating all of this into a relatable journey that other enterprise organizations can see themselves taking, despite the project size. This case study also features descriptive headers and compelling visual elements that engage the reader and strengthen the content.

Tata Consulting

When it comes to using data to show customer results, this case study does an excellent job of conveying details and numbers in an easy-to-digest manner. Bullet points at the start break up the content while also helping the reader understand exactly what the case study will be about. Tata Consulting used Adobe to deliver elevated, engaging content experiences for a large telecommunications client of its own — an objective that’s relatable for a lot of companies.

Case studies are a vital tool for any marketing team as they enable you to demonstrate the value of your company’s products and services to others. They help marketers do their job and add credibility to a brand trying to promote its solutions by using the experiences and stories of real customers.

When you’re ready to get started with a case study:

• Think about a few goals you’d like to accomplish with your content.
• Make a list of successful clients that would be strong candidates for a case study.
• Reach out to the client to get their approval and conduct an interview.
• Gather the data to present an engaging and effective customer story.

Adobe can help

There are several Adobe products that can help you craft compelling case studies. Adobe Experience Platform helps you collect data and deliver great customer experiences across every channel. Once you’ve created your case studies, Experience Platform will help you deliver the right information to the right customer at the right time for maximum impact.

To learn more, watch the Adobe Experience Platform story .

Keep in mind that the best case studies are backed by data. That’s where Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Adobe Analytics come into play. With Real-Time CDP, you can gather the data you need to build a great case study and target specific customers to deliver the content to the right audience at the perfect moment.

Watch the Real-Time CDP overview video to learn more.

Finally, Adobe Analytics turns real-time data into real-time insights. It helps your business collect and synthesize data from multiple platforms to make more informed decisions and create the best case study possible.

Request a demo to learn more about Adobe Analytics.

https://business.adobe.com/blog/perspectives/b2b-ecommerce-10-case-studies-inspire-you

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/business-case

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/what-is-real-time-analytics

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• Why Case Studies are Important for your B2B Business

Why case studies are important for your B2B business

A compelling case study combines facts and experiences into a story. It is a vital trust-building asset for your company. What do yours say about you?

When was the last time you purchased something online without at least reading some customer reviews? That would be brave. Case studies are the B2B version of online reviews. What do yours say about you and your customers? A compelling case study combines facts, numbers, and experiences into a story. It is a vital trust-building asset for your company.

Why case studies?

We all seem to trust other people’s opinions and experiences. 

According to research:

• 91% of consumers read online reviews “regularly or occasionally.” And 84% trust them “as much as a personal recommendation.”
• 44% of Gen-Z rely on influencer recommendations to make purchase decisions.
• And 97% of B2B customers say peer reviews and online testimonials are the most reliable type of content.

Case studies are to your B2B business what reviews and ratings are to B2C companies. They provide evidence of the great work you have done. Your happy, successful clients are your influencers, adding social proof to get prospects excited about your products and services. These references help you win over more clients and build trust before they even contact you.

The secret sauce: facts tell, but stories sell

Like a resume, solid case studies should highlight key facts and figures such as percentages of process improved, revenue gained, or costs saved. These are success metrics that carry a great deal of weight. But numbers alone don’t convert. Some customers can’t or won’t share important numbers because they are confidential … or because there was no tracking in place, and they don’t know.

All is not lost! There are still ways to produce compelling case studies. Feelings matter. Stories connect.

Quite often, your customers choose you not only because you are the best at what you do, or because your product is the best in the market. It’s because they feel more connected to you, more so than with your competitors. 

What creates this connection? Part of the “secret sauce” is storytelling. Humans are empathetic animals. We love stories, and we love putting ourselves in someone else’s shoes and reliving their experiences. Stories allow us to share information and forge emotional bonds with one another at the same time. 

“The Hero’s Journey” is an ancient, storytelling template, common across cultures:

• A hero goes on an adventure, 
• overcomes a decisive crisis,
• and comes home transformed. 

A case study isn’t all that different: 

• A company faces a challenge, finds you,
• overcomes that challenge, thanks to your product or service,
• and has successfully changed (facts and figures about what is now different go here!) than before.

Secret sauce ingredient no. 2 is the tricky part: Your customer is the hero, not you.

It’s your customer’s journey, not yours

Case studies typically illustrate a problem or challenge faced by the featured client. Potential customers facing similar issues can recognize themselves in your hero and identify with them. When they see how you helped your client succeed, they can project themselves into a thriving, transformed future—with your help.

Highlight and celebrate your customer’s success. Yes, you played a part in it, but they are the star of the show.

It’s always tempting to launch into selling mode to show how amazing your business solutions are, but that can also lose the audience. Use the opportunity to connect with your future clients and show them you understand their situation. No hard sell! Remember, your customers are your influencers and ambassadors. Show the readers why the hero turned to you when faced with their business challenge. And why they trusted you and your solutions. 

A laundry list of products, services, and what you did is not a journey. Tell the reader why you proposed this particular solution, why this product helped, and why you did things the way you did for the client. Showcase the hero’s return (success, change, transformation), then how you came up with the solution and how that helped.

Highlight and celebrate your customer’s success. Yes, you played a part in it, but they are the star of the show. – Your friends at OSP

Success stories inspire and connect

Now, you’ve transformed some dry information—your technical approach, implementation details, the facts and figures—into a story. From safety to challenge and adventure, and back to an even better result—inspire future customers! 

By highlighting your hero instead of featuring yourself, your potential customers can better imagine themselves starring in your next story. At the same time, they see your approach to solving problems and your principles in operation. That wins people over way more than just a technical track record.

You’ve learned the secret sauce but don’t have time to cook the meal?

Let us help you.  Find out more about our case study service and examples!

Follow us on Twitter and here on our blog. Subscribe to our podcast “ Communicate, Connect, Grow, ” wherever you like to listen!

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Image Credits:  Secret sauce bottle on a hero's journey by Jeffrey A. McGuire and our robot overlords, Boy with Glasses by Douglas Metcalf

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The Importance of a Case Study in Business

by Hristina Efinska

Why is a case study important for your business? First of all, gaining the trust of potential clients can be a struggle. Then, before you can even expect to earn their trust and become their partner, you need to show your ability to deliver on what you promise. One of the most effective ways to do so, is by creating a case study. 

In this article, we would like to walk you through the creation of a successful case study for your business. A case study that positions your company as an authority on the market, explains your problem-solving mindset and provides social proof.

What is a case study?

By definition, a case study is an in-depth research method that consists of a detailed investigation of a specific subject of study. The reason why we create case studies is to bring a complex topic closer to a broader audience. Case studies make it easier for us to connect the dots and have a better understanding of a specific subject matter. 

The case study has been used as a research method for a long time, especially in social sciences. It has been applied in various disciplines examining real-time life situations and providing a foundation for numerous ideas.   

Benefits of Preparing a Case Study

1. you get to tell a story of success.

When you think about it, storytelling plays a crucial part in selling your product or service. That’s why you need to present your case studies as success stories. First, you introduce your characters (the clients or customers), then you describe the problem they faced, how you helped them fight the specific conflict, and then you wrap everything up in a conclusion. Remember, you need to show everyone that your customers are the heroes here, not you. You are what helps them save the day, the wind in their back. This is what makes case studies engaging, readable and relatable.

2.Your client comes first

The biggest benefit of publishing case studies for your business is that they represent your customer’s and client’s voice, not your company’s. All of the content that comes from your marketing and sales teams, like webinars, blog posts, podcasts, social media posts, are often viewed as self-serving, so people tend to be slightly more skeptical of them. Contrary to that, the case studies come directly from the client, which means they act as a third-party endorsement.

Key elements of an engaging business case study

There are a number of ways you can write a case study in business. While there is no straightforward answer to how to do it, here are some key elements that you need to consider: 

• Info about the client 

An outline of the business case study

• The proposed solution 
• The results 

Info about the client

Introducing your client to the audience is one of the fundamental parts of a well-prepared business case study. By doing so, readers can get a grasp of the situation. They will meet the client and have a better understanding of how they are facing their problem. Here, the readers can even relate and feel as if the case study was written about them. If you achieve this, half of the work is done.

It’s important to have a clear outline that is easy to read and understand. You can apply various forms and techniques such as a blog post, a short video, or an infographic. It doesn’t really matter which form you choose for the case study because what makes the click is setting the right expectations for your audience. You can do this simply by listing what you will cover in what follows.

The client’s challenge

Well, you are off to tackling the main reason why you are writing the business case study in the first place. Meaning, you need to be careful and make it easy to understand. Presenting the challenge in a simple way is maybe the most challenging part. Keep it short and to the point. The more focused you make it, the more people will read it. Always have your audience in mind and do it in an easy-to-grasp manner.

The proposed solution

Business case studies are like stories. First, you introduce your client, then you describe the problems they had and at the end you give the solution you provided for the problem. When putting forward the ways you helped the client, do it so with the client as a key figure. Your client needs to provide inspiring stories so that your next prospect will hire you.

The results

Solidifying a strong working relationship with your existing customers is one of the key purposes of a case study in business. If a customer is happy and supported by you, they are likely to work with you again, By making your customers look good, you will attract prospects that crave the same outcome for their business.

How to get testimonials from your clients?

First thing’s first, you need to get your clients to provide inspiring testimonials for your good service. Resist the temptation to consider just any client for a case study testimonial. Case studies for business should address the issues that potential clients might have, so be selective.

1. Ask your most loyal clients

The best place to start is with your company’s most loyal clients. You know, the ones that have been with you since the beginning, and you know you have brought them success. Typically, these clients have had positive experiences with your service, and as a result, are willing to share their story of success.

Next up, check which of your clients have had recent wins. Speak to people who’ve done some hands-on work on the clients to identify a list of your best candidates so you can approach them first to participate in a case study.

2. Do your homework before you approach them

Before you reach out to your existing clients, think carefully about the timing of your request. Take time to do your research, so you understand the possible theme of the specific case study may be. For extra points, you can also research the specific person you’ll be reaching out to if you’re not already familiar with them. That’s how you’ll identify who can make an introduction, or at least help you personalize your request.

3. Explain why it is a win-win situation

Before you reach out to your clients, make it clear what’s involved if they agree to participate. Outline the whole process ( be specific and make it understandable), how much time it will take, and how you’ll be using the case study once it’s finalized. Make it clear that by participating in this, they’re assisting your company, but they have benefits as well. Being profiled in such a study can become a valuable tool for them to scale their profile and potentially position themselves as an authority in their industry.

At the end of the day, you work hard at what you do. But eventually, you have to show it to the world — and, most importantly, to your potential clients. Make sure you follow the aforementioned steps that will showcase your work is effectively communicated. For an easy start, head on to our case studies link , and learn how we brought success to our clients by hiring dedicated teams for their needs.

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• Why is a Business Case Important and How Can it Deliver an Optimum Outcome?

A project will only be successful if they have been planned realistically with a clear focus.

A business case often provides decision makers, stakeholders and the public with a management tool for evidence based and transparent decision making. It is a framework for delivery and performance monitoring of the subsequent policy, strategy or project to follow thereafter.

The resultant project will only be successful if they have been planned realistically, with a clear focus after detailed consideration of the associated risks. It is a business case that clearly presents the risks, opportunities and threats involved putting them in perspective of the investment involved there in. Thus a business case is not just a record of the Return on Investment from a financial perspective but will present a summary of all the benefits delivered.

The Five Case Model, which is the UK government’s best practice approach to planning spending proposals and enabling effective business decision, goes beyond the financial dimension. The Five Case Model is a framework for “thinking” to help answer three basic questions of, ‘Where are we now?’ ‘Where do we want to be?’ And, ‘How are we going to get there?’

These are never easy questions to answer and often change as more information comes to light. For significant projects the business case is developed through three iterations. These are the Strategic Outline Case (SOC), the Outline Business Case (OBC) and the Full or Final Business Case (FBC).

The Five views or “Cases” are:

• The “strategic case” –  there is a compelling case for change that fits with the strategic objectives of the sponsoring organisation.
• The “economic case” –  the solution represents best value.
• The “commercial case” –  the proposed solution is attractive to the market place, can be procured on appropriate terms so it is commercially viable.
• The “financial case” – the proposed financial investment is affordable.
• The “management case” –  the input required from all parties involved in the project is achievable.

Simply asking some Project Sponsors or promoters to develop these five cases can often results in marginal or non-viable projects never seeing the light of day and wasted effort being avoided. By reducing the wasted effort, all resources can be focused on those projects most likely to succeed thereby improving the likelihood of success and helping to challenge the common perception that most projects fail.

You may also be interested in;

Podcast: Better Business Cases with Joseph Lowe >>  Listen now 

Podcast:   Better Business Cases Five Case Model with John Humphries >> Listen now

Midday Mentors:  Better Business Cases in half a day - using HM Treasury's Five Case Model | FREE Download  >> Listen now              

Webinar : Joseph Lowe >> Watch now

APMG Midday Mentors:  Better Business Cases Interview with Milvio DiBartolomeo >> Listen now

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The Importance of Business Case Studies and How to Write Them

A case study is a content marketing strategy that businesses use to demonstrate how their solution or processes have helped clients solve their problems.

Whether you have developed a super power application or successfully debugged a software error, case studies allow you to report real-life examples on how you were able to come to your client’s rescue it times of need.

This type of content marketing gives you an opportunity to highlight your business successes and to emerge as a potential solution provider that customers can trust.

Besides, case studies are effective marketing tools, especially in the B2B sector. In fact, it stands third in line as an effective marketing tool after in-person events and webinars –

Nevertheless, despite its full potential, the power of case studies is yet to be recognized by businesses and marketers. You would find very few of them actually writing case studies. Reason? Probably because it’s boring to write a lengthy account, talking about your strategy and explaining how you helped your client crack the nut. Then again, these are some of those precious ‘feel good’ stories about your business that you would like to share with potential target customers.

How to Write a Case Study?

Case studies are regular blog writing stuff. They are written in the narrative problem-solving style where both the business marketer and the customer are protagonists. Business marketers will introduce their client’s project to their reader, specify the problems and the goals they have to accomplish, point out the strategies and the ultimate result. You may include a quote from your client at the end of your case study or somewhere in between.

This is just a general example and there are other formats in which a case study could be written. In fact, you can compose your own version of a case study if you want to, as long as it serves the purpose that you are looking for.

When Choosing to Write a Case Study – The Important Things You Need

Case studies are written for projects that are remarkable and are worth including in your business portfolio. In other words, the works that you are proud of and would want to flaunt in front of your customers.

To begin writing your business case study, here are some points that you need to look for –

#1 – Product/Service Knowledge

What is the product or the service all about? This is the first thing that anyone would be interested in to know about.

Begin your case study by giving them an elaborate but brief introduction about your client’s service.

#2 – Product Demo/ Glimpse

This can be a picture, screenshots, video links…anything that will give readers a glimpse of what the product actually looks like and how it functions.

#3 – The Problem and the Goal

In this section, you will specify what the problem of the product is. After you have pointed out the problem, you will next have to explain what kind of strategy do you propose and why.

#4 – The Solution

How will your solution helped you solve the problem? That’s what the reader or a potential lead customer is interested to know. So, you can also call it a climax.

#5 – The Result

Tell them how your strategy and your solution worked out for your client. If possible then provide with some visual proofs or maybe numbers. Your target lead would be interested in you more.

#6 – About Your Business/Brand

This is the conclusion part, where you tell something about yourself. Who are you? You talk about your business.

Now that you know how to write a case study, next comes the important things that you must never forget. Especially when you are writing a case study.

Things You Must Not Forget When Writing a Case Study

• Provide an Easy-to-Read Format

Whether you write a case study or a blog, these are some of the things that you cannot afford to forget. It makes your content reader friendly and also SEO friendly.

A good content forget will include the following –

• Headers and Subheads
• Bullet Heads
• Bold and Italic Fonts
• Provide Useful Metrics

Sometimes words do not help. You need to give readers some proof to believe you. As mentioned above, you need to include pictures or metrics.

Metrics work better than pictures. The latter one works only as complimentary when it comes to talking about software problems.

For instance, if you are talking about how you helped your client increase their website visits, then you need a proof for that. Otherwise, how will the readers believe you? Contrast and highlight.

So everyone how you have improved the traffic flow to your client’s website. Readers love facts and details. It’s a highway to impress them.

• Provide a Strong Title

I know that I should have placed this in the first point. However, most of us have the habit of writing the title in the end, after we are done writing the blog.

A strong title can help improve the visibility strength of your case study. That is if you intend to use it as your content marketing strategy plan.

Some businesses, on the other hand, use the case study reports only when needed. That is when they have a business meet with a new client. There are also some businesses that keep their case study in some section on their website.

Whatever be your decision, a good strong title is always a treat to the eyes.

• Make it Newsworthy
• Include Keywords that Strike the Eyes

Few More Important Things to Remember

Do Not Underestimate the Diversity that All Potential Target Markets Hold

There are some people who might not enjoy spending time, reading large chunks of text. In that case, the alternative option would convert your text-based content into other content formats. For example –

• Video Content
• Infographics

Make Them Easy to Reach

Content marketing is an integral part ideal for every type of content. After you are done writing your case study, here are two things that you can do to share your content –

Turn them into newsletter case studies and then send them to specific client targets

Share them on social networking platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and other important places.

Social sites like Twitter might not be the right place to share your case studies. It’s not like Facebook and therefore, you must first know what type of content is ideal for posting on Twitter .

Final Note – Remember to Keep these Tips Handy When You are Writing Your First Case Study

Writing case studies is not always easy. This is especially true in the case of beginners. That is why I have tried to elaborate everything in detail. But do you have anything to ask? Then leave a note in the comment section below and I will be right there to reply you.

Image Courtesy: Pixabay.com

About Eric Haskell

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The Importance of Case Studies

Originally published December 11, 2019 , updated on May 30, 2023

In recent times, businesses have started to invest in case studies more frequently. Experts have implemented this strategy in order to increase conversion rates from website visitors to clients. Business owners usually post these case studies on company websites for the page visitors perusal. However, it is important to understand what the value of case studies is, and how effective they can be at increasing your company’s conversion rates.

The following blog explains how and why case studies are able to increase your company’s conversion rates. It also tells how you can use them to increase your company’s sales.

The Value of Case Studies

Everyone loves a good story. As such, case studies are a way to present information to potential clients from the perspective of people who have already used your services. Through a story, the potential client’s emotions can be evoked. It gives them the opportunity to understand the brand and their offerings from a previous clients perspective. Stories can allow the potential client to see your brand through a more personalised perspective. They allow them to understand what they can expect once they use your company’s services.

How to Structure Your Case Studies

Most good case studies consist of three main components. The first is a section which outlines the problem that was experienced by the client. The second section highlights the possible solutions that were identified in order to resolve the problem. Finally, the last section discusses the solution that was used to resolve the problem most efficiently and effectively. A well written case study allows the potential client to understand the benefits of using your company through the well-documented experience of a previous client.

Why Are Case Studies Important?

The following section highlights the importance of case studies and how they can increase your conversion rates for your business.

Niche-Specificity

Well-written case studies are very targeted and niche-specific. This meant that when your potential client reads the case study, they understand that specific goal that you had set to achieve. Also, how your company was able to achieve the goal through the various strategies that you implemented. Furthermore, your case study should resonate with your target market. It should provide information to them that they can relate to and that is relevant to them.

Building Brand Trust and Reputation

Case studies are a demonstration of the work that your company has done for other clients in the past. As such, this can be used to your company’s advantage by showing potential clients your vast experience within the industry and demonstrate what your company is able to do for its clients.

This can allow for potential clients to develop trust in your brand and increases that chances of them wanting to use your services. Furthermore, enhancing the case studies that you have presented with figures and data can allow the potential client to see the success rates of your work. They also see how your company has been able to help your previous clients achieve their goals.

Explaining the Problem Solving Process

Case studies should ideally be oriented around problem identification and problem solving. As such, it is important to ensure that you clearly outline and explain the problem and solutions in the case study. Although potential clients may already be looking to use your services, they need a compelling reason to opt for your services as opposed to those of your competition.

As such, through understanding your company’s problem solving process, they can understand what to expect once they become your client. They determine whether your team has the capabilities and competencies required to solve their problem. They make the decision to then use your services based on the experiences of your previous clients.

The Power of Referrals

Prior to the evolution of technology, consumers accepted the benefits of products at face value. That’s because there weren’t many accessible ways to conduct independent research on a product. We currently live in the information age, and as such, potential clients are most likely to want verification for the services that you provide.

This can be acquired through platforms such as social media platforms. As such, using case studies can be an effective way for potential clients to understand the experiences of other clients and determine whether they are looking for the expertise that your team is able to provide. Case studies can provide potential clients with proof of the services that you provide. It also gives evidence that you are able to deliver on the services that you offer.

The Creation of Additional Content

Some companies may be hesitant about using case studies as they often require an initial capital investment and a time commitment. However, once you finalise the structure for your case studies, you can use it to develop future case studies. Additionally, case studies can be more efficient at conveying your team’s capabilities and competencies, and explaining your customer’s experiences.

How To Increase Your Case Study Conversions

The development of case studies can be a time consuming process and as such, it is important to ensure that it is done correctly, so as to not waste the resources that you have invested in their development. However, publishing the case study on its own may not be enough to convert clients. As such, you can ask visitors to your page to join your email marketing list. This way you have their contact details and are able to send them information about the services that you provide. Additionally, you can track the progress of your case studies and understand how successful they have been at converting page visitors into clients.

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Why Are Case Studies Important to Technology Companies?

Do you want to drive more leads and sales for your technology company? Case studies might be exactly what you need. Case studies can help showcase the real-world applications of your technology, illustrate success stories, prove results, and demonstrate how customers have overcome challenges or achieved success with your product or service. But beyond just helping convince potential prospects to make a purchase, case studies can benefit your business in countless other ways. In this blog post, we’ll take an in-depth look at why technology companies should utilize case studies to increase engagement, trustworthiness, and visibility—helping them stand out among their competitors.

What are case studies and why are they important to tech companies?

Case studies are in-depth analyses of specific examples that illustrate a more general principle or method. For tech companies, case studies are invaluable as they provide real-world examples of how products or services have been successfully implemented, allowing potential customers to visualize the benefits and results. By showcasing specific client examples and their results, tech companies can build trust and highlight the effectiveness of their offerings. Case studies provide social proof and relatable stories that numbers and statistics alone cannot, giving companies a persuasive advantage in marketing and sales. Overall, case studies humanize a company’s work and give it a tangible grounding that resonates with clients and audiences.

Benefits of case studies for tech companies

Case studies are invaluable marketing tools for tech companies. By showcasing real-world examples of how a company’s products or services have solved key problems or achieved notable outcomes for clients, case studies build credibility and trust. Readers can see the human impact and business results enabled by the technology, not just abstract claims or promises. Powerful case studies often open with a compelling story or struggle, draw the reader in with relatable details, and then demonstrate how the tech company’s solution made the difference. For tech companies aiming to reach enterprise buyers in particular, a collection of persuasive case studies can be worth its weight in gold. Overall, case studies are an opportunity to let customers’ voices and experiences speak to the power of a company’s offerings.

How to create an effective case study

To craft a compelling case study, lead with an engaging opening that draws the reader in, such as an interesting challenge or opportunity your customer faced. State the main benefits or results of your solution up front to set the context, then dive into the details of how you worked with the customer. Use vivid examples and quotes from your customer to bring the story to life. Explain the process you took, the challenges you overcame, and the key lessons you learned. Close with a strong statement on the impact and results. An effective case study should read like a story and highlight why your solution is the right choice.

Different types of case studies that provide insight into technology products and services

Case studies provide real-world examples that demonstrate the value of technology products and services. There are several types of case studies that illuminate different insights:

Success stories showcase how a company achieved a goal or solved a key problem using a particular solution. They highlight the benefits and outcomes, appealing to those looking for proven results.

Process explanations walk through how a company implemented a type of technology, the decisions and steps involved, challenges encountered, and lessons learned. They are instructive for those evaluating options or navigating a similar process.

Comparisons contrast different technologies or vendors and their varying capabilities, costs, and results. They help buyers weigh the pros and cons of options and understand trade-offs.

Failure studies examine what didn’t work and why. While less common, they can be powerful ways to gain awareness of potential pitfalls and risks, which informs wiser purchasing and deployment decisions.

Through specific examples and tangible details, case studies make technologies and their impacts relatable and memorable, enabling informed choices. The diverse types provide multidimensional insights for technology consumers and companies alike.

Examples of successful case studies in the technology sector

Some of the most successful and compelling case studies in the technology sector come from industry giants like Google, Facebook, and Apple. For example, when Apple launched the iPhone in 2007, it represented a fundamental shift in how people interact with devices and access information. By putting a powerful computer, the internet, and an intuitive touch interface in the palm of people’s hands, Apple created an entirely new product category and experience. This bold bet and the innovative product design behind the iPhone have since become a legendary business case study of how to push boundaries and reshape consumer expectations.

Strategies for developing effective case studies with maximum engagement

Case studies are a powerful way to connect with your audience and demonstrate the value of your product or service. To craft case studies with maximum engagement, lead with a relatable story or struggle from a customer that highlights the key benefits of your solution. Use vivid language to bring the story to life and help the reader visualize the process and results. Include direct quotes from the customer to add authenticity and credibility. Explain technical details or processes in simple terms. Close with a compelling summary of the impact and outcomes to leave a lasting impression on the reader.

In conclusion, case studies allow tech companies to show potential customers the value of their products and services. With comprehensive case studies, tech companies can demonstrate how their products and services have a real-world impact on businesses and individuals. By providing insight into their technology through creative and well-thought-out case studies, tech companies will be able to gain the trust of potential customers, resulting in increased sales and revenue. Additionally, having effective case studies available on websites allows tech companies to more easily reach the right audiences with targeted campaigns. Developing an effective case study takes a lot of research, planning, and dedicated execution—all of which can be daunting tasks for busy teams. Elite Editing offers end-to-end support for case study development, assisting clients with every phase: researching current trends in the technology sector; strategizing to create robust marketing plans ; brainstorming concepts for engaging visuals; writing compelling copy; revising until the desired effect is achieved; and launching campaigns that effectively engage target audiences. For those looking to develop outstanding case studies in the technology sector, contact Elite Editing today !

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Why Invest in Case Studies: What They Are and Why They Matter

Have you ever wondered why businesses invest in case studies? Not sure if case studies are worth the investment?

At OptinMonster, you’ll notice that we spend a lot of time conducting case studies and highlighting them on our blog. This isn’t a coincidence or a random occurrence. In fact, we make a regular effort to communicate with our customers to produce great case studies. Why? Because we understand just how valuable case studies are in educating customers and increasing conversions.

Today, I’ll explain what case studies are and why they’re so important.

What Is a Case Study?

Why are case studies important.

• Elements of an Effective Case Study

Case Study Example (With Analysis)

A case study is like an in-depth story about a particular customer’s experience with your company. It starts by introducing who the customer is and what kind of problems they face. Then, it explains how your company stepped in with a solution specifically designed to tackle those problems. Finally, it wraps up by showing how the customer’s situation improved after using your company’s product or service.

This isn’t just any story, though. It’s a real account that helps other potential customers see how they might benefit in a similar way. Case studies are valuable because they give a clear example of how a company can help solve real challenges, told through the experiences of 1 specific customer.

Understanding the Value of Case Studies

Case studies are vastly under leveraged, yet wholly effective.

In fact, case studies are often more effective than brochures and traditional sales collateral. Why? Because everyone loves stories.

You have probably heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

This wisdom also applies to sales conversations and marketing.

The stories you share paint pictures, evoke emotions and give your presentation a sticky power.

That’s exactly what a case study allows you to do: tell stories about your brand.

People connect with stories, and there’s no better method of storytelling in business than using your customer’s voice in a data-backed case study.

Okay, so now that you understand the big-picture value of case studies, let’s narrow the focus and dive into some of the specific and tangible reasons case studies matter when it comes to increasing website conversions and directly driving sales.

1. Case Studies Are Niche-Specific

One of the great things about case studies is that they are very targeted and niche-specific.

In other words, you will never see a case study, if properly developed, that’s vague or general.

By nature, case studies hone in on a very specific goal that’s related to your product offering. As a result, you can rest assured your case studies are going to resonate with your target market.

There’s very little risk that your case study will miss the relevance mark. While it is possible to mess up a case study, a properly developed one will always meet target customers where they are.

Example : Our CodeInWP case study highlights how MonsterLinks™ helped them increase conversions by over 1000%.

2. They Position Your Brand as Authoritative

Few things are trusted more than statistics and factual claims.

Since case studies are built on the premise of researched conclusions, your decision to publish these documents helps position your brand as an authoritative figure in your industry.

By regularly producing thought-provoking and insightful case studies, you’ll be able to fast-track your way to becoming a thought leader in your niche.

For example, Flywheel is a popular managed WordPress hosting company.  In our Flywheel case study , we highlighted how OptinMonster helped them convert more website visitors by showing relevant offers.

A case study with a well-known brand in the industry helps you elevate your own brand.

3.  They Explain How Problems are Solved

Case studies are problem-centric and solution-centric. While a product page on your website may say something like, “Our widget helps you reach more customers,” a case study dives into this statement and produces takeaways such as, “Our widget helps you reach 42 percent more customers by uncovering X, Y, and Z needs.”

While some customers may purchase your product based on the fact that a product page claims it’s an optimal solution for their problem, most want to know the “why” behind it.

Case studies serve as the foundation for the “why.” They show real-world situations where your product made a real impact.

Our case study with Ryan Robinson highlights how he recovered abandoning visitors and increased conversions by 500% using an exit-intent popup .

4. Case Studies Provide Social Proof

In this technology age, customers have become more demanding in terms of proof.

50 years ago, a customer relied heavily on sales copy when it came to making a purchase decision.

If an advertisement for a pair of wool socks claimed it would keep their feet warmer than the closest competitor, that customer generally took the statement at face value.

However, as social media and the internet have evolved, customers have been given access to additional resources and information.

As a result, customers are far less trusting of sales copy and invest more in peer reviews and factual findings. Studies show 91% of online consumers look at a product review prior to making a purchase.

Case studies can satisfy this desire for social proof by highlighting customer experiences and revealing real-life results.

You may also want to take a look at our comprehensive guide to social proof . Not sure about the value of social proof? Take a look at these social proof statistics !

5. They Lead to Spinoff Content

Many businesses with limited content budgets are hesitant to invest in case studies because of the cost and time commitment. While case studies certainly require a heftier investment, they’re also generally more efficient.

After publishing a case study, you can then hone in on specific takeaways and use them as a framework for spinoff content.

This spinoff content could take the form of blog posts, newsletters, video features, or podcasts. Think of a case study as research. Once you’ve conducted the research, it’s fairly easy to discuss the intricacies in more detail. In short, you can use case studies as a basis for all kinds of content marketing.

Common Elements of Effective Case Studies

While there is no singular format for an effective case study, most contain similar elements.

Generally speaking, there are 3 major parts to a case study.

You start with the problem, outline the solutions available, and then offer proven results that showcase your product/service as the optimal solution for the problem.

In essence, a good case study highlights “what’s in it for me?” from the target prospect’s perspective.

Those are the basics of a good case study, but let’s break it down further and look at a few common elements that are essential to crafting compelling business case studies:

• The Customer’s Story : Every case study should start with a background of the customer involved. This includes details about the company and their goals. Highlighting this context sets the stage for a relatable and engaging story
• The Challenges : Clearly articulate the specific challenges or problems the customer faced before your product or service came into the picture. This section is crucial as it builds tension and develops the narrative arc, making the eventual solution more satisfying
• The Solution : This is where your product or service shines. Describe how your product was implemented to address the challenges mentioned. Be detailed in explaining the process and the customization of the solution to meet the customer’s specific needs.
• The Results : Quantitative results are the payoff of your case study. Provide clear, data-backed outcomes that demonstrate the effectiveness of your solution. This could include increased revenue, improved customer satisfaction, or any other significant metric that illustrates success.
• Testimonials and Quotes : Integrating direct quotes from the customer adds authenticity and a personal touch to the narrative. These should reflect their experience and satisfaction with the solution provided.
• Visuals and Data : Incorporate examples, charts, graphs, and other images that can help visualize the results and processes described. Visuals can enhance the comprehension and retention of the case study’s key points.

Next, let’s take a close look at one of our OptinMonster case studies, titled How Skates.co.uk Increased Daily Sales £2000 With Geotargeting .

We’ll discuss how we included each of the elements above.

But just fitting in those elements isn’t enough. Let’s also discuss how each element helps OptinMonster market our product to our target audience.

The Customer’s Story

After a brief introduction, our case study begins by introducing Skates.co.uk . Ecommerce stores and small businesses are a huge part of the target audience for our product. Since Skates.co.uk is a family-owned eCommerce store, this case study will be relevant to a lot of potential customers.

The Challenges

We make Skates.co.uk’s challenges clear in the introduction. Like many online stores, they were struggling with cart abandonment and international shipping times.

Reducing shopping cart abandonment is one of the biggest potential benefits of using OptinMonster, so it is a major focus of many of our case studies.

The Solution

Of course, the solution was to use OptinMonster. However, we didn’t just leave it at that. The case study goes into detail about the specific features and tools that Skates.co.uk used to solve their problems.

Here’s an example of how we explained the exact features that our customer used:

By explaining the solution in detail, we had a chance to highlight some of our most valuable features.

The Results

Specific, detailed results are sprinkled throughout the case study. For every OptinMonster campaign discussed, we provide the conversion rates. Near the bottom of the article, we feature a bulleted list summarizing all the results:

But what about the website visitors who don’t read the entire study? We also include the most important stats at the very top, so every visitor will see a snapshot of our customer’s success:

When you feature your results prominently, potential customers will be able to easily see how your product could help them, too.

Testimonials and Quotes

The final part of our case study is a brief testimonial from Skates.co.uk’s David Tuttlebee:

While the main copy of our case study was crafted by our team, testimonials let the customers speak for themselves. A glowing direct quote adds proof that customers really are happy with your product.

Visuals & Data

The case study also includes images of the actual OptinMonster campaigns that Skates.co.uk used to achieve their results:

Beneath one of the campaign examples, we added a screenshot of one of the OptinMonster settings used for the campaign. In this case, Skates.co.uk used our Geo-Location Targeting feature to target website visitors in France:

These visuals show potential customers just how clean and professional OptinMonster popups can look on a website. The last image also illustrates how simple it is to specifically target each campaign.

Maximizing your Case Study Conversions

Case study research can take weeks or months to develop. Depending on the data you’re using, where you’re gathering it from, and how you’re putting it together, creating a valuable case study is an extremely intensive process. The last thing you want to do is waste your effort.

With that being said, simply creating and publishing case studies isn’t enough. If you really want to experience positive results and high returns, you should fit your case studies into your wider marketing strategies.

For instance, you should encourage visitors reading your case study to join your email marketing list and be entered into your sales funnel.

That’s where OptinMonster comes into play. With our incredibly versatile software, you can unlock the full potential of your case studies by converting abandoning visitors into subscribers and customers. With built-in analytics and A/B split testing, you’ll never wonder how your case studies are doing.

Get started with OptinMonster today!

Want to learn more about case studies and other research methods? Check out these resources:

• 11 eCommerce Case Studies to Inspire Your Success
• How to Write an Epic Case Study That Wins More Business
• Types of Qualitative Research: 13 Approaches and Methods to Help Your Business Grow

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. We only recommend products that we believe will add value to our readers.

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Case Study Method: Why & how the best business schools use it

The case study method, popularised by Harvard Business School has been adopted by almost all the top MBA programs in the world. For your bachelors degree (engineering, commerce, science, etc), the teaching was almost fully dependent on the lecture method. In contrast, management colleges spend less than half of the time on lectures.

Carnegie Mellon Tepper MBA rules with around 50% and for the Harvard MBA, this number drops to under 5% (read the table below for details). Case studies, on the other hand, have been enjoying the limelight in B-schools for ages (Harvard HBS professors spend 80% of their time on case studies) and that’s not going to change soon.

If you are applying to B-schools, you’d better make yourself familiar with the concept of case studies. Read up on a few case study examples and try your hand at cracking them.

All about Management Case Studies

In short, case studies are a miniature version of a business situation used in MBA programs to facilitate learning.

The percentage of case study dependency ranges from 20% to 80% in the top business schools in the world. It gets varying degrees of support from the other methods of teaching – lectures, group assignments, experiential learning (internships, real world assignments would fall in this category).

How the best business schools use Case Studies

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek | Poets & Quants

Case Study format

Typically a case study presents a vague sounding management problem for a specific business. Often it may be an issue that the top brass of the company (CEO, CFO level) is facing.

This is followed by a whole lot of objective and subjective data. This could include a brief history of the company on which the case study example is based, the financial data (balance sheet, profit and loss account). There could also be a whole lot of supporting data about the size of the company (for example, thenumber of employees, locations, products).

Often, at the first glance the sheer volume of data might be overwhelming. The challenge for you, is to cut through the data and filter out the information that’s relevant for the case.

Examples of Case Studies

A case study on marketing could focus on entering a new market, or tackling the influx of cheaper competing services, or working on the optimal pricing for the existing products of a consumer goods company.

Finance case study examples could talk about evaluating the cash flow status for a company and defining a strategy to improve the accounts receivable (AR) policies, or you might be thinking about the best mix of debt and equity for the company.

Case studies on operations may include improving the efficiency of a manufacturing unit, working on the right mix of inventory and finished goods, or the decision to re-engineer the supply chain management system and reduce the dependency of global raw materials.

The fun starts when you move to strategy case studies, where the problems and the potential solutions can span across domains from finance to marketing and everything in between.

Want to check out some real case studies and examples from the best business schools?

Here’s a list of free and paid case studies from: Harvard | Stanford | London Business School | IMD | Darden

Harvard Business School Case Study

If you are curious to get a peek into how the best in the business use the case study to facilitate management learning, check out this video.

The professor in the video might seem to have consumed a few extra cups of coffee before the session. But apart from being energetic, it does help if the professor has the ability to get the class energised and engaged.

Active participation during case studies is highly encouraged and most students do. Why so? Coz class participation in case studies counts towards grading. If Coffee Anna is happy with what you say, you get extra points.

The flipside is that this may seem like torture for introverts and folks who don’t like their voices echoing in the class with a few hundred pair of eyes dissecting their every move, waiting to pounce in with a counter-argument.

Love it or hate it, if you are preparing to join bschool, get mentally and intellectually ready to grill and be grilled. And this is the easy part. Doing business in the real world gets tougher.

Over to you now. What is the one top reason why you’d like or dislike it?

Also read: – Case interview sample question and answer tips – Mergers & Acquisitions – written by Marc Cosentino (Author – Case in Point) – Case competitions benefits and preparation tips

Mini-MBA | Start here | Success stories | Reality check | Knowledgebase | Scholarships | Services Serious about higher ed? Follow us:                

4 thoughts on “Case Study Method: Why & how the best business schools use it”

Hi Sameer, 1. How were the % calculated or sourced from, for the “case study method” %, and the other method %s ? 2. Why do some of the schools’ % contributions not add up to 100%, eg. Stanford? 3. Could you please include or point me to % based breakup of pedagogy similarly, of ISB and the IIMs ? (e.g. ISB and IIM-A use case study – and I’d like to know, how much) Thanks, HNP

@hnp: As mentioned just below the table, these were sourced from a survey done by Poets & Quants. Some schools have additional ways of grading students that haven’t been included in these 4 columns. That’s why they don’t add up to 100% We don’t have similar data for the Indian bschools. If you happen to find it anywhere it’ll be great if you could come back here and share.

how can i get case studies for practice

Case-in-point by Marc Cosentino is a great resource.

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Why Are Case Studies Important For Business In 2024?

Any business, large or small, benefits from client testimonials. For a freelancer like me, a 5-Star Google review is like SEO gold. But for any business, having the ‘social proof’ of genuine case studies can make a real difference to your bottom line in 2024.

But why are case studies important for your business? Reviews and testimonials only tell half the story. Having evidence-based case studies detailing how you helped a customer solve their problem can be a highly effective marketing and lead generation tool for your business.

What are business case studies?

In the marketing world, we hear a lot about the power of storytelling and how it’s used as a tool for persuasion. Used well, and you can immediately create empathy with your customer. Speak to them on their level – telling them you understand their problems or pain points – and they’ll be itching to find out more about how you can help them.

This is basically what a case study is, or rather how it works. Using a story-based structure, they describe how a customer or business problem was overcome by using your business, product, or service.

Detailing your process and your customer’s positive experiences. It’s a surefire way to make your business the authority in your sector or industry. And while customer reviews have their place in business, case studies dig a little deeper.

The main point to remember is that case studies are real – based on actual events with actual customers. So they’re more believable to people straight away. And with the majority of sales decisions based on believability – and trust – you’re onto a good thing.

Why use case studies in business?

The aim of a good case study is to tempt the reader into finding out more about you. To ask for more information, and to get them one step closer to buying from you.

Get your reader one step closer to buying from you

By using the story of a satisfied customer as a prime example of your business in action, your case study will tell others how good it is. People love to read stories about other people. If you can tell them how you’ve helped them solve a problem, they can relate to it – because they’ve got the same problems.

Does your business sit in a competitive market? A case study can help set you apart from your competition, explaining the value you can offer.

Is your product or service more technical and not easily explained in a few words? An engaging case study can make it clear to people. In these cases, education is key. The more information you give your potential customer, the easier their buying decision becomes.

Case studies, though factual, are people-focused and less formal, making them more interesting for people to read. Based on real benefits, it can create immediate credibility for you. And without any of the sales talk or self-promoting publicity found in other marketing too.

Can a business case study help me?

In a word – yes. You might be a freelancer, an SME, or a global corporation working in any B2B or B2C sector. Either way, you’ll have a project story to tell about your customer. And, as I said earlier, that can be a brilliant lead-generation tool.

Use case studies as an effective lead-generation tool

When anyone wants to buy or research something, they jump online and Google stuff – it’s now second nature to us. So when you appear in their search results, they’re hoping to see useful information. And that helps them make a decision – especially if they’re spending a lot of money.

Depending on what you sell or offer, is your website loaded with options, choices, or specifications? That might be way too much to take in at the start of a potential customer’s buying process. Case studies make what you’re all about easier to take in.

They break things down into a simple, but effective, formula: – the customer’s challenge – looking at the solution – focusing on the implementation – the end results

Adding in a compelling customer quote – even when anonymity is important – reinforces how you’ve met their needs and solved their problems. And, if you’re in the B2B marketplace, adding specific results such as savings, revenue gains, or ROI always helps illustrate the value you’ve offered your customer.

Using case studies in your business marketing

So now you know how and why case studies can be so important for your business,  your next step is to build case studies into your marketing plan to open up new opportunities for your business.

Writing effective business case studies is a service I offer to businesses of all sizes – including yours. Taking your background information, I combine research and interviews to tell the whole story. So use their potential to promote your product or service and increase your bottom line.

Start generating more leads and enquiries today. Contact me to take the next step today, and let’s talk.

But case studies are only part of the story. I can help your business in other areas as well, including blogs and engaging website copy. Find out more about my other copywriting services .

CONTACT ME TODAY

“It’s important to Ceramicx to increase the value of our industrial engineering case studies and general website copy. Graeme does a fantastic job working with us using the topics and points we give him to complete these for us. Some of the case studies he’s written have since been used on several industry websites, increasing our press coverage.” Rachel Harrington | Marketing & Design | Ceramicx , Ireland

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Importance of a Case Study

Aug 1, 2018 | coursework writing , case study , research paper , Writing

A case study is research method that involves an up-close, in-depth and detailed investigation of a subject of study and its related contextual position. They can be produced following a form of research. A case study helps in bringing the understanding of a complex issue or object. It can extend experience or add strength to the existing knowledge through previous research. Their contextual analysis revolves around a limited number of events or conditions and how they relate. The case study has been used by researchers for a long time and has been applied in different disciplines. It has been widely used in social sciences as a qualitative research method to investigate contemporary real-life situations and has provided a foundation of application of ideas and extension of methods.

It has been defined as an empirical inquiry that examines a contemporary phenomenon within the context of its real life. However, some people have disagreed with this research method arguing that the study of a small number of cases does not offer enough ground to establish reliability or generality of findings. Others have argued that a case study is only used when applied as an exploratory tool, yet most researchers continue using it successfully in carefully planned studies that concern real-life situations, problems, and issues.

Case studies will more often than not appear in journals or professional conferences instead of popular works. A case study may be an individual, organization, action, event existing in a given time and place. For instance, there are case studies of individuals and clinical practices. When the term “case” is used in a claim, an argument, or a proposition; it can be the subject of a litany of research methods. A case study will involve quantitative and qualitative methods of research.

Researchers, on the other hand, are always spoilt for choice when they are determining the tools to use in dealing with their research question. This is because there is an array of both qualitative and quantitative research tools. They can be based on in-depth case studies or desk-based literature reviews. When using case study, the researcher will get an in-depth investigation of a phenomenon, individual, or an event. They help in investigating and understanding the underlying principles in an occurrence within a real-life context.

• They are comprehensive Case studies enable a holistic review. A researcher can use a range of tools which he would otherwise not apply when using other stand-alone research techniques. This gives his time to develop an in-depth understanding of the topic and establish a credible platform to investigate the factors that affect a case study in extensive detail.
• Case studies reduce bias They give room to the diversity of perspectives as opposed to when one is using a single view of a person you get with a survey response or an interview. It eliminates chances of potential bias by giving an opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the subject under investigation. Lack of bias dilutes the agenda of a given individual.
• Broad relevance One of the criticisms that case study method gets is that the findings cannot be generalized. However, when a case study is part of broader research can explore common problems in detail.
• Permissions The identity of the research participants is crucial in painting a real picture of whatever that is taking place. Many researchers have found out that participants are more comfortable in situation s where they are sure that the identity will remain anonymous. However, this presents a challenge given the comprehensive nature of the study. In-depth case studies will require one to seek confirmation that the leading research participant agrees that the material is accurate and anonymous. This enables the confidence on the part of the researcher as well as the participant. Gaining permission can take quite some time and could culminate to additional restatements of the published research.
• Time Case studies consume time. You have to plan for multiple interviews, waiting for the data to come in; coordinating focus groups can take quite a substantial, amount of time. For instance, if you are depending on a voluntary case study participant who is going on with his daily business, that might present a challenge. You can overcome these issues by offering incentives to your participants and then outline what you expect from each of them from the onset and sending deadline notifications in advance. This helps in receiving the data early enough.
• Decide and define the research questions
• Select your case studies and determine the techniques for data collection and analysis
• Prepare to engage in data collection
• Collect data in the field
• Cary out data evaluation and analysis
• Write your report

You have to decide on the questions you want to use in your research . They are a referral for the researcher as he seeks to provide answers to them. The researcher has to establish the focus of the student by coming up with questions that concern the problem or the situation being studied and to determine the purpose of the study. The case study here might involve a program, an entity, a person, or a group of people. Each object has a relationship that is connected to social, political, historical, and personal issues. This provides wide-ranging possibilities for questions and adds complexities to the case study.

The case study must answer questions that begin with “why” or “how.” These questions are directed to a limited number of events or conditions and their inter-relationships. One way that enables researchers to formulate these questions is by conducting a literature review. This allows them to establish what previous researchers found out, and they enable in formulating insightful questions necessary for the examination of the problem. Well defined questions from the onset direct one on where to get more evidence and also helps in determining analysis method for the study, The definition of case study purpose, the literature review and the early decision on the potential audience for the final report will help in providing guidance on how the study will be conducted and published.

The design phase of the case study research gives the researcher an opportunity to decide what the approach will be when it comes to selecting the single or multiple real-life cases for examination. It will also help in deciding the data gathering approaches and the instruments used. When working with multiple cases, each case is treated individually. The conclusion of the individual case can be used as information that contributes to the whole study.

Excellent case studies often select and carefully examine the existing choices in the research tools at disposal with the objective of raising the study validity. You can create boundaries when you do careful discrimination when you are carrying out the selection. One of the strengths of case study method is by the use of multiple techniques and sources in the process of gathering data. The researcher makes an early determination of the evidence he has to gather and the analysis method he will apply for him to answer the research questions. The data gathered may be largely qualitative but can also be quantitative. One can use surveys, interviews, observation, documentation review, or the collection of physical artifacts as tools of data collection. The researcher ought to distribute the data gathering tools systematically when collecting the evidence. The researcher must ensure that the research is constructed to achieve, internal validity, external validity, construct validity and reliability. This should be achieved during the design phase.

Case study often generates big amounts of data from multiple sources. As such, it is important to organize your data systematically to prevent cases of confusion or getting overwhelmed by the incoming data. This helps the researcher to maintain sight of the original research purpose and questions.

One can prepare databases to help in sorting, categorizing, storing, and retrieving data for analysis. Some of the best case studies carries out training for the researchers to establish clear protocols and procedures early enough before the fieldwork kicks off. They also conduct a pilot study well in advance to remove barriers and problems in the field. Once the training is done, the last step is to select a pilot site where each data gathering method is put to the test to uncover problem areas and correct them early.

The researcher must ensure that the evidence and the issue under investigation are have maintained their relationship. It is possible for the researcher to enter data into a database and physically store it. However, he has to document, classify, and cross-reference all evidence for it to be efficiently recalled for examination and sorting as the study continues.

The researcher must collect and store data comprehensively and systematically. This should be done in formats that are easy to reference and sort to enable him in identifying possible lines of inquiry. Successful case studies utilize field notes and databases in categorizing and referencing data, so that is it readily available for interpretation. Field notes take records of feelings, intuitive hunches; pose questions, document work in progress. Stories, testimonies, and illustrations are useful in later reports. Some techniques require the researcher to place information into arrays, matrices of categories, flow charts or other displays as well as tabulations of event frequency. If there is conflicting evidence, the researcher must probe the differences deeper and identify the source of conflict. The researcher must provide answers to the “how” and “why” research questions.

The researcher has to examine raw data using different interpretations. This enables him to draw linkages between the outcomes and the research object bearing in mind the research questions. The researcher must have an open mind during the data evaluation and analysis process. The researcher can strengthen the research findings and conclusion thanks to the multiple data collection methods and analysis techniques he had applied.

The kind of tactics used by the researcher during the analysis compels him to go beyond the initial impressions to improve chances of reliable and accurate findings.

• Preparing the report

Excellent case studies interpret data in ways that they make it easy to understand a problem hitherto complex. It allows the reader to question and examine the study and arrive at an understanding that the researcher was independence. The written report aims to convey to the reader a simplified experience of the issue that was once complex. With case studies, the reader can access the information publicly in ways that may lead him to utilize the experience in his real-life situation.

The report can be written in a manner that handles each case on its separate chapter or giving it a chronological recounting. The researchers at times use the report writing process to do a critical examination of the document to identify ways through which the report might be incomplete. The researcher can use the representative audience to carry out a review and present comments on the same. The comments are the premise upon which the revisions of the documents are made. Sometimes it is recommended to have a journalist in the review audience whereas others argue that the participants should review the document. Those are the steps used in a case study research.

With case studies, the researcher will get a more concrete and unbiased understanding of a given complex situation. This is achieved using a range of search tools. With a real-life view, the research can give leeway for the recommendation of practical solutions to challenges. Case studies are important, and the challenges involved can be surmounted planning, background research and an informed selection of all the participants. If the case study approach works for you, utilize it.

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6 Common Leadership Styles — and How to Decide Which to Use When

• Rebecca Knight

Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances call for different approaches.

Research suggests that the most effective leaders adapt their style to different circumstances — be it a change in setting, a shift in organizational dynamics, or a turn in the business cycle. But what if you feel like you’re not equipped to take on a new and different leadership style — let alone more than one? In this article, the author outlines the six leadership styles Daniel Goleman first introduced in his 2000 HBR article, “Leadership That Gets Results,” and explains when to use each one. The good news is that personality is not destiny. Even if you’re naturally introverted or you tend to be driven by data and analysis rather than emotion, you can still learn how to adapt different leadership styles to organize, motivate, and direct your team.

Much has been written about common leadership styles and how to identify the right style for you, whether it’s transactional or transformational, bureaucratic or laissez-faire. But according to Daniel Goleman, a psychologist best known for his work on emotional intelligence, “Being a great leader means recognizing that different circumstances may call for different approaches.”

• RK Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

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How immigrant entrepreneurs help create jobs and boost the economy

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The national conversation about immigration is focused on the U.S. southern border . Yet a strong consensus has emerged — among economists at least — that the influx of immigrants is a major reason why the U.S. can sustain strong payroll growth even as inflation pressure eases.

Less understood is the role immigrants also play in starting new businesses and making new hires for those businesses . Marketplace’s senior economics contributor Chris Farrell has been looking at the data. He spoke with “Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

David Brancaccio: New businesses that may have the capacity to hire others — what do you see?

Chris Farrell: So, let’s take the results of recent surveys by Gusto. It’s a payroll, benefits, human resources technology provider for small businesses. And they surveyed business owners on its platform and found that 40% of new business owners in 2023, last year, were either immigrants or the children of immigrants.

Brancaccio: Interesting, but it’s one survey. What does broader economic research have to say about people who come from other countries being, what, more likely to start a business?

Farrell: They are, and, boy, it’s by a wide margin. And that’s the conclusion of a study by four economists . Now what they found, David, is, per capita, immigrants are about 80% more likely to create a firm compared to a U.S.-born citizen.

Brancaccio: Are these mostly, what, small firms?

Farrell: Immigrants not only create more firms overall, but, on average, they create more small firms, more medium-sized businesses and more large firms. And I want to add that well-educated immigrants, they rightly get a lot of focus when it comes to new business creation. I mean, think Silicon Valley. But in a recent conversation I had with Giovanni Peri — he’s an economist and immigration expert at the University of California, Davis — he stressed that less-educated immigrants are also very entrepreneurial.

Brancaccio: And this entrepreneurial activity, what does it do to overall employment in the U.S.? Because, that’s a key concern — immigrants taking jobs from people who were born here.

Farrell: I mean, look, we know that job growth disproportionately comes from new small businesses. Immigrant entrepreneurs in the U.S. are associated with a net gain in jobs. Specifically, they’re responsible for roughly one in four of all jobs in young firms . So, as the study about immigrant entrepreneurs put it, immigrant business owners are more “‘job creators’ than ‘job takers.'”

Brancaccio: Now, swirling across all of this more generally is a remarkable resurgence as we came out of the worst part of pandemic in entrepreneurship.

Farrell: Americans filed 5.5 million applications to start new businesses in 2023. And nearly 1.8 million are highly likely to hire employees. And this is according to estimates by the Economic Innovation Group, which is a think tank. Now, both figures represent high points for this data. Of course, we don’t know how many of these business applications are from immigrants and how many plans will turn into a real business. But I think it’s safe to say immigrants are well represented in the numbers. Immigrant entrepreneurs are vital to both future business creation and future job creation.

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