A case study tells one customer's story so the next customer can picture themselves in it. The format lets a busy reader find the result fast and the detail later.
What is a case study, in business writing?
A short document that shows how one customer solved one problem, usually with your product or service. It is evidence, presented as a narrative: who they were, what was wrong, what they did, and what changed. Prospects read case studies late in a decision, when they already understand the problem and want to know whether the solution works for someone like them.
That sets it apart from a white paper, which argues for an approach in general terms. A case study argues through a single example. The two pair well: the white paper makes the case, the case study shows it happening.
What is the standard case study format?
These sections, in this order, appear in most case studies worth reading. Short versions merge some of them; the order holds.
| Section | What it says | Typical length |
|---|---|---|
| Headline | The customer and the result, in one line | One line |
| At a glance | Customer, challenge, solution, key result | A short box or four bullets |
| The customer | Who they are and what they do | A paragraph |
| The challenge | What was going wrong, and what it cost them | One to three paragraphs |
| The solution | What they chose, and why | One to three paragraphs |
| Putting it in place | How it was rolled out, and how long it took | A paragraph or a short list |
| The results | What changed, in numbers where possible | The most important section |
| Customer quote | Their words, attributed | One or two sentences |
| Next step | What the reader can do now | One line |
The at-a-glance box matters more than its size suggests. Many readers read only the headline and that box, so together they must tell the whole story.
How long should a case study be?
One to four pages covers most. A one-page version works as a sales leave-behind or a web page summary; a longer version, with more detail on the rollout and the numbers, works for buyers who need to justify a decision internally.
Length follows the evidence. A case study with one clear result and a simple rollout should be short. One with several results, several teams or a complex implementation can run longer, but each extra page should carry new facts. A good habit is to write the long version first and cut a one-page version from it.
How do you present results honestly?
Results are why a case study exists, and they are also where it loses trust fastest. Readers know case studies are chosen to flatter, so the numbers must be specific, attributable and approved.
- Use the customer's numbers, and get their written approval before publishing. A figure the customer would dispute is worse than none.
- Give the baseline. "Support tickets fell by a third, from roughly 900 a month to 600" says far more than a percentage alone. (Example figures, for shape only.)
- Name the time period. A result over a year means something different from one over a fortnight.
- Say what else changed. If the customer also hired two people that quarter, a careful reader will wonder about it anyway.
- Use qualitative results when there are no numbers. A clear description of what is now possible, in the customer's words, beats an invented metric.
Never round up, extrapolate a trend into a claim, or present a single good month as the norm. One inflated number makes a careful reader doubt every other line in the document.
How do you use quotes in a case study?
Sparingly, and in the customer's actual words, approved by them. A good quote says something only the customer could say: how the problem felt, or what they do now that they could not before. "We are very happy with the product" could appear in any case study and adds nothing.
Attribute every quote with a name, role and company, if the customer agrees. Set one strong quote as a pull quote so a skimming reader sees it; block quotes and pull quotes covers how to set one so it reads as a quotation and not as a heading.
How do you write a case study, step by step?
- Choose a customer with a clear before and after, and who is willing to be named.
- Interview them, with questions about the situation before, the decision, the rollout and what changed. Record it, with permission.
- Collect the numbers from the customer, with the baseline and the time period.
- Write the results section first, then the challenge, so the story is built around what changed.
- Draft the rest in order, keeping the solution section about what the customer did, not a product brochure.
- Write the headline and at-a-glance box last.
- Send the draft to the customer for approval, including every number and quote.
- Design and export the PDF, and publish a web version if you have a site.
A case study template in Markdown
A case study is headings, short paragraphs, a table or two and a quote, which is exactly what Markdown writes cleanly. Replace the bracketed parts.
# [Customer] cut [problem] by [result]
| Customer | Challenge | Solution | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| [One line] | [One line] | [One line] | [One line] |
## The customer
[Who they are, what they do, how big they are.]
## The challenge
[What was going wrong, and what it was costing them.]
## The solution
[What they chose, and why.]
## Putting it in place
[How it rolled out, and how long it took.]
## The results
[What changed, with baseline, figure and time period.]
> "[A quote only the customer could say.]"
> [Name], [role], [company]
## Next step
[One action for the reader.]Keep tables simple, without merged cells, so they survive conversion. Markdown tables that survive the page break covers longer ones, and images that still look sharp in the PDF covers charts and logos.
How should a case study PDF look?
Like the rest of your company's documents. A case study sits next to other case studies, white papers and brochures, and readers notice when each one looks different. Use your brand's typefaces and colours, and keep the layout the same across the series. Keeping a series looking like a series covers the same problem for books.
Check two things before sending a PDF out. Fonts must be embedded, or the layout can shift on the reader's machine; font embedding explains why. And keep the file small enough to attach to an email, which shrinking a PDF covers. If the case study is gated behind a form, the delivery works like any lead magnet PDF.
Producing case studies in bukpress
In bukpress you paste the Markdown above, set the title, subtitle and body typefaces, colours, margins and page numbers once, and export an A4 PDF with every font embedded, with no watermark on any plan. Save that design as a Brand Kit on Essentials and every case study in the series starts from the same look, which is the whole point of a set; Essentials also adds Google Fonts import and cover artwork. Pricing has the plan details. One plain limit: bukpress exports A4 only, so a case study that must be US Letter needs another tool. The free plan covers documents up to 40 pages, far more than a case study needs, so you can try the template as it is with a Markdown to PDF export.
Common questions
What is the difference between a case study and a testimonial?
A testimonial is a quote: a customer's opinion in a sentence or two. A case study is a full account, with the problem, the solution and measured results. Case studies often contain testimonials, but the evidence is what makes them persuasive.
Do you need the customer's permission to publish a case study?
Yes, in practice. Naming a customer, quoting them or publishing their figures without approval risks the relationship and possibly your agreement with them. Get written sign-off on the final draft, including every number.
Can a case study be anonymous?
Yes. Some customers agree to share results but not their name. Describe them by industry and size instead. An anonymous case study persuades less than a named one, so use it when the results are strong enough to carry it.
What format should a case study be published in?
Usually a PDF, for sales teams to send and prospects to forward, plus a web page with the same content for search. The PDF keeps the layout fixed, which matters for a document passed around a buying committee.