Case Studies

OVERVIEW

Case Studies are detailed examples of companies or organizations that are analyzed and provided for their similarity to that which the client is querying.

SOURCING

Step 1: Find Case Studies:

To find Case Studies, start with the simplest search first using search strings like “case study facebook live posts” or “case study innovative dental procedures”. Use a variety of search terms along with [“case study”] for best returns. You can also specify geographic region, industry, years, or other items to help drill down more specifically.

If you cannot find anything this way, then broaden your search with search strings like “Instagram marketing campaigns + athletic shoes” or “successful Twitter advertisements”. Hopefully, this will provide a bevy of items to review. Scan through each one and determine first how closely it matches what the client is looking for; obviously, the closer it matches the better. Look for Case Studies that are the most recent (latest years), or that provide a high level of detail which you can summarize for the client.

In some cases, you will have to create Case Studies of your own from a collection of sources. For these, using first-party (direct) sources is better than third-party (media) sources, so look for those first. From the sources you find, gather as much information as possible, ensuring that you touch on all major Case Study aspects (who, what, why, how, results).

Always ensure that the case study is no more than two years old, unless otherwise specified by the client. If you cannot find recent case studies, then clearly explain how you can to that conclusion in your source summary notes.

WRITING: STRUCTURING YOUR RESPONSE

When writing a response to a Case Studies query, follow these best practices

• Case Studies: Provide 3 - 5 comprehensive and detailed Case Studies.
• Companies/brands selected for Case Studies should be within the same market, industry, niche, or conducting the same type of work (like a digital marketing campaign, for example) as the primary focus (identified by the client).
• Each Case Study should include the company/brand name, what that company did, why they chose to do that, and what the results of those actions were.

The write-up should include:

• Insights that identify each company/brand within the Case Studies and how they are relevant
• An Executive Summary that provides a one-or-two sentence description of each Case Study.
• An explanation of the methodologies used in locating the Case Studies and/or determining they matched with what the client asked for.
• Separate sections for each Case Study - with simple headers like “Case Study #2: Nike” or “Case Study #4: Rolling Stones’ 2016 Digital Marketing Campaign X”. Make sure these are in ALL CAPS, of course.

EXAMPLES

Check out some of the examples of strong Case Study Responses:

• Overview of Parental Leave Policies
• USA Import Beer: Success Case Studies

If you cannot find specific Case Studies that meet the client’s requirements, but can find related items, then you will need to prepare a Partial Client Update. In this, you will provide as much information as possible about what you found, as well as a description of what was not available and the possible reasons for the lack of available information.

Additionally, you’ll need to provide a detailed description of the methodologies used in your search. Look at this example to see how to write this up; note, however, that this item is written up in the old format. Ensure that yours follows all new formatting best practices.

Best Practices

OVERVIEW

Best Practices are methodologies for accomplishing a task or purpose, and which industry experts have determined to be effective, or which are widely-accepted within an industry.

SOURCING

Identifying Best Practices

Start simply with search strings like “best practices digital marketing campaigns” or “top tips for creating business plans”. From these, sort through them to find those that are directly from industry experts or those that are repeated among multiple reputable sources.

If you cannot find these through a general search, then drill down more specifically with your search terminology, or use filters to pull more specific results. Look for information from industry experts or leaders, and make sure that those you find are representative of the current market. Best Practices from 2015 may not be what’s best for a company in 2018. Another way to approach it is from the future perspective; meaning searching for what industry experts are saying will be necessary for a brand to move successfully into the future of the industry or market.

WRITING: STRUCTURING YOUR RESPONSE

When writing a response to a Best Practices query, follow these best practices.

• Provide 5 - 7 comprehensive and detailed Best Practices.
• For each one, include a one-sentence statement of the Best Practice, plus a detailed overview of how it is used, as well as information you can find on examples of who is using it, how, why, and to what success.
• Organize Best Practices in global-to-local (or major-to-minor) format, so that the most important ones or those with the heaviest impact are listed first.

The write-up should include:

• Insights that first provide a list of the Best Practices detailed in the response, and then offer high-level tidbits about who is using them and/or why.
• An Executive Summary that provides a one-sentence overview of each Best Practice.
• An explanation of the methodologies used in determining the Best Practices.
• Separate sections for each Best Practice - with simple headers like “BP #1: Employing Flexible Scheduling” or “#4 - Study Your Competitors”. Make sure these are in ALL CAPS, of course.

5- STAR EXAMPLES

Check out some of the examples of strong Best Practices Responses:

Rebranding - Best Practices

Preschool Admissions Best Practices

Metrics / Best Practices VoIP Call Quality