How to Create a Case Study That Proves Your Expertise

Every business on the planet believes they’re the best of the best. But competition is fierce, so how can you convince potential customers that you actually are the cream of the crop?

To prove your expertise, case studies are a must-have addition to your content marketing mix. Case studies are short but punchy success stories that leave lasting impressions on potential customers. They transform dry metrics and testimonials into captivating narratives that showcase your business in the best light possible.

Of course, writing an effective case study can seem daunting if you’ve never written one before. Check out this guide to learn how to create a case study that will attract prospective customers.

Why Write Case Studies?

When was the last time you bragged about your business’s achievements? Creating a case study gives potential customers a glimpse into your actual, measurable achievements. A case study spells out exactly why customers choose you, and it explains the types of results prospects can expect you to get for their brand.

Sure, case studies require a little bit of research and some elbow grease, but they have so many benefits:

Build trust: Case studies present real-life examples of how a specific product or service actually benefited someone. Most share the client’s name and information to show that you aren’t just making up this information.
Prove your worth: Every prospective customer wants to know “What’s in it for me?” By sharing metrics, case studies provide concrete evidence of your success. Whether it’s an increase in sales, improved customer satisfaction, or higher engagement on social media, these figures illustrate your impact.
Shorten the sales cycle: If you’re in the B2B space, you know how long it can take for clients to sign contracts. Providing case studies can persuade wishy-washy executives to sign on the dotted line.
Make a name for yourself: Use case studies to build authority in your niche. Many companies even repurpose their case studies for awards submissions or conference presentations. If you’ve gotten amazing results for a client, you should brag about it! Before long, you’ll have a solid industry reputation — and a line of clients out the door.

How to Write a Great Case Study in 5 Steps

Case studies are typically pretty short, but a lot of work goes into writing them. Follow this step-by-step guide for how to create a case study that showcases your achievements.

1. Identify the Right Clients

You do great work for all your clients, but not every client is a fit for a case study. Ideally, you want to find a success story where your business had a tremendous impact on the client.

Look for case study examples that highlight clear, measurable results. That means finding a client who’s willing to share potentially sensitive before-and-after data about their website metrics, sales figures, and employee engagement scores.

The right clients for a case study will have stories that resonate with your target audience. That means not featuring clients that are odd one-offs. Potential clients should get a good idea of what you can do for them by checking out your case studies, so focus on your main offerings.

2. Follow a Case Study Template

Case studies should be relatively short and easy to read. A clear problem-solution-results format tends to perform well.

Executive summary: Start with a summary that provides a brief overview of the case study. Try to emphasize problem-results data here so readers can quickly understand the key points if they’re just skimming.
Problem: The problem section details the client’s pain points before partnering with your business. Be sure to provide enough background information so readers know exactly what’s at stake.
Solution: In the solution section, you share an in-depth accounting of how you addressed the client’s problem. This is your chance to shine! Showcase your unique value proposition (UVP) here so readers understand what’s so revolutionary about your action plan. (Your UVP is a brief sentence that tells your audience why you’re the best solution to their problems and how you’re different from anything else on the market.)
Results: This is arguably the most important part of how to create a case study: In the results section, you share the measurable outcomes of the solution. Hit readers with a one-two punch of quantitative metrics and client testimonials to illustrate your impact.

3. Back up Your Claims

To create a compelling case study, you need to back up your claims with plenty of hard data and direct quotes from the client. Data adds credibility to the case study and your brand, so this isn’t the place to skimp.

Use metrics to quantify the impact of your solution. Sales increases, a percentage increase in efficiency, or even higher social media engagement rates are all concrete numbers to celebrate.

Not all clients will want to share this data, mind you, so you may need to get creative with your phrasing to preserve client confidentiality. Always run case study copy by your client beforehand to ensure it’s OK to share this data.

Qualitative data like testimonials can also back up your case studies. Testimonials add a personal touch and make your case study more authentic. Strategically sprinkle these quotes throughout the case study to validate your claims and create a richer, more detailed story that will resonate with readers.

4. Add Data-Driven Visuals

It’s easy to focus on the copy when you’re learning how to create a case study, but imagery and formatting matter, too. The more scannable (and pretty) your case study is, the more likely readers will be to read it from start to finish.

Add in the following visual elements to make your case studies more engaging:

Infographics: Infographics present complex data in a neat visual package. You can make an infographic summarizing the results of the entire case study or just focusing on key metrics.
Graphs: Charts and graphs are great for visualizing lots of customer data. They’re also a good fit for the results section, where you can easily demonstrate a client’s before-and-after data with a few well-placed graphs.
Text formatting: You just can’t beat headings, subheadings, and bullet points! They make your case study much more skimmable and highlight the most important information.

5. Promote the Case Study

Creating a great study is only half the battle; now you need to share the case study with your target audience. Prospective customers can’t read your case study if they don’t know about it, so make a promotion plan every time you plan to publish a case study.

You can promote your case study through channels like:

Social media: A quick social media post can work wonders for boosting business case study traffic. Share case studies on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Instagram. Work with a graphic designer to make eye-catching graphics highlighting your most impressive metrics. The call to action (CTA) should encourage followers to read the full case study.
Email: Email subscribers want to know about the latest happenings with your business. While you shouldn’t send subscribers an email every day, a once-monthly update with a case study can definitely boost website traffic. There’s no need to share the full case study via email — just share a snippet, and link out to the case study for anyone who wants to continue reading.
Your website: Make a dedicated landing page for each case study. Be sure to employ search engine optimization (SEO) to attract organic traffic from search engines like Google. Add relevant keywords, metadata, and internal links to boost visibility.

No Time to Figure Out How to Create a Case Study? We’ve Got You

Your team is busy working in the trenches and getting results for clients. But it’s good to look up every now and then and reflect on your progress. Case studies are success stories that not only celebrate your accomplishments, but also spread the story of your capabilities and your success to more potential customers.

The downside? Writing a high-quality case study takes time — and that’s a luxury most businesses can’t afford.

That’s where Growth Machine comes in. Our expert writers know how to create a case study that can position your brand as an industry leader, building up your credibility while detailing the value you offer to prospective customers.

So are you ready to turn your success stories into content that works hard for you? We can write your case studies for you. We’ll find a writer, capture your story, edit the work, and send you a ready-to-publish piece.

Check out our own case studies for a portfolio of our work.