How to write a case study when you don’t have results. Yet.

We all know marketing is a neverending story. So are some projects.

But when you need to point to past results to pick up new projects so you can create future results, what are you to do when the results haven’t materialized?

It’s not that results won’t ever materialize, but if what you do is truly needed–and especially if you’re tackling a complex problem–results can take a while to appear. Your client may experience some immediate benefits, but many of the biggest results take time.

If you’re anything like me, patience is not one of your best qualities. Some projects are so exciting you find yourself writing the imaginary case study in your head from the very first day. (Or maybe that is just me.) Maybe your client is famous or well-known. Or maybe you just know people would benefit from reading about your client’s experience.

But how do you write a case study without the full story?

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could go ahead and write a case study anyway? Laying out the details of the Situation, the Challenge, the Solution, the Approach, and the Outcome, in all their glory?

And–hold on to your hat!–what if your story was even more compelling than if you had actually waited for those results to come in?

Sure, we all care about the bottom line. Also, we don’t. Maybe I’ve read too many professional service websites, but every time I read about time and money saved, I get a burning desire to click away. Everyone sounds the same, which makes me question their credibility.

It follows that talking about experiences and insights can earn you more credibility than if you’d simply stuck to benefits.

Here’s how to get your case study to stick the landing without naming benefits like revenue generated, time saved, or money saved.

(Whereas sticking the landing equals potentially landing a new client.)

1. Focus on how you solved the problem–the insights you had along the way.

I’m not talking about your Strategic 10-Point Roadmap to Profitability. Chances are if you have one, it’s already spelled out in impressive, cleverly-illustrated detail on your website’s Approach page. I’m talking about what surprised you about this project.

In the process of implementing just about every project worth doing, there’s a point where we get stuck. We’re not sure which approach to take. And then, a-ha! You have an epiphany. A breakthrough. A Eureka! moment. It’s that epiphany that leads you to a solution. (Stuck on the generating-them part? Hot-buttered brain-training helps.)

These epiphanies may not be tightly linked to hard, cold results–yet. But they’re gateway drugs to results. And they demonstrate how you think–which helps people get to know you.

You can then talk about the likelihood of future results because you solved the problem in this way. What is your client now positioned to do better that they weren’t so well-positioned to do before? Use wording like, “While it’s too early to measure results…” State that the client is expected to achieve [insert your specific result here] because of the insight that led you to this solution.

People are just as interested in the insights as they are in the results.

2. Let your solution stand out in a sea of sameness.

Was your solution or approach different from anything else they’d ever tried? How was it different? Why were you the one who made a difference, after everything else they tried? I’d want to know more–wouldn’t you?

3. Get someone (like me, say…) to interview your client for a project case study.

A client is never so enthusiastic as after they’ve just hired you and just after you’ve finished. Get them while they’re hot.

Click here to email me for more information on testimonial-case studies.

4. Consider omitting the client’s name.

Characterize them by industry, job title, or problem instead. Sometimes this enables you to be more detailed and specific than you could have been otherwise.

Update your case study again when you’ve gotten more results–three, six, twelve months later. At that point you can even turn it into a press release. Here’s an example of what just might be my favorite press release ever. One that could only have happened as the result of a true partnership between a fantastic consultant (Dianna Huff) and a fantastic client over a long period of time.

Image by ClickFlashPhotos via Flickr, used under a Creative Commons license.