February 10, 2010

Case Study Part 3: How to Structure your Case Study

Case studies and white papers are very effective marketing tools if you want to promote the benefits of your product or services. Case studies are the first most popular device used to promote the business. If you plan to write a case study, this article will give you a better understanding about this type of business writing.

What is a Case Study?

Case studies demonstrate how a business condition was identified, how you identified the main issues, and the summarized your results.

How to write a Case Study

Case studies tend to be short - between 500-1000 words.

In general, aim for three to five pages, and use one image per page at most. Case studies adopt a soft-sell approach.

How to Structure your Case Study

There are three sections to a case study.

1. Problem
2. Implementation
3. Results

The 'problem' section has to have a punch. In other words, it has to signify something to the person who reads it, something that they are able to relate to.
Focus on how the topic impacts the reader.

Demonstrate how your product resolved the business problem. The more explicit the case study, the more successful it will be.

Highlight the Benefits

Answer: how the solution, or service, addresses an issue.

Be careful here, as the whole case study is built in the region of this single issue.

Don't dilute the case study by addressing more than the single issue - stick to one area and show how you can resolve the issue in measurable and proven terms.

Reduce Barriers

Case study writers need to demonstrate how their solution improves the situation. For example, how does it improve a business process?

This is an excellent area to state how your product integrates into other applications. You must use your conclusion when compile the last case study document. Avoid make it too technical or using too much statistics.

Case Study template

Case Study - Sample Templates

Compose the statistics set out so that the person who reads be able to easily grasp them and then memorize them later on.

About the Author: www.outsourcingresearchwriting.com

February 10, 2010

Case Study Part 2: Why You Must Focus On a Single Issue

As mentioned earlier, a case study is a soft-sell sales document. Its role is to highlight your abilities without resorting to market-speak and sales clichés.

An effective approach to catch the reader's attention (who is frequently a potential client) is to explore how the solution helped end-users and the target group.

How to build your case

Support your argument with direct quotes (with their names, if possible) from personnel who've adopted your system or use your services.

To make this work, concentrate on how the solution resolved one very specific issue and then build the case study around this.

Warning: don't complicate the case study by addressing multiple issues; stick to one subject and explain how you solved the problem in measurable and quantifiable terms.

How to write a Case Study

How to support your case

Support your case study with statistics, figures and tables.

Areas to focus on include:

Return on Investments - how did the investment in your product pay for itself. For example, it increased productivity by 50% within 2 months. Explain how you can substantiate this; otherwise, your argument loses credibility.

Cost Containment - how does the solution help companies contain costs? This area is very important as budgets are always a sensitive issue. If you can illustrate how another company who adopted your solution saved money then you will keep the reader's interest.

Reducing Barriers - explain how your solution improves internal operations and assists management planning. For example, how does it fit into the system workflow and business procedures? Alternately, mention how your system integrates with other applications and business critical applications.

When compiling the final draft, avoid making it too dry and overwhelming the reader with excessive figures. Rather, keep the tone light, easy-to-read while highlighting the key points.

Remember: case studies that oversell themselves by proposing to solve all problems to all people don't work. No-one believes such claims.

How to refine your case study

Perfecting your case study takes hard work. But, once you refine the words and polish the edges, you have a very powerful marketing tool.

Indeed, those who download your Case Study will keep it on file and use it as a reference.