A Tale of Two Case Studies
Let’s say that you represent a company selling an enterprise-focused technology solution. While the enterprise market is your primary focus, the solution is also used to a lesser extent by the SMB (small-medium business) market. You are given an opportunity to write a case study on a both an enterprise company and an SMB company, but you can only choose one. Which one is the better choice?
Company A- an SMB company focused on the consumer market that has shown dramatic results with your product. You know that going with this company, will be a poor fit for your target enterprise market, but a great fit to showcase the effectiveness of your solution.
Company B – an enterprise company that is using your solution with mediocre results. You know that this company represents a perfect fit for your target market, but the less than stellar results would water down the effectiveness of your case study.
Which case study do you run with? Seem obvious?
The answer: If you guessed the SMB example, you’d be wrong. You go with the enterprise example. Why?
The purpose of a case study isn’t simply to show great results with a solution. It’s designed to connect and build affinity for your solution with your reader. An enterprise business will not not view an SMB as a credible example no matter how impressive the results. Mediocre results can always be written to sound more impressive than the results have actually shown. But if the target market can’t relate to the example, you won’t get to first base to tell them the rest of the story.
So when you’re hunting for case study examples within your customer base, always look to the ones that best represent the ideal customer as opposed to looking for great results with your solution. You’ll find the results will speak for themselves.
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