How to Write a Case Study

This guide walks you through every step of creating case studies that your sales team will actually use and your prospects will actually read.

What Makes a Great Case Study

Before diving into the process, understand what separates forgettable case studies from ones that close deals.

Great case studies are specific. They include real numbers, named customers, and concrete details. "Improved efficiency" is forgettable. "Reduced invoice processing time from 14 days to 3 days" is memorable and credible.

Great case studies tell a story. They follow a clear narrative: a relatable challenge, a turning point when your solution entered the picture, and measurable transformation. This structure mirrors how prospects think about their own situations.

Great case studies feature the customer's voice. Direct quotes from real people carry more weight than your marketing copy ever could. The customer becomes the hero, not your product.

Great case studies are scannable. Buyers are busy. They want to quickly find the metrics, the industry match, and the key outcomes. Use headers, callout boxes, and visual hierarchy to help them.

Before You Start: Getting Customer Buy-In

The most common reason case studies fail isn't poor writing—it's not having the customer's commitment upfront.

Identify the Right Customers

Not every happy customer makes a good case study candidate. Look for customers who have:

• Measurable results — They can quantify the impact with specific numbers
• Willingness to be public — Their company allows external marketing participation
• A compelling story — They faced a relatable challenge that your solution addressed
• Strong relationships — Your team has a good rapport with key stakeholders

Check NPS scores, product usage data, and recent renewal status. Customers who just expanded or renewed are often more willing to participate.

Make the Ask

When requesting participation, focus on value for the customer, not just your needs:

• Offer co-marketing opportunities and backlinks to their website
• Provide early access to new features or exclusive customer events
• Keep the time commitment clear: "One 30-minute call and a 15-minute review"
• Let them approve everything before publication
• Share how the case study will be used

Pro tip: Frame it as celebrating their success, not promoting your product. Most people enjoy talking about wins they're proud of.

Handle Objections

Common objections and how to address them:

"Legal won't approve it." — Offer to work with their legal team, use first names only, or anonymize the company name while keeping the story.

"We're too busy." — Reduce the ask to a 20-minute call. Offer to draft everything from existing materials and let them edit.

"Our results aren't impressive enough." — Even modest improvements matter. A 15% efficiency gain might resonate more with prospects than a 500% outlier they can't relate to.

The Case Study Structure: Challenge, Solution, Results

The most effective case studies follow a three-act structure that mirrors classical storytelling.

Act 1: The Challenge

Set up the problem in a way that prospects can relate to. Be specific about:

• The situation before — What was the customer's world like? What processes were broken?
• The pain points — What was this costing them in time, money, or missed opportunities?
• The stakes — Why did something need to change?

Example: "Before implementing Champions, Acme Corp's marketing team spent 6+ hours per week manually chasing customers for testimonials, and still only produced 2-3 case studies per quarter."

Act 2: The Solution

Describe the turning point without making it a product pitch:

• The decision process — Why did they choose your solution over alternatives?
• The implementation — How did they get started? What did rollout look like?
• The key features used — Which specific capabilities addressed their challenges?

Keep this section concise. The focus should stay on the customer's journey, not a feature list.

Act 3: The Results

This is the payoff. Make it unmissable:

• Quantified outcomes — Use specific numbers with context (percentages, time saved, revenue impact)
• Qualitative benefits — How did people's day-to-day work change?
• Future outlook — What's next for the customer? What new possibilities opened up?

Example results callout: "Case study production increased from 3 to 12 per quarter. Reference request fulfillment dropped from 5 days to same-day. Win rates on competitive deals improved by 23%."

Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your Case Study

Step 1: Interview the Customer

The interview is where you gather the raw material for a compelling story. Do this right, and writing becomes easy.

Prepare thoughtful questions:

• What was happening in your business that made you look for a solution?
• What were you using before, and what wasn't working?
• How did you discover us? What made you choose us over alternatives?
• Walk me through the implementation process. What surprised you?
• What specific results have you seen? Can you quantify them?
• What would you tell someone considering this solution?

During the interview:

• Record the call (with permission) so you can capture exact quotes
• Listen for emotional moments—frustration with the old way, relief with the new
• Ask follow-up questions when they mention numbers: "You said it's faster—how much faster exactly?"
• Let them talk. Your job is to guide, not dominate

After the interview:

• Send a thank-you note within 24 hours
• Share a summary of key points you captured for their validation
• Note the best quotes verbatim—these are gold

Step 2: Gather Metrics

Numbers make case studies credible. Go beyond what the customer mentions in the interview:

• Before/after comparisons — Time to complete tasks, volume of output, error rates
• ROI calculations — Time saved × hourly cost = dollar value
• Business impact — Revenue influenced, deals closed, customer satisfaction scores
• Adoption metrics — Usage rates, team adoption, feature utilization

If the customer can't provide exact numbers, work together to estimate. "We're producing roughly 4x more case studies" is better than no number at all.

Step 3: Write the Narrative

With your interview notes and metrics in hand, draft the case study:

Opening hook (1-2 paragraphs): Lead with the most compelling result or a relatable pain point. Make readers want to continue.

Company context (1 paragraph): Brief background on who the customer is—industry, size, relevant context. Don't overdo this section.

Challenge section (2-3 paragraphs): Build empathy by describing the problem in detail. Use the customer's own words where possible.

Solution section (2-3 paragraphs): Describe the implementation and key capabilities used. Keep the focus on the customer's experience, not feature lists.

Results section (2-3 paragraphs plus callout): Present the metrics prominently. Include quotes about the qualitative impact.

Conclusion/Looking ahead (1 paragraph): End with momentum—what's next for the customer? Include a forward-looking quote if possible.

Total length: 800-1,500 words for written case studies. Shorter is usually better.

Step 4: Design and Format

Presentation matters as much as content. Format your case study for easy consumption:

• Visual hierarchy: Use headers, subheaders, and callout boxes for key metrics
• Quote styling: Make customer quotes visually distinct and prominent
• Metrics display: Present numbers in large, scannable formats
• Company branding: Include the customer's logo (with permission) for credibility
• Professional photography: If possible, include photos of the actual customer

Consider multiple formats: a full PDF, a one-page summary, and a web version for different use cases.

Step 5: Get Approval

Never publish without customer sign-off. This protects both parties and often improves the final product.

Approval process:

1. Send the draft with a clear deadline for feedback (typically 5-7 business days)
2. Highlight any quotes or specific claims they should verify
3. Be flexible on edits—if they want to change something, accommodate it
4. Get written approval before publishing (email confirmation is sufficient)
5. Share the final published version and thank them again

Writing Tips That Make Case Studies Convert

Be Specific, Not Generic

Weak: "The company saw significant improvements in efficiency."

Strong: "The marketing team reduced case study production time from 6 weeks to 5 days."

Use the Customer's Voice

Weak: "Customers appreciate the time savings."

Strong: "'I used to spend my Fridays chasing customers for quotes. Now I spend them on strategy.' — Sarah Chen, Director of Customer Marketing"

Show the Transformation

Don't just list features used. Show how work changed:

Before: "The team manually tracked reference requests in spreadsheets, losing requests and burning out their best advocates."

After: "Reference matching happens automatically. The right customer is identified and connected within hours, not weeks."

Include Specifics That Build Credibility

Mention specific features, team sizes, timelines, and contexts. Details signal authenticity.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Making it about your product, not the customer. The customer is the hero. Your product is the tool they used to succeed.

Using vague metrics. "Improved" and "significant" mean nothing. Get specific numbers or don't include the claim.

Writing walls of text. Break up content with headers, quotes, and visual elements. Most readers scan before they read.

Skipping the challenge section. Without a compelling problem, the solution has no impact. Build tension before the resolution.

Forgetting the call to action. Every case study should make it easy for interested readers to take the next step.

Not updating old case studies. Case studies age. Refresh metrics, update quotes, or retire case studies when they become dated.

How AdamX Champions Helps

Writing case studies manually is time-consuming. Customer interviews, transcription, writing, design, and approval cycles can stretch a single case study across weeks.

AdamX Champions transforms this process by automatically generating case studies from your customer calls.

Automatic story extraction — Champions analyzes your customer conversations (QBRs, success calls, support interactions) and identifies case study-worthy moments without manual review.

Draft generation — Get structured case study drafts complete with challenge, solution, and results sections pulled directly from what customers actually said.

Quote library — Every compelling customer quote is captured, tagged, and searchable so you never lose a great soundbite.

Metrics tracking — Customer-mentioned results are automatically flagged and organized for easy inclusion.

Instead of producing 2-3 case studies per quarter, Champions users typically produce 10-15, with dramatically less manual effort.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long should a case study be?

Most effective B2B case studies are 800-1,500 words. This provides enough detail to be credible while remaining scannable. For complex enterprise deals, you might go longer, but always include an executive summary. The one-page version often gets more use than the full document.

How do I write a case study without client permission to use their name?

You can create anonymous case studies that still deliver value. Use descriptors like "A Fortune 500 healthcare company" or "A 200-person SaaS startup." Keep all the specific metrics and quotes, just remove identifying details. These perform nearly as well as named case studies when the results are compelling.

What if the customer's results aren't dramatic?

Modest, realistic results often resonate more than outliers. A prospect might not believe a "500% improvement" but can see themselves achieving a 30% efficiency gain. Focus on the specific problem solved and the genuine impact, even if the numbers are modest. Authenticity beats hyperbole.