A marketing case study (or customer story) is a powerful, tried-and-true sales tool that’s used to demonstrate how your product or service is the right fit for potential customers. Unlike some marketing aids that are designed around a product’s features and benefits, case studies are all about your customers.
Think stories about how a business reduced costs, improved customer service or found new clients.
For SMEs trying to build a business, having customers tell your story is the ideal way to enhance your reputation. But it has to be done carefully if you want to build trust and credibility. Case studies must be written in a way that’s easy for potential clients to relate to.
At Engage, we’ve written heaps of customer stories and case studies, so we’ve prepared this guide to help you structure and write compelling case studies in the challenge-solution-result format.
The structure of a great marketing case study
The structure of a problem-oriented case study has to cover the context, challenge and conclusion. The title and introduction are used to capture attention while the challenge, solution and result sections flesh out the issues and should be more expansive. If you can, always show benefits in monetary terms (e.g., ongoing saving of $50K per annum) or as a percentage improvement or reduction to show how the solution supports the business goal.
How to structure a case study
Here’s a basic, five-point structure for a case study. Here, we’re talking about customer stories that will be printed or shared via the web, but the format can be used for a video, podcast or as short-form social content as well. Anywhere that you can present a story that’s structured as a challenge, solution and result is a suitable place to publish a customer story.
You’ll notice that the focus is on the customer’s business, not yours.
- A title that gives the flavour of what’s to come. Include the benefit to the customer.
- An introduction that explains the context of the story. The who and the what. Include an introduction to the people as well as the business.
- The challenge the customer was facing, told in their own voice. Include data and relatable examples.
- The solution you provided; again, expressed in terms of the challenge. Include details of different options where possible.
- A conclusion that explains the benefit gained by the business. Include time frames and tangible results.
Use quotes, data and visuals, such as infographics, throughout as this helps convey the customer’s voice and build credibility. Ensure you cite the source of all included data.
Finish with a call to action, such as “Let’s talk about how we can create your success story.”
Just 5% of people remember a single statistic, but 63% will remember a story.1
Essential inclusions in a customer story
The most obvious essential inclusion is the customer’s story and the second key ingredient is evidence in the form of data. Emotional storytelling helps connect with people, while data supports decision making. A relatable case study is the best way to get people interested and supporting data reinforces what you’re saying. Facts and figures provide evidence that adds credibility.
To ensure you’re telling the customer’s story, follow the case study format outlined above and take note of these insider tips.
The context
When setting up the context, introduce the people from the business as well as the business itself. Go beyond copying their LinkedIn bio and make the introduction more personal. Don’t forget to explain their role in the company and include a professional headshot if possible. For the business itself, include the market, industry and size of the business. Put the company profile in a sidebar or information panel for easy reference.
The challenge
The challenge faced should be presented in a series of steps that prospective clients can relate to.
- Business was booming until COVID hit …
- They tried … but customers had moved on to …
- Over recent years, they’d been crowded out by competitors …
The more your potential customers can identify with the problems in your case studies, the more likely they are to be open to your offering.
The conclusion
When it’s finally time for the conclusion to the story, i.e. the big reveal about how the problem was solved, tell it from the customer’s point of view. Include details about how the customer tried to solve the issues themselves or mention other solutions they experimented with.
- Almost every customer needs a bespoke solution so we …
- We compared offerings from …
- Our home-grown approach to integration worked at first …
Remind the reader about the complexity of the problems encountered. Presenting a case study as a problem with a simple solution is less likely to be effective.
Make sure you mention the business benefits gained through implementing this solution. Add this information at the end of the article because readers are likely to retain the last thing read.
Common mistakes people make when writing case studies
It’s important to keep in mind that case studies are about the customers, while your business plays Best Supporting Actor. The customer is the hero in these stories and talking too much about your own business will simply make the case study sound like a sales pitch.
Each case study should be pitched at a specific type of potential customer rather than everybody who shows an interest in your business. The customer’s voice is key here. Make sure you use quotes and present the problems and solutions in their terms.
Another issue that’s often seen is problems or solutions being explained in academic (less practical) or technical terms. This type of language is fine for academic institutions and scientific organisations. But for most people in business, everyday language works best though jargon is acceptable when writing for a specific industry. Getting the balance right will make your case studies more powerful.
Also, if you go searching for case study ideas on the web, you’ll see a lot of examples from academia that talk about journal articles and citation practices. For business or marketing case studies, there’s no need to follow a formal citation format when mentioning the source of stats – simply being consistent in how you refer to other businesses, authors, articles and websites is sufficient.
More than 50% of B2B marketers say case studies deliver the best results for their marketing efforts.2
How to use case studies in sales and marketing
Now, if you’ve followed our guide and written an insightful case study, you might be wondering what comes next. Follow B2B case study best practices and share the customer story widely.
Remember, this is a sales tool. Essentially, it is a piece of marketing material that salespeople can use to help get customers across the line.
- Use the customer story in email marketing and nurture sequences.
- Make sure your team members are across the details so they can use it in sales presentations and proposals.
- Publish it on your website with links from related service pages so that potential clients who are doing their own research can find it.
Finally, promote the customer success story on social media. Consider breaking it up into bite sized pieces to get more mileage from it. And don’t forget to share a copy with the customer you’ve written about so that they can share it as well.
From research to engagement: how to write a case study
In practical terms, there’s more to writing a customer success story than good storytelling and a well-structured template. Here’s an outline of the process you should follow to produce powerful case studies.
- Identify customers that are willing to share their story.
- Prepare questions and interview the customer.
- Source data that can be included to support the case study.
- Write the case study based on our case study outline.
- Add call-out boxes, infographics and visual elements to demonstrate facts and figures.
- Share the draft with the customer for approval.
- Extract highlights and quotes you can use for social sharing.
- Brief salespeople and distribute the case study internally.
- Publish the case study on your website and send it to your mailing list.
- Track engagement and follow up with potential clients.
There’s a logical, sequential process for creating a case study, from initial research and preparation to drafting, refining, distributing and sharing the final document.
Beyond structure: five top tips for successful case studies
Here are some additional tips on how to structure, write and share customer success stories.
- Interview customers in person or through a video call so that you can dig into the details. Sending them a questionnaire to complete will likely result in a flat case study. You need insight to bring it to life.
- Record customer interviews (with their permission, of course) so that you can go back over the transcript to get accurate quotes and numbers. Use snippets from the recording on social media.
- Source data that supports your claims. If you start off with something like “The founders of Best Business were determined they wouldn’t be joining the ten percent of businesses that fail in the first year …” – do your research and make sure 10% is the correct figure.
- Save time and make the case studies easy to read by keeping the format consistent. Follow our outline and highlight the problem statement and solution in the final version of the case study. Beyond the introduction, people will skim the content to see if the problem is similar to their own.
- Categorise your case studies so that they’re easily found. Use categories on your website to group similar industries, problems and solutions. Optimise the content for relevant SEO keywords so that Google and other search engines can easily determine the subject matter and key points and present it to relevant searchers.
Start small; research and write one case study and share it internally before publishing. One strong case study that’s well structured and backed up with data from credible sources is far more effective than half a dozen that are poorly put together.
Need some help?
That’s what we’re here for! Get in touch and let’s talk about how we can start boosting your site’s organic visibility with case studies and customer success stories.
2 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025. Content Marketing Institute (CMI). October 2024.
