How to Create a Visual Case Study for Client Work (+ gain more leads!)
What is the magic recipe for growing a thriving business? You may think the answer lies in consistently delivering on customer needs, and you would be right. But that is just one ingredient.
Strong growth also means pursuing new business and converting prospects to paying clients. The more effectively you convert, the faster you grow.
Doing this hands-on work means showing your industry expertise while keeping your business top of mind with potential customers. But there’s a problem. The traditional case study/testimonial combo isn’t all that exciting to read – especially if your potential customers are shopping around. All your competition is promoting similar benefits.
You need to show success in your field, but multiple stats from competing agencies mean your hard-earned results become lost in the clutter. Additionally, most businesses follow the same presentation approach. If you follow the herd, you won’t distinguish yourself.
So how do you present your successes in a way that people ACTUALLY want to read while keeping your business etched in their minds?
A Visual Case Study helps you convey your expertise and professionalism in ways that keep your prospects engaged while helping you stand out, translating into more business for you.
Below, I provide examples of case studies and show you how to create a Visual Case Study. It is a powerful tool in your marketing efforts, and the good news is it is easy to make!
Giveaway: Create visual case studies for free using StoryPrompt!
What Is an Example of a Case Study?
Case studies come in two categories: prospective studies and retrospective studies. Prospective studies involve observing an individual or group of people over a period of time for results. For example, a business may offer a new feature or product to its lineup and test it with customers to get their feedback before doing a wider release. Another example is covering a new topic on a website and viewing bounce rates and backlinking results to track engagement.
A retrospective study looks at historical data. It often works backward, taking an outcome and tracing back what contributed to the marketing result. For instance, you can show how you increased ROI in the operations department of a company by streamlining systems or learn how demand for a real estate property increased based on marketing initiatives that were used. The same strategy helps you track negative results.
What is a Visual Case Study?
A Visual Case Study is a hybrid between an infographic and a presentation. The blend of engaging visuals, animation, and data lets you show your results in a dynamic way while being concise and memorable.
Standing out from the crowd means doing things differently, and a Visual Case Study is a powerful way to do it. It moves away from the standard formula of listing case studies and testimonials by providing information in a more digestible and engaging way that keeps you top-of-mind while showing your professionalism.
The right tools make building your case study easy, and you can quickly customize each presentation to fit the goals and voice of each prospect.
What Formats Can You Use for a Visual Case Study?
There are five different ways you can choose to convey information that will keep viewers engaged and work best for your story. In each option, I outline a range of easy-to-use programs that will help bring the information alive.
You will notice that two pieces of software work well for multiple studies. In fact, they are so useful that I created additional content on each. Those programs are Visme and Canva. Still, other programs are ideal for certain studies. Here I outline strong ways to present your story visually and the best programs to use for each case study style.
1. Interview-style Video
This option uses an interview format with a host and guest (your customer). The interview can be done in person or over video chat, like Zoom or Skype. This type of video is especially effective because prospects hear from your customer and learn about their results first-hand.
Visme and Canva are good programs for this style of case study.
You can also use StoryPrompt to send a series of prompts to your client to create a case study. Then, their AI “producer” will edit it for you with your brand guidelines, B-roll, and music!
2. Slidedeck Case Study
This type of case study functions much like a Powerpoint presentation, allowing you or the potential client to click through slides that tell your story. By their nature, slides need to be brief and punchy and by prompting customers to click, they become more involved in understanding the data.
Visme and Canva are strong tools for this style of presentation.
3. GIF Case Study
A GIF case study uses short, highly-engaging animation that helps emphasize a point. Like GIFs on a smartphone, the animation often includes short videos that are light-hearted and have a comical edge. You can create a GIF case study by using a before - during - after format explaining how you transformed the business in a series of graphics.
Visme and Canva are helpful tools for GIF case studies.
4. Explainer-style Video
An Explainer-style video indicates a problem faced by a customer and how it is solved through a company’s product or services. In some cases, these case studies take the form of reenactments by showing people undergoing a problem and how using a company’s product created the solution. These videos are typically visually engaging. They can be videos of people or simply graphic animation.
Powtoon, Animaker, and Moovly are powerful tools for this type of case study.
5. Talking-head Video
A talking-head video uses a single person to convey a solution or idea. This is a subject matter expert who talks directly to the camera explaining the before state, solutions, and results of the case study. It is an easy way to convey information while also being a low-cost solution.
The beginning of my video explaining how I work with Visme is an example of a talking head video.
Vimeo, iMovie, and Canva are excellent for editing this type of case study.
What Should You Include in a Visual Case Study?
Any in-house marketing team can follow these simple steps to create each case study. Note that the type you use should have the audience’s knowledge and objectives in mind.
Step 1: Start with a punchy summary of the project
Step 2: Discuss the company’s history (the work that existed before you began working with them)
Step 3: List the challenges the client faced
Step 4: Show your process
a. How did you solve the problem?
b. What was your approach to solving the problem?
c. Who was involved in the project?
d. What was the timeline?
Step 5: Show the results
a. What was the end result (KPIs, goals)
b. What stood out about the project?
Steal My Problem - Solution - Results Format
Feel free to use my case study format. It helped me improve my conversion rate, and it can do the same for you.
Step 1: Start with the problem you were hired to solve.
Step 2: Explain the solution you implemented to solve the problem.
Step 3: Showcase the results
Step 4: Add related accomplishments as a bonus
Just One of Many Tools that Boost Your Growth
A Visual Case Study is a powerful way of increasing your chances of landing your next client. When combined with other sales and marketing strategies, you will boost your demand and recognition even further. The more tricks you know, the higher your chances for growth. And I can help.
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