Creating Case Studies: Make Them Relatable
Humanising a case study can significantly increase your company's impact—by making the story more relatable and memorable.
Case studies are fantastic tools to showcase your (hopefully) ground-breaking product or service. But how do you make sure that your audience cares? In this post, we share five tips to make your case studies relatable, focusing on ways that will resonate with your audience.
This post is the second of a three-part series on creating case studies for health technology companies. In our other posts, we share our recommendations to create them using a strategic approach and make them visually appealing.
Making an emotional connection with your audience is an immediate way of grabbing their attention.
1. Use personal stories
Tell your case study through the experiences of the individuals involved in your journey.
It is very likely that the idea for your product was born from a personal experience or from witnessing someone struggling with the problem you want to solve. The case study is the ideal medium to tell your or their personal story.
For instance, you can include an interview with a healthcare provider who used your product or a patient whose life improved because of it. These stories, with their challenges, hopes, and victories can deeply resonate with your readers.
2. Incorporate direct quotes
Direct quotes bring the voice of your customers to your case study.
When your audience reads a real person’s words praising your solution, it gives your case study authenticity and credibility. Also, it offers insights into your customer’s thoughts and feelings, which statistics alone can’t provide.
Extract a few quotes from your interview with the person featured in your case study (see above) and make them stand out using a different colour, font size and style. Consider also creating graphics with the quote over their photographs. These will make brilliant posts to share on social media, with a link to the full case study.
3. Include photos or videos
We won’t be using the “a picture is worth a thousand words” cliché but you get the idea…
Including real photos of the people involved in your case study adds a layer of reality and relatability. Seeing the faces behind the success story helps readers connect on a personal level.
Videos, in this instance, can go a long way. Ideally, you would manage to capture the person featured in your case study in “action” scenes – think at a medical practice or hospital more than Mission Impossible – with their voice narrating their experience before and after using your solution. Videos can be a great way to connect with your audience emotionally.
Whether you use photography or video, always try to work with professionals if possible. They will ensure that the style used across all materials stays consistent and complement your brand. Also, remember to always seek permission before using personal photos or videos.
4. Detail the journey
Don’t just present the problem and solution; describe the journey. Talk about initial scepticism, the process of adaptation, the moment of realisation, and the final triumph. The ups and downs in the journey make your case study feel more like a human story than a sales pitch.
Storytelling has been proven to impact the hormones in our brains: suspense triggers dopamine, love triggers oxytocin, and humour triggers endorphins. These, in turn impact our choices and decisions. For these reasons, storytelling is a powerful tool you want to use in your case studies.
Consider also visually illustrating the hero’s journey to convey a sense of progression. It could be using graphics, illustration (maybe even comics) or photography.
5. Highlight emotional impact
While it’s essential to showcase measurable results, as we have seen in our first post on case studies, you should not forget to discuss the emotional impact.
How did the solution make the healthcare provider feel? Relieved? Empowered? Was the patient grateful? Hopeful? Highlighting these emotional responses can help create an emotional connection with your audience. It is even better if you can show how their emotions changed over the time of their journey (see above) to demonstrate the radical improvement your solution has brought to their lives.
Are you ready to give it a go? Get in touch if you need help writing and designing engaging case studies. We work with a network of specialised copywriters, photographers and videographers that can make your case study stand out.
Case Study Example: Revolutionising Medical Diagnoses with AI
Challenge: Dr. Jane Dee, a senior doctor at XYZ Hospital, was growing frustrated. Despite her years of experience, she found herself part of a system that saw a 30% rate of misdiagnoses. She knew the human cost behind those numbers and longed for a better way.
Solution: Enter MedDiag AI. This AI-based diagnostic tool promised to change the status quo, offering a new way to interpret patient symptoms and medical histories.
Results: Within 6 months of implementing MedDiag AI, Dr. Dee found her world transformed. The hospital’s misdiagnoses rate dropped by 20%. Time spent on diagnosing complex cases reduced by 30%, freeing up invaluable time for patient care.
Testimonial: “The first time we correctly diagnosed a rare condition with MedDiag AI, I felt a sense of relief I hadn’t known in years,” admits Dr. Dee. “I wasn’t just saving time; I was providing better care for my patients. And that’s why I became a doctor.”
