How to interview customers for case studies

A recent survey by TechValidate found that case studies were ranked #2 among different types of marketing content in lead generation effectiveness and #1 in lead nurturing effectiveness by B2B marketing and sales professionals. The same study also found that case studies are the second least costly type of content to produce.

The most important ingredient of great case studies is the interview. During the interview the case study takes shape in the interviewer's mind. The interviewer should be someone who is familiar with the technology and experienced in writing case studies and thus is able to make quick decisions on what is most newsworthy about the application and get all the information necessary for a powerful story without a second call.

The crux of the story is normally the benefit achieved by the customer. Don't limit the customer with a list of questions but rather probe for the main point of the story and once they get to it let them talk for as long as they are willing. After the main point has been established, fill in the details such as how your product contributed to the benefit, details of the solution, background on the customer's company and product, etc.

The interviewer's experience in both the technical and communications domains will also help in filtering out things that may be on the customer's mind but won't look good in print. For example, the customer might talk about how a major problem was solved without thinking that management may not want to reveal that the problem existed in the first place. The writer can steer the customer to a less sensitive topic to expedite the approval process.

I have written over 3,000 case study articles in virtually every area of technology. Based on a short interview with your customer, I can produce an article that will require minimal revisions at a quality level that will allow it to be placed in top trade journals and blogs. Send me an email and I will send examples of articles I have written and placed for companies in your field. Hope we can work together in the future!