Weaving Narrative into Customer Case Studies

Customer case studies are great for conversion, snapshotting the before-and-after of a client’s experience with a product. Since the goal is to inspire other people to buy the product or service, reinforcing the reasons to believe for the audience is crucial.

Stellar numbers only tell half that story. The other half comes from narrative.

Swipe this Framework

I developed a framework after working on a ton of written and AV case studies. I needed a way to give structure to interviews and inspire audiences to keep watching, listening, and reading. Let’s face it, objectives and results aren't always the most interesting thing to tune into.

So, I started to tell a story about two characters. The customer, our fearless hero, and the brand - the mentor/guide. Here's how to add that dash of narrative to your case study project:

BEGINNING

Customer origin story

• Who the customer is
• What they do
• Why it’s important

Brand’s matching values

• Why customers like X are important
• Where values of the brand and customer match
• Why brand is qualified to help

MIDDLE

Customer struggles

• What problems the customer is facing
• Why the problems are happening
• The effect of the problems -- why they almost lose

Brand reveals the secret weapon

• Provide empathy for customers' problems
• Offer solutions
• Onboard customer -- first impression

END

Customer triumphs

• Customer solves problems
• Positive effect of the solution on the customer
• Look to the future and next goals

Brand celebrates

• Detail specifics of solutions
• Celebrate with customer
• Support future growth possibilities

W.W.R.D?

• Use this framework to think about case study positioning
• Brainstorm interview questions that reveal customers' wants, needs, and desired outcome
• Create interview questions for your brand contact on the brand wants, needs, and desired outcome
• Use these elements to identify points in the narrative to build empathy alongside objective facts