How to Write Case Studies [+ Trust-building Templates]

When it comes to growing your business, case studies are one of the most effective tools at your disposal. They can help you build trust with potential customers by showcasing your expertise and successes in a particular area. In this article, we share the simple steps to write a case study that builds trust, helps close more deals, and boosts your bottom line. Or, you can jump right in with our editable case study template!

What is a case study?

A case study is a simple story about customers that illustrates how they use your product. They can be used in marketing materials, on your website, or even in presentations to help win new business.

Case studies are a great way to show your product’s value proposition. They help you demonstrate why customers should choose your solution over competitors’ solutions.

Case study templates

Use this template to save yourself time and create a central place to share your customers’ stories, case studies, and quotes. You can add information on who your main advocates are, what their life was like before and after buying your product, and any published marketing assets you may have. Fill in the template and make sure your team can always easily find this information.

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How this template can help your team:

• Sales: Your team can bring customer quotes and case studies into their sales processes and generate wins faster through social proof. Case studies can be used at any stage of the sales process, but they tend to work best when you're trying to close a deal or win a new account.
• Customer Service or Success: Your customer experience team can share stories of customers and how they're leveraging certain features to provide inspiration to other customers and boost customer satisfaction.
• Marketing: Your marketing team can package this information for public sharing and create new case studies that fill in the gaps around existing stories.
• Product and Engineering: Your product team can better scope iterations or new features for your engineering team based on the information provided in this Card about customers and their use of your product.

How to write a case study that builds trust

You can follow these steps or simply get our case study template below to jumpstart your case study creation.

1. Establish a place for case studies

They can be shared directly with customers, for example, on your website or via teams like sales and customer success. Each of these distribution channels will lead to different layout, design, and formatting needs. Given where you are in your organization, do you need these to be PDFs for sales enablement, web pages, or a simple, easy-to-find company repository for customer stories?

2. Find the best customer for your case study

Customer stories are used to help customers understand what it’s like to use your product or service. They also help you understand what your customers want and need. You will want to think about picking a customer who is aligned with your ideal customer persona - your favorite customer who is lucrative to work with.

You should also choose a customer who is genuinely grateful. A happy customer is much more likely to approve of a testimonial and speak highly of you in interviews, providing valuable quotes.

When looking for case study candidates, consider these questions:

• Is this customer representative of our target market?
• How does this customer use our product or service?
• What problem were they trying to solve before finding us?
• Has anything interesting happened since they started working with us? (This question is especially useful if you’re targeting new markets.)
• Would this customer speak positively about our company and product if we asked them to provide a quote?

The answers to these questions will help you find the right customers for your case studies.

3. Contact your customer and ask permission to publish a customer story

Once you have a customer in mind, the next step is to reach out and ask for their permission to feature them in a case study. This conversation can take many different forms, but it’s important to make sure you get explicit consent from your customer before writing anything about them.

Pro tips on how to contact customers for case studies:

• Keep it short and sweet - start with an email that explains who you are, what you do, why you’re reaching out, and asks for permission to feature them as a case study subject.
• Make it easy for them to say yes - offer to send over some questions and let them know it will take just 10 minutes to respond.
• Follow up - if you don't hear back, it's ok to send a follow up email to check back in a few weeks later.

4. Gather customer insights

Once you have the customer’s permission, start gathering information. You will want to ask them a few questions about their experience before and after working with you. This case study is not about your product - it should be all about the customer. What were they struggling with before finding you? How has your product or service helped them?

Some companies like to use a “before and after” layout in their case studies, but we recommend against it because it can often feel gimmicky. Instead, focus on what the customer did before and after working with you. If there was an impressive transformation, let that story speak for itself without using numbers or bullet points to explain it.

5. Draft your story and ensure your copy highlights your value

Once you have all of this information, it’s time to start writing your case study! Customer stories should be short, concise, and focused. They should include only one main point.

Let's start by taking a look at some templates you can use to help structure and format your case studies.

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PDF for sales enablement

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‍Web page layout

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Case study for your company wiki

6. Send your draft and a release form to the customer

Before you publish anything, make sure to get final approval from the customer. They may have feedback or suggestions on how to improve the case study.

Here's a short, sweet email template for asking:

Hi [Name],
We’re so excited you [achieved this result] with our [product/service] and wanted to feature the cool things you’re doing [in this area] so we can showcase your work.
If that’s something you might be interested in, we can talk very generally about how you achieved this and make sure to exclude anything you’re not comfortable sharing.
Let me know if you’d be interested in having a case study on our site?

7. Publish your case study

Once you have the customer’s approval, publish your case study on your website. You can also use it as a sales enablement asset or send it to journalists who might be interested in writing about the story.

If you follow these tips, you will be able to write case studies that build trust and help your company scale.

Case study FAQ

What is the best format for a case study?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, but we recommend using a web page layout or PDF for sales enablement. This will ensure that your case study looks professional and easy to read.

How do I contact customers for case studies?

The best way to reach out to customers for case studies is by email. Start by explaining who you are, what you do, why you’re reaching out, and ask for permission to feature them as a case study subject. You can also offer to send over some questions and let them know it will take just ten minutes to respond. If you don't hear back, follow up with a second email a few weeks later.

What should a good case study contain?

A good case study should only include one main point. It should be short, concise, and focused on the customer’s experience before and after working with you. You can use a “before and after” layout, but we wouldn't recommend it because it can often feel gimmicky. Instead, focus on what the customer did before and after working with you. Let their story speak for itself without using numbers or bullet points to explain it.

If you want to take it a step further, you can partner with your creative or design team or an agency to craft a more innovative layout for your new stories.

How should I promote my case studies?

Once you have the customer's approval, publish each case study on your website. You can use these website pages to enable sales or consider promoting them as emails, videos, or on your social platforms.

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