Writing the case study
Table of Contents
The problem section
Introduce the client
Introduce the client and describe the problem the client had been facing.
State the overarching narrative
Identify the one business problem that drove the client to seek help - WordPress VIP does this well in their ADWEEK case study. - “our CMS couldn’t handle Super Bowl traffic last year, we want to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”
The devil is in the details - why exactly did the client come to you? What made them take that step? When you clearly pinpoint their pain point like that, it makes the story sound more personal, genuine, and relatable.
What you’re doing here is you’re establishing one overarching narrative for the case study - it can be “WordPress is better-suited for publishing than X CMS,” or “Partnering with a web dev agency can help you win journalism awards.”
The solution section
In the introduction, we only lay out the overarching business problem for a reason - A common mistake when writing case studies is dumping all the pain points in the problem section, listing features in the solution section, and cramming metrics in the results section. The result is a boring case study that’s nothing but a rather disconnected account of the project.
The way to avoid this is by breaking down the solution section into mini case studies of their own.
Break everything down into mini-case studies
A cue to avoid your solution section looking like a feature dump, is to think of each feature implementation as a mini case study with its own Problem -> Solution -> Results.
For each thing that you did for the client that you want to highlight, talk about why you implemented said feature, how you implemented it, and what it’s helping the client do.
cause-effect, cause-effect, cause-effect.
Make sure they’re relevant
Make sure whatever you’ve chosen to talk about in the solution section speaks to the overarching narrative. These mini case studies should be like little wins that are related to and build up to the one big win (solving the overarching problem) that you’re going to showcase at the end.
Be selective about what to talk about
Be selective with what you include. Many things that developers think are really cool (and they usually are cool, don’t get me wrong) are simply not relevant to the narrative. In such cases explain yourself and break hearts with love, not force.
If you can’t figure out a why for a feature, think twice before including it in the case study and whether it’s actually adding value to it.
The results section
In the end, your case study should show that you successfully solved the problem that the client came to you with, preferably with numbers.
Talk numbers
Numbers mean measurable results. In most cases, have numbers, and ideally tie them to a financial profit-contributing benefit.
Don’t forget the qualitative benefits
That said, qualitative results are just as important! If say, the case study is about migration for better publishing, include qualitative results like how the team likes the new publishing workflow. People often forget those while they get caught up in the numbers.
The call to action
Urge potential clients to get in touch if they’re facing similar problems. Have a contact form right below the case study, or at least a link to one.
The testimonial
Get a good testimonial by asking the right questions. Think about the answer you want, and ask questions to get those answers. Being smart about framing these questions is important.
For example, if you want the marketing head to talk about how moving to WordPress is allowing them to publish faster, ask that question. “How has moving to WordPress impacted your publishing process?” It’s as simple as that. Don’t ask yes or no questions. Ask subjective questions.
If you don’t have any case studies or testimonials yet, that’s okay, say “You may focus on [this part of the project]”- hint at the parts you think the client must have enjoyed and make them think about them so they can elaborate on them. Give them clear pointers to think. Give them food for thought!
One of the best testimonials we got is when we asked for two separate testimonials, one for the CMS and one for our work.
Lastly, point them to previous testimonials for guidance - “Here’s what previous clients say about their experience and about us.”