How to write 'killer'​ B2B case studies

Right across the UK, hundreds of unwanted case studies lie abandoned in drawers and filing cabinets. A B2B marketing wasteland.

Boring, internally-focused, weighed down with complexity.... They were the victims of corporate marketing drudgery.

It's time to fight back.

Read this guide to find out how to create 'Killer' B2B case studies. 

First, you'll see top tips for nailing the customer interviews, which underpin decent B2B case studies. Then, there's advice on how to write up the information to maximise engagement.

Let me know your tips in the comments.

How to do a killer customer interview for a B2B case study:

1) Build rapport

• Do your homework – Don't go anywhere near a customer interview until you understand the story, and the relationship with your business. Otherwise, you'll look unprofessional right from the start.

• Reassure - Your customer may lack marketing experience. Build trust by explaining that they'll be able to make changes to copy before anything is published, via an approvals process.

2) Get a 'before and after' 

• Find the contrast - between the pain the customer experienced in the past, and the simplicity now offered by your B2B product or service. This is the easiest way to show how you add value, by solving problems.

• Probe any pain points – When a customer reveals a challenge, try to quantify it in terms of money or time wasted; or get quotes about how it impacted their business. Did they 'just' save £90k, or did they save £90k, which enabled them to hire a new Sales Manager, who brought in £500k revenue? That's more interesting.

3) The who, what, when, where, how, and why?

Make sure you've covered these fundamental questions, so you can establish the whole story.

4) Really listen

Listen carefully to the story the customer wants to tell you. It might be different to what you were told by internal sources. Be flexible in accommodating new information.

The customer will thank you when you grasp their complex business issues at the first pass.

5) Get 'human' quotes

As B2B marketers we are often told to put emotion aside. Ignore that rule here. An interviewer should:

• Ask emotive questions – like 'How did you feel,' or 'that must have been really stressful...?'

• Capture your customer's emotions – feelings, and even humour, to maximise impact.

6) Save detail questions for the end

Note questions about details as you go – It's important to use correct dates, spellings, and acronyms – but don't let this break up the flow of the interview. leave that until last.

So, that's a wrap. Now let's write it up...

How to write a killer B2B case study 

The aim here is to make the content clear, succinct, and focused on the customer and market – not yourself.

1) Work out the killer storyline 

Combine the best bits from the interview to make the intro – the 'before and after', human quotes, and key achievements. For example:

"We lost all our paper records in the fire; it was devastating. Without Acme Software Solutions, I honestly think we would have gone under." So says Joe Bloggs, CEO of BlaggerzRUs, which saved 20,000 records, and £90,000 using DocuCloud.

This approach means that prospects will understand how you add value, even if they only read the first paragraph.

2) Get a great structure

• Abandon chronological order – All of us have limited attention, and want to cut to the chase. People will love the punchy intro you have written. Now persuade them to read on, by bringing in other 'killer' aspects of the interview as early as possible.

• Explain background information later on – It doesn't make people buy your stuff. If needs be, put a break in the text and explain background detail later on.

Anyone whose intro includes the year a company was founded will be sent immediately to the naughty step.

3) Focus on the customer and the market, not yourself

• Customers are your best sales advocates – Let them take the mic. Readers like stories, not adverts, so go easy on self-promotion in the case study. People already know it involves you - it's on your website.

• Tap into market trends – to position your B2B firm as part of bigger industry discussions, and spark better conversations.

4) Be ruthless on what you don't include

Cut out any waffle – or you will lose readers. In B2B marketing, less is more. The real skill is in explaining complex subjects in as few words as possible.

5) Write in plain English

• Give people a fighting chance to understand what they're reading – Minimise your use of complex sub-brands, product names and acronyms.

• Avoid cliché – Quotes from your B2B organisation should relate to helping the customer, and aligning with industry trends.

Anyone using the word "delighted" in quotes must take a long look in the mirror and think about what they have done.

6) Invest in images

• Invest in decent design - Every time you use a stock photo of men in suits shaking hands, a puppy dies. Seriously, it's hard to find strong case studies – don't ruin it with lousy imagery.

• Break up the text - Use statistics and pull quotes to add impact, boost design, and make the piece easier to read.

Anyone can write a bad case study, but the good ones take work, and a little bit of magic.

If you want case studies which will shine in front of customers, and not the B2B marketing wasteland, email susie@whatsthestorypr.com

*Photo credits - PXFuel, Myriam Zilles, Pixabay.