Eight tips to make your cases stand out

As an Agency Search Consultant, I have been exposed to many, many, many case studies and I am struck by the sea of sameness. So, I thought I might provide a few simple and actionable tips that will help your cases work a little harder for you.

First, let’s remember that we want to do four things with any case-

§? Showcase agency creativity and effectiveness

§? Highlight the special and unique abilities of the Agency, or what I like to call the “secret sauce”

§? Clearly imply that the Agency, if chosen, could work this same magic for the prospect’s business

§? Generate a “wow” factor.

Here are the eight tips that will get you there.

Give the Case Study a catchy name.

A great name will highlight whatever you want to show off and will serve as shorthand. It will make the case more memorable. If you can get a smile out of your audience, so much the better.

Frame it for the prospect

In a subheading tell the prospect what the case is about, and (subtly) show the parallels that might exist with his business

Make sure to separate the objective from the challenge

A common practice is to confuse these two and go directly into the idea and the results. This is big mistake. The objective is always about business results. Sell more, drive traffic to the website and things like this. But the challenge captures the key obstacle that is preventing the prospect from achieving her results. She will hire you to identify and address the challenge.

Apply the David vs Goliath principle

Not only do you need to identify the challenge, but you also need to serve it up as almost insurmountable, much like the challenge David faced against Goliath. The bigger the challenge the greater the merit to whoever overcame it.?

Showcase your “secret sauce”

Once you have correctly identified the challenge and served it up as almost impossible to address, you must show how your Agency used its unique skills to come up with a groundbreaking solution. The skills are generally any combination of people, tools and approaches that allowed this agency to solve the problem. The implication must be very clear that this “secret sauce” cannot be found at other Agencies.

To be fair, this may be an exaggeration, but Agencies are experts at creating points of difference for their clients. Now you need to do it for your own brand.

If the presenter was involved in the case, highlight his/her role

A common "bait and switch" technique is to show a case study, that may have been done by other people, for other brands, in other markets, and imply that this can be repeated for the prospect. It works sometimes, but if you can showcase the author of the work, it will only further differentiate you from your competitors. Other agencies may have tools and resources, but you have the talent. She is standing in front of the prospect.

Keep the charts simple, clean, and readable

You want your prospect to focus on the key points, not struggle to read through a tsunami of words and images while trying to listen to the presenter. This sounds obvious but 9 out 10 agencies present charts that go from unreadable to abysmal.

If you do a video, edit for understanding, not “coolness”

Most videos are so focused on being trendy that they end up being a hard to follow, cliché laden, voice over driven, assault on the senses. Do not fall in this trap. It is more important for the video to be easy to follow. Leave the “coolness” for the advertising.

There you have it. Eight simple actions that will take your case studies to a new level and help you be perceived as the agency that is different, better, and right.