Industry veteran Toby Younis, President at B2B Marketing Pro and B2B Research Associates has recently published a whitepaper “how-to-guide” on writing a quality case study. Toby graciously allowed us to share this work product with the myCRMBlog community. If you write case studies, you should read this paper. The introduction section is copied below and a link to the complete file is located at the end of this post.
Introduction
In my opinion, case studies are the most valuable tool B2B sales professionals can carry in their bags. I’ve heard it argued, and I once believed, that white papers rate higher, but I’ve learned better and respectfully disagree. A well crafted case study that clearly documents a B2B problem, solution, and benefits responds to a myriad of potential objections all along the sales lifecycle. They’re especially important when prospects rear the ugly head of “customer references.” Most B2B sales pros would trade their week at President’s Club for a library of contemporary case studies and a good product demo.
From the marketing professional’s perspective, I think a comprehensive campaign to produce and promote case studies enables the business its increase its market visibility and improve its credibility, while generating first level leads for the sales pros.
Fundamentally, a case study the written analysis of an “event experience,” independent of the outcome, used to draw conclusions in the future. It’s a category of learning that’s been documented, and has value to someone who expects a similar event experience.
Case Studies are widely accepted forms of documentation in a range of disciplines from medicine, to sociology, science, and business. In my opinion, whether or not the case study has future value is the key factor in a decision to invest the time to research, organize, and write it. The following explains how to produce a high quality business case study for your company.
About Toby Younis
Toby Younis is President and Principal Consultant of B2B Marketing Pro, LLC, a Virginia‐based consulting firm. As the name implies, his company provides innovative marketing solutions to B2B companies worldwide. Mr. Younis has over 25 years experience in B2B marketing working for industry leaders such as Cullinet Software, Oracle Software, Sybase, MetaGroup, PRC, and Merrill Corporation.
Good luck out there!
