This is a guest post written by Rod Austin. Want to contribute?

Organizing a case study and publishing it on your website can be an effective tool for showing potential clients the value of your coaching services. This kind of analysis uses storytelling and measurable data (when relevant) from your existing clients in order to track how your business was able to successfully meet their needs.

Because this approach goes a step further than the standard testimonial by providing relevant examples that prospective clients can learn from, a case study is ideal for building trust and acquiring new customers. The strategies below can help you create an attention-grabbing case study page for your own website.

The basics

Before diving into the ways to make case studies more engaging, it’s important that you have a foundation for future case studies. Here are the core requirements:

1. A CMS that will allow you to easily add/edit/remove case studies (we recommend WordPress.)

2. An easy-to-find and navigate landing page where all case studies will live. Here’s an example: Noomii Case Studies

3. A compelling layout for each case study (more on this below.)

4. Someone on your team that can interview clients and draft compelling stories about their experience with your company.

Build a compelling narrative

People connect with stories—they want to know the details behind your coaching business. So building a narrative into the case study gives it a more human quality that feels authentic, honest and relatable. To illustrate this format, here’s an example of a recent case study the marketing team at Pagely conducted on one of our clients: Gravity Forms.

We chose to emphasize this particular client because, as a WordPress plugin with a strong digital presence, Gravity Forms represents one of the key niches of our target demographic. After interviewing our primary contact at the company, we structured the narrative in a simple-to-read outline, telling the story from start to finish while highlighting the key areas of success. We began with the challenges our client faced before enlisting our services, then outlined the processes, platforms, etc. we used to solve their challenges.  

You can apply this basic formula when designing your own case study, just make sure the narrative answers the following questions:

• Who is the customer and what is their industry or market?

• What are the customer’s needs and objectives?

• How did our business meet those needs and objectives to promote long-term results?

Convey clear, precise strategies

This is your chance to highlight the specific methods and innovations that helped you reach the client’s goal. Instead of using broad or generic language, be descriptive and talk about exactly what measures were taken to achieve those results. In addition, use numbers and data to back these strategies whenever possible.

Revisiting the case study example with Gravity Forms, we explained the finer points of how we made them happy, rather than using broad phrases like, “our support team created a solution.” We went in-depth to focus on the impact of forming a relationship with the client, offering personalized customer service, troubleshooting their administrative issues and helping them transition onto Pagely’s hosting platform. Then we discussed how those specifics resulted in a positive client experience.

Use different types of media

An interesting and engaging case study appeals to a diverse group of readers, so take into account how different people tend to consume information. Rather than just dense and lengthy blocks of text, incorporate more audiovisual content for those who retain and process material through viewing or listening. Some options for this include podcast soundbytes, YouTube videos, social media polls, images and infographics, lift-out quotes or PowerPoint slides, to name a few suggestions.    

For the purposes of our Gravity Forms case study, we balanced the text with screenshots and a lift-out quote from our client to add visual interest without distracting from the main content. This imagery reinforces the message and gives people eye-catching stimuli to look at besides just words. Another benefit of audiovisuals is that customers are able to share them on other websites, potentially increasing the case study’s reach and value.

Building a case study page for your website can help market your business more effectively and transparently to clients whom you might not otherwise reach. The approach is simple, but the influence can be extensive. Consumers want to know how your products and services will enhance their lives, so answer that question with thorough, detailed examples they can be inspired by.

About Rod Austin

Rod Austin is the director of marketing at Pagely, and has been tinkering with WordPress since ’04. 

Check out these related articles:

• Your Life Coaching Niche Will Make or Break You
• 4 Key Questions Coaches Must Answer Before Deciding to Scale Up Their Business
• What is Personal Branding and How Does it Fit into My Coaching Business?
• How to Enhance Your Client Loyalty with Real-Time Personalization
• Six Tips For Creating a Website That Works
• 5 Marketing Tools to Make Your Work Easier
• 5 SEO Concepts All Coaching Business Websites Should Implement
• Mastering The Close: A Perfect Example For Business Coaches
• 7 Easy Techniques To Help You Close More Sales From The Startup Expert ®
• Affiliate With Awesomeness: 3 Steps That Boost Back-to-School Revenues