case study writing techniques

5 Steps for Writing a Case Study for Business (+Templates)

Get professional tips for writing a case study that drives business impact. Learn the best format and research method to use alongside examples & templates.

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SHORT ANSWER

What are the 5 steps to write a case study.

• Open with an introductory overview
• Explain the problem in question
• Detail the solutions that solved the problem
• Refer to key results
• Finish with recommendations and next steps

Keep reading for a full breakdown ⤵

What is a case study?

In business, a case study , or customer success story, is a marketing tool that showcases how your product or service helped clients overcome business challenges. It uses statistics, quotes, and specific examples to convincingly highlight your ability to produce results.

What is the purpose of a case study?

The purpose of a case study, usually, is to provide your prospective clients with specific examples of how your products or services can help solve business problems they might be facing.

Case studies legitimize your business activities allowing you to go beyond explaining what you do and focus on how well you do it.

And, in case you were wondering just HOW important case studies are, here’s an item of data to ponder: according to a DemandGen report , 78% of B2B buyers want to review case studies before making a purchase decision.

Another study by Uplift found that at the end of 2023, for the third year in a row, marketers ranked case studies the #1 most effective marketing tactic to increase sales—ahead of general website content, SEO, blog posts, social media, paid ads and other tactics.

How to write a case study?

In business, everyone claims to be the next big thing, but a case study is how you prove it. It shows the real value of your product or service and backs up your claims with real results.

A well-written case study builds trust by showing you can deliver on what you promise and proving the impact your actions have on the bottom line. Here's how to write a case study that engages readers and makes them excited to work with you.

NOTE: If you don't want a slide-by-slide breakdown and just want to see real decks, check out the best case study presentation examples .

Effective case study outline

Introductory overview

The problem or challenge

The solution

Key results

Recommendations and next steps

1. Open with an introductory overview

People don’t usually read case studies. At least not immediately. First, they skim the contents to see if the subject is relevant enough.

How to make sure your case study sticks? At the beginning, place an introductory overview (also called an “executive summary”).

Provide an overview of the whole case. It’s not supposed to be a catchy intro but a full synopsis, detailing the problem at hand, your assumptions, the solutions implemented, and the results achieved.

How to write a case study introduction?

Introduce the company: Start by giving a brief overview of the company that’s the focus of the case study. Share who they are, what they do, and any relevant background.

Introduce the purpose of the case study —specify exactly what you were aiming to achieve.

Define the problem or the most significant challenge. For instance, low conversion rates, a technological issue or high costs. (It could also be a combination of such factors!)

Explain briefly what the solution to the problem was.

Share the most important results your actions produced. Don’t go into too much detail, a few key points will do. It’s best if you can quantify the results: numbers pop!

Keep it short. Usually, 2–4 paragraphs + a few bullet points with key results will do. Consider using an AI rewriter to help you break down complex sentences into clear and concise sentences that effectively convey your message.

While, as its name implies, this section comes at the beginning of your case study, write it last. First, craft the rest of your document, then pick the most important bits and compile them into the introductory overview.

2. Explain the problem in question

In the problem section of your case study, you want to put your reader in the shoes of your client, so that, later on, you can present your company as the miraculous savior.

Paint a clear picture of the challenge your product or service solves, and focus on how difficult the situation was for the client before your solution came along.

The goal is to create a sense of urgency and connection—making it easy for readers to relate and feel the weight of the problem. This emotional engagement is key to highlighting just how valuable your solution is.

How to write a “problem” section in a case study?

In a single sentence, describe your customer’s business challenges and objectives.

Explain the problem your customer faced that prevented them from achieving those objectives prior to working with you.

If that was the case, mention other solutions your client experimented with that didn’t work out and explain why.

Make it clear how the issue or problem impacted the client’s business results so that it’s easy to understand why a solution was badly needed.

3. Detail the solutions implemented to solve the problem

Here comes the moment to toot your own horn a bit (and also that moment when you can get slightly technical).

Present your solutions in reference to the issue your client was dealing with and make it obvious that those are easily replicable for all future cases. Of course, the exact formula for this section will depend on your industry and mode of operation.

Sometimes a 2–3 paragraph summary will be enough. In other cases, you’ll need to include more detailed technical specs regarding the solution you implemented.

How to write a "solution" section in a case study?

Focus on your customer’s experience in using your product or services.

Explain the process : say how long it took to get the solution up and running and what teams on your customer’s end were involved.

Highlight the features of your product or service that turned out to be the most beneficial to your customer.

If possible, attach or link to relevant assets that will work as real-life examples of your solution (unless, of course, the information is highly sensitive).

Always run your case study by your client’s marketing team before you go live. Even if you’re using direct quotes or verifiable results, it’s ultimately their decision whether or not to make certain information freely available.

4. Refer to key results

In business, nothing speaks louder than ROI and you know it.

Prospective customers reading your case study won’t be bothered to take notice of your state-of-the-art technology or innovative approach. Neither will they care about your past customers’ happiness. What they want to know is this: Will that help me save or make money? When writing a case study, your job is to present results in a way that answers the above question with a resounding YES.

Here’s how to write about results:

In a few bullet points, list numerical results your solution delivered to the client.

Ideally, you’ll want to include revenue-related data: increase in clients’ base, more demos booked, higher conversion rates, or optimized pricing.

If you can’t (or aren’t allowed to) share hard sales numbers, refer to softer KPIs: time saved, customer happiness scores, expanding the community, or enhancing brand visibility.

Make it blatantly obvious that such results are easily replicable.

If possible, by all means include quotes from your client. Results should speak for themselves, obviously, but showing the real human whose problems you solved makes for a much more powerful narrative. Plus, it further adds credibility to the case study. Start by preparing a list of powerful case study questions to guide your client interviews.

5. Finish with recommendations and next steps

Everyone enjoys a solid epilogue. To end on a high note, include a list of key findings from your case study.

Even if a given reader won’t decide to get in touch with you, at least you’ll provide them with a valuable source of knowledge—sometimes that’s enough to keep your company top of mind in the future. Now, not every case study requires a call to action (especially if your main purpose is to inform and educate rather than convert, which is okay, too), but for those more commercially-oriented ones, do add it. Make your CTA singular and clear —if the most desired action is to reach out to you, leave your contact details, if you’d rather direct prospects to a landing page or a welcome screen, add a button.

For your reference, here’s an example of our very own case study, showing how, at Storydoc, we helped the Spot company boost some of their key metrics: Learn How Spot by NetApp boosted their conversion rates 2x .

Interactive case study templates

No matter how great the contents of your case study might be, if you fail to present it in an eye-pleasing way, most likely, no one will really read it.

Interactive case study templates help bring your story to life with features like data visualization, clickable elements, and the option to add links or multimedia.

This makes it easier for your audience to follow along and understand your message and helps you stand out from the competition.

Just grab one.

Tips on preparing a case study

Before writing a case study, it’s important to take the time to prepare properly. It’s more than just sharing a success story—you want to gather the right details and present them in a way that really connects with your audience.

By doing this groundwork, you can ensure your case study demonstrates your value but also builds a sense of credibility and trust that sticks with potential clients.

Case study preparation tips:

Determine a customer use case

Go over existing clients

Reach out to the happy clients

Set success criteria

Set measurements

Set time period for observation

Conduct post interview to assess results

Get data from client

Get client approval

For more information, check out our guide on how to create a case study .

Hi, I'm John, Editor-in-chief at Storydoc. As a content marketer and digital writer specializing in B2B SaaS, my main goal is to provide you with up-to-date tips for effective business storytelling and equip you with all the right tools to enable your sales efforts.

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• Marketing /
• General Marketing

How to Write a Case Study: Guide with Free Template + Examples

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What Is a Case Study & Why Is It Valuable?

In the business world, a case study is written or video content that tells the story of a successful customer transaction, relationship, or both. 

Case studies combine storytelling and data to offer social proof that your product is a viable solution to your target customers’ problems.

Let’s take Semrush’s SEO case study , “How an SEO Agency Helped an Artisan Bakery Increase Mobile Organic Traffic by 460%.” 

It sends a clear message:

Bakeries that don’t get enough mobile traffic can leverage Semrush tools to grow exponentially.

A compelling case study can win you new customers. 

Consider it a highly valuable business card—and an honest showcase of your positive impact in action. Which helps you earn the trust of your intended audience. 

To really reap the benefits of making case studies part of your content marketing strategy , it’s crucial to know how to write a case study effectively.

In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the essential steps for crafting a case study that can convert your prospects into loyal buyers.

How to Prepare a Case Study: A Step-by-Step Guide

Preparing a case study involves choosing the right customers to feature in your analysis. Plus gathering enough data, quotes, and information to narrate a compelling, real-lifesuccess story.

A great case study will contain five essential elements:

Without proper preparation, your case study won’t have enough details to be strongly relatable, convincing, or reassuring.

To help you streamline your process, use the prep section of our free case study template and follow the suggested research method below.

Step 1: Set Your Objectives

Specificity makes a case study more relatable and, therefore, more effective. 

Start by defining the reason you’re presenting this particular story to determine which specific solutions and features to highlight. 

For instance, a general objective like “showcase our solution in action” is a good start, but it doesn’t offer a lot of direction. 

What, specifically, will you highlight? What results do you hope to achieve? 

This is a good place to remember the SMART framework.

Say your business provides customer relationship management (CRM) software. Your overall goal: to expand your reach in the healthcare sector. 

If your existing healthcare customers often praise your workflow automation tools, you know automation matters to your target audience. So, efficiency could be an engaging case study topic.

For this case study, your objective may be: 

“Show how our workflow automation saved one hospital X hours per week and reduced errors to support our goal of getting 10 more healthcare subscribers by the end of the year.”

Customer interactions and reviews can offer great guidance on which features to spotlight to fulfill your objective. 

Look at your high-performing web content for inspiration, too. 

If Google Analytics ( or an alternative ) shows that a blog post on reducing data breach risks is your most popular, you’ll know that your audience values security. 

You could build a case study around security credentials to reassure those prospective buyers.

Step 2: Choose the Perfect Customer (and Get Them on Board)

The right subject for your story will play a pivotal role in showcasing your offering—helping you gain an edge over the competition.

A suitable customer is one that:

• Has a compelling story to tell . The customer has had a great experience with your product or a specific feature. They’re pleased with the results and happy to shout about it.
• Is typical of businesses in their sector . The customer is relatable to your target audience. They deal with the same challenges and have similar spending power.
• Is ready and able to talk . You have a strong relationship with this contact. They will help you pull the story together and have the authority to approve content for publishing.

Prioritize customers that came to you after experiencing your competitors—known as switchers. Their stories will highlight your competitive advantages and could sway a buyer who’s comparing options.

Choose a recognizable customer name if you can. This may help readers trust your business’s legitimacy. 

For instance, all of Asana’s case studies involve big-name customers. 

Image Source: Asana

This is despite the company having more than 139,000 users , many of which are small businesses.

Opt for a mix of business types, industries, and sizes that your company is keen to work with. 

For instance, if you typically target sales organizations but want to reach a marketing audience, choose stories with marketing elements or that involve marketing agencies.

Once you’ve decided on a compelling story to feature, get the customer on board by telling them your plan. 

Explain that you’ll need some input during the creation process but will do most of the work. Be clear that you’re proud of the relationship you’ve built with them and will use it to inspire others.

If they agree to help, move forward. If they decline, pick another company from your list. 

Step 3: Compile Your Customer and Story Information

Write down what you know about your customer, their relationship with your business, and how they’ve used your product. This information will help you plot your success story and identify any knowledge gaps.

Share a live notes document with your relevant team members and encourage their input. They may have additional customer or business insights that could prove useful to the case study.

Include details such as:

• The customer’s background . What does the company do and when was it formed? What is its market position? What are its industry’s classic challenges? 
• The exact product they use . What features does your customer use? What plan are they on? A premium account? Do they pay for extra add-ons?
• The date of their first purchase . How long have they been a customer? Loyalty is a powerful case study theme—use it if you can.
• Their interaction history . Support records will show if the customer has overcome issues while using your product. Check your CRM , ticketing system, or email accounts for details.
• The inspirational outcome . What inspired you to choose this customer as a case study subject? It could be a testimonial, a social media post, a passing comment, or direct feedback.

Use what you learn to inspire interview questions for the next step. 

Step 4: Interview Your Customer (Example Case Study Questions)

Speak directly to the customer to get any information you don’t already have. Ask questions that will make your case study content engaging and relatable.

Supplement your notes for the previous step with questions that’ll help you fill in the gaps for each section. Such as:

The interview process doesn’t need to be formal. The chat could even form part of a regular catch-up if the timing works. 

Record the conversation so you can refer back to it while writing. Like on Zoom . 

You may find you can take some direct quotes from your recording. If not, ask the customer for a testimonial you can use in the final content.

Step 5: Set the Customer’s Expectations

Let the customer know your next steps (e.g., writing and editing the content, sourcing direct interview quotations). Explain that you’ll be back in touch if you need any further information.

Provide a timeline so the customer is prepared to review your drafts, give extra detail, and seek further approval if necessary.

Be clear that you won’t take up much of the customer’s time as you don’t want to distract them. If the process were to become demanding for them, you risk souring your relationship. 

How to Structure Your Case Study

Follow a standardized process when creating any business case study to ensure you:

• Include all the core elements
• Keep your page content consistent and easily navigable

Follow the instructions in the case study structure section of our free template .

1. Choose a Descriptive and Specific Headline

A case study headline is the first thing readers see. Use yours to grab attention and set readers’ expectations. Otherwise, it could be the only part they see.

A good case study headline answers common questions that go through every reader’s head, like:

• Is this relevant to me?
• What will I learn?
• How will this help my business?

Take this Textel case study :

Image Source: Textel

The business texting platform uses just 77 characters to tell us a story, including:

• Who’s involved (“Valvoline...”)
• What they achieved (“Increases Coupon Send Rate by 76%”)
• How they did it (“with Textel’s MMS Picture Texting”)

From this information, readers can immediately determine whether the content is:

• Relevant: Either using the brand name (e.g., “I recognize this business; are we comparable?”) or the achievement (“I’d also like to increase my business’s coupon send rate”)
• Valuable: An impressive headline stat implies what’s possible for the reader

2. Highlight 3-5 Points Summarizing the Story and Its Results

Include a snapshot of results early on so people are encouraged to keep on reading. You can present them in a bullet list or even as custom icons.

For instance, if the headline in Textel’s case study isn’t enough, their “At a Glance” column allows readers to make sure the content is relevant to them.

Think of it as an executive summary of the main body copy. Putting it together is easy: just go through the finished content and pick out the most important points.

3. Include Relevant Images

Images serve to break up the text and engage readers. Use high-profile logos to communicate status quickly, screenshots of results, images of happy customers, or custom designs.

The Textel example takes up valuable real estate up front with a large image. 

It also includes the client’s logo. Valvoline’s chevron will be recognizable to its audience and can help build credibility. 

4. Introduce Your Customer

Give your case study context with a short introduction. Background information on the subject will paint a picture of your story’s main character.

Provide customer details such as their industry and product offering, company size, and location. Optional profile additions can include their mission statement and major milestones. 

This introduction helps readers care about the actions and achievements they’re preparing to explore. The more relatable your subject is, the more invested readers will be.

In one of its marketing case studies (“Local Hospital's Social Media Engagement Soars 892%”), marketing agency Captivate introduces its client with basic information on location, history, and purpose.

Image Source: Captivate

From then on, the reader can envisage the organization going through the challenges and receiving the benefits. The case study suddenly feels more real.

The final sentence in Captivate’s introduction adds a human element, encouraging the reader to empathize with the subject: 

“On top of treatment, Navicent maintains deep involvement in their community.”

The more color you provide here, the more potentially impactful your case study’s results will be. 

5. Describe the Challenge

The beginning of your story should lay out the customer’s problem: their difficult position before finding your product.

Ensure your customer is always the most important figure. Focus too much on yourself, and you’ll jeopardize the sincerity of your case study.

You don’t need to provide a lot of detail here. A couple of short paragraphs should give your outcomes enough context. 

Answer important questions like:

• What stood in the way of the customer achieving their goals? 
• What were the consequences?

Make the challenge relevant to your target audience by using language they can relate to and including your customer’s words.

Take this case study from Rev:

Image Source: Rev

The copy clearly states that without a reliable transcription service (i.e., Rev’s product), the client wasted time correcting the errors made by automation tech. 

Knowing there’s something significant at stake—in this case, employees’ time and students’ learning experiences—gives your audience a reason to continue reading.

Have the customer describe the challenge in their own words. It’s a great way to add honesty and emotion to your story, making it even more engaging and relatable.

6. Highlight Your Solution

This is where your business enters the customer story. 

Briefly introduce your product. Explain what it does and what makes it unique, then apply it to the problems your customer was experiencing. 

Here’s a hypothetical example:

“Our customer needed IT support for teams in different time zones to avoid service delays. Our 24/7 IT support package meant those teams could get the help they needed at any time, with 30-minute response times guaranteed.”

Talk about which teams or employees benefited from the product and how they used it. Details of any premium features or add-ons create an even clearer picture, ensuring readers understand how to achieve similar results. 

However, talk only about features that are relevant to the story’s theme. And link them to specific challenges the reader is likely to face. 

Sticking to only one or two features will keep readers focused on what you want them to take away. Otherwise, you risk distracting them.

Also, note that a solution can involve more than just a product’s tangible features.

The reader should know that your personalized service helped the customer’s business achieve something faster. Or that your smooth onboarding process minimized their disruption. 

If someone reading your case study has experienced bad service before, this knowledge might persuade them to convert.

7. Shout About the Outcome (Using Data to Illustrate)

Data is the best way to illustrate impact. It allows readers to tangibly compare their experiences with your customer’s.

All effective case studies have a happy ending. Explain how your customer is better off than before using your product, with real data to prove your point.

We use a lot of data in the artisan bakery SEO case study we mentioned earlier. 

Stats appear in the text (e.g., “By that time organic traffic to the bakery website had already increased by 214%”), but we also designed an infographic to make our achievements stand out:

Plus, we included more data to make our project’s outcome as tangible as possible for our readers.

These are the types of charts and graphs our audience (marketing agencies) is familiar with. The positive data in our case study is a clear demonstration of what’s possible with Semrush’s support.

8. Validate Your Story with a Strong Closing Statement

Summarize your results and get readers thinking about the next steps by showing where the featured client is heading now they’ve solved the problem. Don’t forget to include a call to action (CTA) .

Include an individual/employee name, job title, and first-hand comments to humanize your case study content.

You can weave customer comments throughout the piece to validate or expand your points. A direct quotation is also a great way to end your case study.

If they didn’t during your interview, ask your customer to summarize your product’s and your relationship’s impact on their business.

Global IT management platform Hofy uses a fully interview-based case study format. This final comment from its customer acts as a highly effective conclusion:

Image Source: Hofy

Key messages here include:

• Hofy’s unrivaled level of service
• The customer has no regrets
• The customer explicitly says, “I’m happy. Everyone’s happy. The users are super happy.”

Allowing your customer to conclude your case study gives readers one final reminder that this is an honest account involving a real, comparable business. 

If the comment is a glowing review like Hofy’s, it could even act as a subtle CTA.

Use These Three Case Study Examples for Inspiration

Captivating case studies from other businesses can provide valuable ideas for how to write a case analysis for your brand. Tips may include:

• Specific case study topics to cover
• The tone of voice you want to use
• Your case study’s visual layout
• Accompanying imagery to enhance your analysis

Here are three examples of great case study content to get you started.

Household Names: Adobe and The Home Depot

Adobe carried out an in-depth case study of a highly successful customer.

Image Source: Adobe

The first part alone has enough to engage and intrigue the reader:

• A snappy headline
• Three impressive takeaway stats
• A customer quotation and image
• A list of the products The Home Depot used

It then details all of the most important story elements in around 2,000 words. 

There are quotes throughout, explanations of achievements, and some impressive outcome figures at the end.

Key takeaways from this case study:

• Real customer headshots add a human element to your case studies
• Opening with a direct quote immediately emphasizes the customer, where your focus should be
• Internal links to product pages allow inspired readers to learn more about your offerings

Small-Business Success: ShipStation and The Burlap Bag

ShipStation appeals to its small-business audience in this case study of its work with the primarily soy candle selling store. 

Image Source: ShipStation

It summarizes the story using a small takeaway section on the right, allowing readers to check the relevance of this content quickly. 

Then, it explains the relationship in more detail using text, feel-good imagery, and embedded social media content.

• Video content can complement text to offer more authenticity
• You can set the tone with your choice of imagery
• Sometimes, all it takes is one impressive statistic to grab attention (“95% quicker label printing”)

Helping Customers Help Others: Semrush, Re:signal, and Learning with Experts

In this case study, we look beyond the immediate impact of our product. And explore how one of our partners has used Semrush tools to enhance its service. 

By doing so, we appeal to marketing agencies that aim to deliver high-quality customer experiences.

Our analysis uses simple language throughout. We illustrate our main points with metrics and screenshots that our target readers will immediately understand.

• A desirable headline statistic (59% organic traffic increase) inspires audiences to learn more
• Basic client introductions help set the scene and invite readers to relate quickly
• A scannable table of contents tells your target customer what to expect 

The Bottom Line on Writing Case Studies

While nailing how to write a business case study can take time, it’s an incredibly effective way of showing prospective customers you have the best solution to their problems.

Real-life examples and accounts of your product in action can instill trust in ways that other types of content can’t. They consolidate your reputation and make buyers more likely to convert.

So, maintain strong customer relationships, apply relevant market insights, look to other brands for inspiration, and follow the processes in this guide. The result: engaging, results-driven case studies to help your business grow.