5 Powerful Content Marketing Case Study Interview Questions
Case studies are vital content marketing tools because they tell a compelling client story and provide the same authority as white paper marketing, but in a format short enough to capture most prospects’ attention.
The best method for gathering data and information to include in a case study, are interviews with the company publishing the case study, and with the featured client. To unlock the most important kernels of information during a case study interview, try adding these five key case study interview questions to your list:
Questions for the company
What challenges or needs did the client face in their industry that led them to look for a solution like yours?
This question can help to identify the problems the client faced which drove them to look for a new solution. Finding out why a client was dissatisfied with their prior solution, will help to build a compelling “before and after” narrative for the case study. As good follow up question is to ask about the requirements the client was looking for in a new solution.
During the implementation of the solution what problems developed and how did you work with the client to solve these problems?
Aside from the initial problems, it’s also important to highlight challenges that occurred during the implementation of the solution. Integrating a new products or services into a business is never simple, and this allows the company to illustrate their high level of customer service, technical support and critical problem solving. Providing examples of how the company can solve problems and move ahead, will eliminate the reader’s fears and anxieties about implementing a new solution.
Questions for the client
Describe your selection process and what you found most attractive about the company and its solution?
It’s helpful to know how the relationship came about. Did the client send out RFPs, did they evaluate 10 potential solutions before choosing this one? A case study writer can tranform this kind of information to make the company look like the top competitor in its market. Asking what the client found most attractive about the company’s solution, will get the client to state their goals, or what pressure points they wanted to address with the company’s solution.
What business processes does this solution enhance and how much does it reduce the cost to complete these particular processes? How much time does the solution save your employees?
This question will help the writer determine exactly how the solution is being used by the client and which areas of the business it affects most. The second part of this question, asking about time and cost, will hopefully generate some qualitative results, or benefits, such as increased productivity lower costs, and less opportunity costs. These answers will add a deeper story line to the case study, beyond the hard-number results such as return on investment or gross revenue.
What are three words that describe your experience working with this company and why would you recommend this company’s solution to your peers?
I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “We’re very satisfied with the solution,” from a client during a case study interview. To avoid getting this canned response, ask for three words to describe their experience working with the company. This should give them pause to stop and think, and generate a fresher testimonial. Asking if the client would recommend the company or solution to peers can help provide a response that’s aligned with the reader’s needs. For example, the client might answer “I would recommend this solution to companies seeking a competitively priced software provider with great customer service.”
The next time your company embarks on a case study be sure the writing process involves conducting blog interviews on the company side and the client side. Case studies built on targeted interview questions like the examples above, will result in a more valuable content marketing asset.