A few of my clients regularly publish case studies about their recent projects.
Featuring case studies on your website or in your client newsletter is a great way to showcase your expertise. Many businesses including architects, landscape architects and designers and built environment engineers often include great photos of their latest projects.
But perhaps your project case studies are missing out on opportunities by not telling more of a story.
Here are 10 ways of making sure your project case studies catch the attention of your audience:
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Include what’s important to your clients
We all like blowing our own trumpet. But is what makes the project interesting to us, interesting to our clients? Do you think your story will make them think “that’s just like the problem I need to solve.”?
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What makes this project different?
Is there something about your project that was incredibly challenging? Perhaps you were building on a particularly hard to reach or environmentally sensitive site? Describe how you overcame this challenge.
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Include a quote from your client
There’s nothing like a quote to summarise what the end client thought about how you approached their project. You might want to help them put their thoughts into words by suggesting they frame their comments around these types of questions:
What was the problem they needed to solve?
Why did they choose your business?
How did you solve their problem?
How was your solution unique?
What did they particularly like about your approach or delivery?
How would they summarise the experience as a whole?
Would they recommend your business to others?
4. Make sure you layout your project blog logically
Telling a compelling story is best done when you include all the key story elements. Hubspot suggests the following checklist:
- Executive Summary
- About the Client
- The Challenges
- The Solution
- Show the results
- Call-to-Action
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Be specific about the benefits of your approach
Try and quote the real client benefits of your project and be as specific as possible. Is there something about the way you did the job that saved the client a lot of money or time? How much money or time?
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Keep the language friendly and simple
The best way to write is to picture one of your favourite clients. Write as if you were telling them the story about your latest project. Drop the formality and keep the jargon to a minimum. Keep the sentences fairly short and try and keep it snappy.
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Put someone in charge of getting your case studies written up regularly
For many architects and landscape architects, updating their company website with blogs of any kind is often well down the priority list. It’s important that you maintain a regular profile, so put someone in charge. If you need help, outsource the writing to an external copywriter. They can also keep you to a schedule if you plan to write a case study or blog regularly.
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Your case studies should include keywords for SEO
What are the key things that people might be interested in when they search for the type of project you’ve done?
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Finish your case studies with a ‘call-to-action’
What do you want the reader to do after they read your blog? Call you for more information, get a quote? Invite them to take that next step.
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Hit Publish!
The most important place to post your blog is on your website. After that, you might want to send out a short email to your client list enticing them to link to your website to read the full story. Include the case study in a regular client newsletter. Share the story on your company’s social media – Linkedin, Facebook, Instagram – all linking back to your website.
If you’d like help writing your blog or client case study, contact me (Denise) on denise@marketingbuzz.com
