Quick Quiz about Professional Case Studies for Business
The subject of a case study must agree to use their name in publication.
Ans: True - The company about whom the case study is written should execute an agreement concerning the use of their corporate name. A good case study process includes the corporate legal department at several stages to ensure that your case study is legally and ethically correct.
An effective business case study can be in any format as long as it highlights how good you are.
Ans: False - An effective business case study uses formats that brings the reader along from a position of interest to conviction about the creditability of the product or service and its applicability to real issues.
The title of a case study should always include the name of the company providing the goods or services.
Ans: False - A business oriented case study highlights the benefits of the solution. Putting the provider name in the title immediately relegates is to just an advertisement and dramatically lowers the probability that it will be read. Putting the customer's name in the title is often a good idea.
All success stories can be made into good case studies.
Ans: False - Many success stories can be fashioned into good case studies, but all of the elements of a good case study must be available or the result is a flat, often trivial document that reflects negatively on your business.
Each case study should have a clearly defined purpose and target audience.
Ans: True - Each case study should be crafted to highlight specific capabilities and be written to a specific business audience. This gives the case study the highest chance of resonating with the proper person.
A case study author should interact in person or over the phone with a business subject matter expert as well as a knowledgeable customer representative.
Ans: True - Many case studies are written for the providing company and submitted to the case study subject company for review or comment. The best ones are result from the author interviewing both an SME and the customer company.
Customers highlighted in your case study will be reluctant to be the subject.
Ans: False - Many companies realize that this is essentially free positive media exposure for them. It highlights how they achieved success and in the process highlights your company as a primary reason for their success. It is a win-win.
Case studies are primarily for products.
Ans: False - Case studies are success stories involving the collaboration of goods or services between companies and their providers. Success stories are equally applicable for companies providing goods or services.
