A powerful but sometimes misunderstood marketing document is the case study. This document is intended for customers near the end of the buyer’s journey.
A case study will often be read by a customer when they’re trying to convince themselves your solution is appropriate for their situation. They want to see how your solution was appropriate for other businesses so they can extrapolate to their own.
A case study isn’t necessarily a long document. When you boil it down, it’s essentially a problem statement and a description of how a product provided a solution, preferably with a quantitative result.
They are different from white papers in several ways, including length. The case study makes no bones about claiming credit for the result. Where a white paper is a subtle document with minimal call to action, the case study is a parade. It’s a celebration of success, shining the finest light on the product and a delighted customer.
Case studies make a great addition to the website, giving visitors that much more evidence to consider in their own buyer’s journey. Even if the customer isn’t ready to read the case studies today, just having them prominently online can stick in the customer’s mind. They may return to read them as they move along their buyer’s journey.
But for customers to read them, the case studies have to be there.