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How to Create a Compelling Case Study

Updated: Oct 25


Cover art for how to create a compelling case study blog post

EVERY business that provides a service needs to have case studies to share with prospective customers. Case studies are important because you can use them as a sales tool to earn the trust of potential customers by demonstrating your team’s ability to meet the needs of your customers.


A case study (also known as a “use case” or “customer success story”) is a detailed summary of an instance in which your business successfully implemented a service for a customer.


This blog post will help you craft a compelling case study by:

  • Explaining the purpose of case studies,

  • Providing criteria for choosing the right jobs for case studies, and

  • Identifying what should be included in your case studies.



Purpose of a case study

A compelling case study will help your prospective customer feel comfortable working with your team and will allow them to feel confident they are making the right decision when they choose to do business with you.


Your case studies will also give you the ability to control your narrative by:

  • Highlighting the unique value your business provides customers,

  • Expressing your business’s philosophy and values,

  • Demonstrating your team’s capabilities and expertise,

  • Showing the way your team approaches the challenges, and

  • Distinguishing your business from your competitors.


Keep in mind that each case study should tell a story of what challenge your customer faced and how they were able to overcome it by working with your business.


If crafted well, your case study should lead prospective customers to see themselves, their problems, their needs, and their desired outcomes in the story. Choosing the right stories to talk about will help you achieve this outcome.



Choosing the Right Jobs for Case Studies

The first step in crafting a compelling case study is to identify the right stories that you want to share.


When selecting jobs to write case studies about, choose jobs that:

  • Earned you the most money. There’s no use in promoting stories of jobs that weren’t financially beneficial to you!

  • Highlight the most common problems, needs, goals that bring people to request the service.

  • Best showcase your team’s ability to deliver the solution or offer your unique value proposition.

  • Resulted in happy customers in case you want to add them as references (this is a bonus).


If you’re thinking back to all the successful jobs your team completed, and can’t narrow them down, don’t worry. There’s no limit to how many case studies you should create.


Ideally, you’ll want to have at least 1-2 case studies per service you offer. This will ensure you’ve got enough materials to assist in any sale your team will make.



What to Include in Your Case Studies

Once you’ve selected a handful of customer stories you want to share, you can begin to write case studies for each of them!


An effective case study follows a specific framework so the right information is shared at the right times in the story. The framework will also help you organize the information to help you avoid sharing too many or too few details.


Graphic showing the case study framework

The following sections represent the items that should be included in each case study. Each component is listed in the order in which they should appear in your case studies.



Descriptive Headline

The headline is going to be the first part of your case study that a prospective customer will encounter, so it’s imperative that it captures the essence of the case study while in a succinct and engaging way.


The headline should:

  • Mention which service or product that was involved.

  • Describe the customer or reveal the top result or benefit.

  • Use 8 words or less.


Example: If you run a floor covering business, some possible headlines could be:

  • Durable Vinyl Flooring Installation for Real Estate Investor

  • Waterproof Laminate Upgrade for a Family Lake House

  • Trendy Tile Replacement for 1960s Bathroom Renovation

  • Carpet Replacement for Recent Home Buyers

  • Hardwood Flooring Refinishing for a Vintage Fixer-Upper



Customer Description

As we mentioned earlier, your case studies will be more effective if your prospective customers can see themselves, their problems, their needs, and their desired outcomes in the story you share. This is why it’s beneficial to include details about the customer you helped.


Depending on the type of services your business offers, the customer description might also include details about their property, circumstances, business, nuances, requirements, etc.


Whether it’s an abbreviated customer snapshot or a longer-form customer description, your case study should include the details listed below.


Residential

  • Property or Yard Specs (e.g. square footage, style, age, location, etc.)

  • Location (neighborhood, city, or state depending on your territory size)

  • Family Type (e.g. multigenerational, bachelor, family of 5, etc.)

  • Budget

  • Nuances or Circumstances (e.g. has pets or is a caretaker)


Commercial

  • Property Specs (e.g. square footage, style, age, location, etc.)

  • Location (neighborhood, city, or state depending on your territory size)

  • Type of Business

  • Budget

  • RFP Requirements (e.g. restrictions on time of day for service)


*Note: If you’re sharing information that could be too revealing for a person or business, it’s best practice to get their permission and/or to make the case study anonymous.



The Challenge or Need

This will be the most important section of the case study because it will help your prospective customers identify their own problems and needs. It will also demonstrate the range and difficulty level of projects your team is able to handle.


The best way to create this section is to describe the problem the customer shared when they approached your team. You can also include the circumstances under which they approached your team as well as the issues your team observed as they assessed the situation.


As you craft the challenge, be sure to highlight the underlying problem or need because it will resonate the most with prospective customers – allowing the case study to be more compelling.


For example: A family might want a screened porch built behind their home. The underlying problem is that the parents want more family time outdoors without being affected by bugs or rain.


If you’re unsure where to start, answering some of the questions on this list will help you build out this section.


  • What did the customer want or need?

  • Why did the customer need it?

  • What frustrations was the challenge or need causing the customer?

  • How will the customer save time or money once the need is filled?

  • Did the customer need this challenge to be solved to please stakeholders?

  • How long did the customer have this need or challenge?

  • Why hadn’t the customer already addressed this need or challenge?

  • What were the circumstances surrounding the need or challenge?

  • Did the customer try to have this addressed in the past? What went wrong?

  • How does the customer’s details affect or influence the challenge or need?

  • Were there any time or budget constraints? If so, what were they?

  • Were there any nuances or requirements? If so, what were they?


To prevent the case study from being too long, we recommend selecting 3-5 of the questions above.


*Note: This is the perfect section to add before photos of the project. If your business historically hasn’t taken photos before and after a job, we recommend you start! Incorporating photos in all of your marketing and sales materials is an effective way to win more business.



Why the Customer Chose Your Business

This section gives you the opportunity to distinguish your business from competitors. As you explain why a customer chose to work with your business, you should include all the factors that contributed to their decision and for which you’d like your business to be known.


Possible reasons why a customer chose your business over competitors could be that your:

  • Sales team was responsive and patient.

  • Team demonstrated knowledge and an ability to provide value.

  • Reputation speaks of great customer service or quality work.

  • Team is known for being reliable or honest.

  • Pricing was competitive.

  • Team has a certain way of implementing or approaching the service.

  • Previous customers spoke volumes about how great your team is.

  • Team follows best practices and guidelines.

  • Team can deliver within budget.



Your Solution and Process

This is another section that allows you to distinguish your business from competitors and to showcase your business’s way of doing work for customers.