While case studies and success stories are often used interchangeably, they really shouldn’t be.
There are three fundamental differences between them:
- End goal
- Structure
- Details
| Case studies | Success stories | |
| End goal | To demonstrate how a business problem is solved | To demonstrate why a prospect should learn more about your company |
| Structure | Before/During/After | Problem/Solution/Results |
| Details | Context for why a prospect should learn more about your company and how you would work with said prospect | Elements about pain points, brand positioning, relatable stories to draw prospect in to want to learn more about your company |
Without understanding this, you end up with sales assets that fail to achieve your goals and don’t prove their value over time.
You want to know the difference between case studies and success stories so that you can leverage your impact and success in order to win consistent returns on your investment in both things.
Let’s start with case studies
A case study is an in-depth analysis of a business problem (i.e., the “case”) and how your company products or services provided a solution to that problem. The keyword is “how”. The end goal of a case study is to persuade a prospect why they should work with you and how you will work for them.
Think of case studies as an extension of success stories. You don’t stop at the “why”; you keep going to show the “how”.
The structure of a case study is usually what Case Study Buddy calls the “B/D/A” approach :
- Before they found your solution,
- During the decision-making process and early days, and
- After they implemented and saw results
Case studies are most effective to a prospect who is convinced that they should work with you and now want to know how you’ll do it. The prospect is likely deeper in the sales funnel by the time they read your case study. So, you want to make sure you’re providing the right contextual information to help them make a decision.
The details of a case study vary, but they usually contextualize how something is being done. Furthermore, there’s a clear line between the challenges and the metrics used to show success.
As an example
I co-wrote a mock case study about Instagram and its success with National Geographic. Basically, National Geographic was struggling to reach its audience in digital spaces, after having been print-only for so long. Then, by joining Instagram and using its features strategically, National Geographic was able to reach and expand its audience. To emphasize how this was done, I used metrics such as:
- Impressions (shows reach)
- Number of followers over specific time period (shows conversion of reach)
- Number of user-generated photos using NatGeo’s hashtags (indicates engagement)
- Number of tags during campaigns (indicates engagement and opportunities for leads)
Now, about success stories
A success story or customer success story is about a company that achieved success with your product and/or service (i.e., the solution that created the success). It is a story that is specifically focused on the outcome, the success of the use of your solution, and why it worked. The keyword is “why”. The end goal of a case study is to persuade a prospect why they should work with you.
The structure of a success story is usually:
- Problem
- Solution
- Results
Success stories are most effective to a prospect who has just come across your company as a contender to solve their problems. In other words, the prospect needs some convincing to stay and learn more about your company. The prospect is likely at the top of the sales funnel. So you, want to make sure you’re providing the right information to help them decide to put your company’s name in the hat of potential companies.
The details of a success story vary, but they usually provide strong evidence of what your solutions did, why and what the success was. Furthermore, there’s a clear line between the solution and the results.
As an example
I wrote a success story about a college student who, after gaining key experiential learning experience at a digital health company on campus, got their dream job in just a few short months. The goal of the story is to entice other students to join the company. Basically, like many international students, this student had the technical experience to get a job in their industry.
However, they lacked the experiential, relational experience that is often hard to find for students. By joining the digital company, the student gained industry experience, improved their skills and learned how to work on teams. As a result, the student applied for and successfully got their dream job.
To emphasize the “why”, I used details such as:
- Pain points (demonstrate effectiveness of solution and relatability)
- Relevant quotes about work experience, the company etc. (provides social proof)
- Personal details about the student (makes the story relatable)
- Minimal interruption about the digital health company (maintains focus on the student)
This is why you need to know the difference between case studies and success stories
Let’s be clear: This is less about what you call your stories and more about how you frame them. Case studies and success stories are supposed to be an invaluable asset to you. The benefits of them both include:
- Marketing asset with evergreen quality
- Create buy-in internally and externally
- Increase sales
- Build trust and credibility
- Attract more customers
When you write a story, you have a clear goal in mind. You’re more likely to achieve if you know exactly what purpose that story serves. Without knowing that, you distort your own expectations.
For example, Let’s say you write a success story about how you increased website traffic for a nonprofit company that used your technology solution. The focus of the story is the success of your product. You expect prospects to reach out to you because of it. However, after a few months, you don’t get any traffic from it.
All else being equal, it’s probably because the story doesn’t serve that purpose. A success story demonstrates success. It doesn’t show the road to success, per se.
It’s the same with a case study. Let’s say you write a case study about how you saved a nonprofit thousands of dollars with your LMS software. However, you emphasize elements of a success story. In other words, you write about what you did and not so much how you did it. Is it reasonable to expect a company to continue learning about your company if that’s all you have to offer?
How to make every story count
I think it’s clear that there’s a bunch of overlap between case studies and success stories. While that is the case, you want to make sure you’re clear about what you’re writing and why. You can do that in three ways:
Create a strategy for crafting your stories to help you clearly define your goals
You probably didn’t realize that a story strategy was a thing. Don’t worry.
Most people don’t.
Instead, they probably believe that a case study or a success story process begins with securing an interview. It doesn’t.
Like any ongoing effort, you’ve got to plan out how you’re going write a story.
I’m not going to reinvent the wheel here. There are plenty of resources out there to help you. But in my opinion, the best one is by Case Study Buddy. There, they’ve got a straightforward case study strategy process (that you can tweak for success stories) that includes several crucial steps:
- Define your goal
- Figure out who your target audience is
- Confirm what the story will be used for
- Determine what kind of story you want to tell
- Choose the right people to interview
I like this process because it lays all of the details on the table before you even pick up the phone or open a blank email. This process pushes you to be very specific about what you’re trying to do.
The only thing I would add is to be clear about why you want to tell a specific story. In other words, the stories should align with your larger organizational goals and whatever your marketing and communications efforts entail.
Emphasize the right metrics to draw (the right) readers in
As I mentioned earlier, you want to use metrics that make sense. In other words, you want to use metrics that align the challenge with the success, demonstrating the win very clearly. It may be helpful to look at your goals for the story and ask yourself if the metrics support them.
I do want to caution something: You don’t need to include every single metric and detail into the story. Only use what’s relevant. By using too many metrics, you confuse your reader and draw them elsewhere.
But if you want to draw them elsewhere…do so!
Write different versions of the story. That way, you can share them to the right readers at the right time.
Describe how you solve specific problems for specific industries
Oftentimes, companies that serve multiple industries do not have filters on their webpages for their stories. Furthermore, the stories themselves are sometimes not specific to the industries they serve. So if they’ve got a story about the nonprofit industry, the way it’s presented is just like the story about the food service industry.
This doesn’t seem like a big deal until you realize that the lack of specificity breaks trust and credibility with prospects. If they know you don’t pay attention to detail, they may be convinced that you probably can’t solve their specific problem. There’s a lot of assurance for prospects when they know you have solved problems they currently have in their industry and in their specific context.
Define the kind of story you’re telling before you write it
When writing a story, it’s normal to want to jump right to calling previous clients that have experienced great success with your product or service.
But really take your time here. Writing case studies or success stories is not easy or a fast process. It takes time and resources, a real investment in your communications and marketing efforts.
So, do it right.