Questions you should ask in a video case study (and other tips!)
A case study is a compelling way to showcase your business. Storytelling involving real clients with real problems and great outcomes generate interest, awareness, and action!
And they’re the gift that keeps on giving. You can pick out client quotes to feature on your website and marketing collateral, use snippets from the main video on social media – from Facebook to LinkedIn, and even build entire campaigns around them.
But where do you start? A blank page can be daunting – so to help out, we’ve outlined some key questions to ask your client to get you going.
However, before diving into case study questions, there’s some essential housekeeping to complete!
1. Our ‘do-before-anything’ case study tips:
Don’t pass ‘go’ until you’ve worked through these must-dos! Establish:
Who is your audience? Yes, it’s marketing 101, but make sure you know who you want your case study to resonate with. Is it the business decision-makers looking for a trusted partner or someone looking for a story similar to their own – warts and all?
What sort of information does your audience value? For example, do they need technical depth, or are financial metrics more critical? Or is the business relationship, your problem-solving capabilities and support of more importance to them? If you’re aiming your case studies at financial administrators – what are the critical pain points that will likely echo their challenges and prompt them to act?
Which customer has the most compelling story – and is happy to endorse you? Not only should your customer be enthusiastic about helping, but have a great story that others want to hear. Draw up a shortlist of clients who are delighted with your business as a starting point. Then, do due diligence – ensure their story is based on actuality, not assumptions, and is relevant to your target audience. Also, establish if they’ll agree to appear in the video or if you need to use a voiceover to tell the story.
Do you have the customer’s written permission to create and share a case study about their business? Tip – do this sooner than later! There’s nothing worse than making an informal agreement over a few beers, only to find that your client has cold feet in the light of day. They’ll also need to be aware of how you’ll use and share the case study and have the authority to sign the agreement on behalf of the business.
Do you understand your client’s sign-off process? Many companies have a set procedure to go through to approve content and protect sensitive information. Sign-off can range from a full script review beforehand by their marketing and comms team, to the CEO’s casual thumbs up for the final production. Make sure you know what is involved to avoid expensive post-production changes or reworks.
2. Now that’s all done, let’s get that story sorted:
To streamline turning your client’s story into a video case study, we recommend you discuss the following points with your client before the video (no one, but no one likes to be put on the spot in front of a camera!). This preparation time gives you both the opportunity to gather any extra information needed to build a compelling story and agree on the script outline.
Tip: We suggest you record the conversation with your client (with their permission) so you can pull key points from it later. If the client is reluctant to be filmed, you can use the transcript to develop a script. And if they are happy to be the star of the show, then the points can be used as prompts for the ‘official’ onscreen interview.
So, what questions do you need to ask your client to build a great case study?
Customer profile: The ‘who are you’ question! Most businesses have an official brand-compliant ‘boilerplate’ to describe themselves. It typically covers who they are, what industry they’re in, their size and anything else they deem relevant.
What situation did they find themselves in that required help to resolve? For example, was it ageing technology or equipment, poor business practices, or staff shortages? Ask your client to articulate the nature of their situation and what caused it – from the pandemic to a lack of investment to unexpected growth.
What specific problems did this situation cause? Discuss how exactly the problems impacted the business’s performance or profitability. Did it delay their ability to fulfil orders, hold up invoicing, result in undercharged customers, cause supply chain issues, or make year-end close a nightmare? And if you can – see if they have any metrics to support the ‘before’ scenario. Comments like “it used to take us six working days to do that” are marketing gold!
What solution did they choose? Why did they decide to work with your business, and how did you solve their problems quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively?
What were the outcomes? We all love a happy ending, and now’s the moment to discuss improvements made (“oh my gosh, it now only takes 30 minutes to do that!”), competitive edges regained, and time and money saved! And it’s all the better if your customer can offer ‘after’ metrics to prove the point. Note: If your client is uncomfortable revealing commercially sensitive details, you can always express metrics as percentages.
The killer quote! How much does your client love you? Now’s the time for them to tell the world. We suggest you ask open-ended questions about relationships, service, support, product, reliability and quality – so you have a selection of amazing quotes to pepper throughout the case study.
We won’t kid you; despite all the preparation in the world, video case studies aren’t always a walk in the park. They require a commitment from an often time-poor client, compelling and convincing scripts, clear value propositions, great production values, negotiating approval from multiple stakeholders, and above all – an inspiring story.
And, of course, a video production partner you can trust to do justice to all your hard work. Inserting a shameless self-promotion plug for us here at CCT Productions to be your partner!