Construction case studies play an important role for any construction business. A good case study ticks many boxes; they can reassure a potential client that you have done similar work and in turn drive leads to your business. Case studies are a great opportunity to position your brand as an authority in the construction industry, demonstrate success with real results and are a way to tell a story that showcases your clients.
They are a very important part of your marketing mix and once the data is collected, they form the basis for material that can be used in your marketing communications from bids to website content. A well written case study demonstrates to future clients that you have done a similar project and build trust. Your sales team love good case studies because they are amongst the best sales collateral there is.
What construction project data to collect
Establishing an internal process to document the information post project whilst the detail is still fresh is crucial to regularly writing effective case studies. Here is a list of core information to collect:
- Project size
- Project value
- Client name
- Form of contract
- Scope of work
- Key consultants and contractors
- What problem did you solve
- What value did you add
- What made the work you did unique to your company
- Project background
- Anecdotal stories
- Testimonials and quotes
- Client sign off/permissions
How to structure your construction case study
If you don’t have a copywriter in your team, we explain how to approach this very important marketing job. Follow this simple four step routine and you will generate case studies like a pro.
- The introduction – set the scene
- The problem – what were the issues that needed to be solved
- The solution – how did your company solve the clients problems and how did you add value
- The results – explain what the end result was making sure to add as much data as you can
Finding the story
This is where the art is in writing an impactful construction case study. It is one thing collating the important technical details (the what, who, why of a project) but it’s another thing spinning the story so it is engaging and readable. Interviewing the right people and using the right interview questions helps tease out the anecdotes and human elements which will help bring the story to life. Ask your interviewee about the curve balls, the unexpected elements of the project that they had to work around. This is a good way of introducing jeopardy into the story and gives you the opportunity to position how you were able to overcome the challenge.
What does a good construction case study look like?
A successful construction case study needs to be engaging and practical; invariably it will have important technical details. Here are a few elements that you will need to make your construction case study stand out:
- Good looking graphics and images (make sure you get permission to use them) – the construction industry is very visual and an image can say a thousand words
- Impactful headline – believe it or not the best headings are generated at the end of writing your case study.
- Break it up with subheadings – this will help make the longer articles easier to read
- Keep it short and sweet – 500 words max for the long form which can be published as a blog or in printable format to insert into sales materials. Shorter pieces can be taken from it for social media posts, method statements and tendering responses.
Where can you use your construction case study?
Once you have marshalled the content together there are so many different ways you can use your client case study. Deploy your client stories in your bids and sales documents, website copy and via your social media channels. Always remember to focus your content on your target audience and tailor it to the particular medium – the case study you need for a large bid will be different to what you share on the website for example.
And finally, some inspiration for you. Check out some examples of construction industry companies doing it well…..
Tony Gee – this is a good example of case studies being used on a website
SNC Lavalin – the headings and subheadings work really well in this article
Mace – check out the headlines, the stats, the visual impact – BANG! It’s really impactful
OTB Engineering – this is an effective example of sharing case studies on LinkedIn
Gleeds – this is a fine example of using the data from a client project to share on social media without needing to write a long article