case studies international business

“Stories create community, enable us to see through the eyes of other people, and open us to the claims of others.” Peter Forbes, photographer and author

9 reasons why case studies are great for business

For potential customers:

For current customers:

Case studies also come with a unique set of benefits for your marketing strategy:

Planning and prep

First, develop your team. Business case studies will usually fall under the domain of your marketers, but now it’s time to get specific.

Next, start scheduling your timeline. Work backwards from the date you’d like to publish, then build in dates for reviews and edits. Also create a flexible internal deadline for securing a client interview.

Since you’ll need to align your schedule with that of your interviewee, pinpointing an actual interview date can take some time.

Next, consider your goals:

Common objectives include increasing revenue, generating more leads, growing business with existing customers, entering a new market, increasing market share, and improving customer lifetime value (CLV).

After you’ve defined your objectives, it’s time to start considering who you might want to interview. Make your list specific. Include the company name , any relevant notes and the name of the intended stakeholder to be interviewed (one interviewee per case study is ideal).

No matter who you decide to interview, make sure they understand your offerings well and that they’ve experienced substantial or notable results. If they were disappointed by one of your competitors then came to you…that’s even better. And, when possible, the biggest and most impressive names work best.

The interview process

It’s a privilege to secure case study interviews. Sure, it might give your customers more exposure for their own businesses, but they’re probably very busy with other aspects of marketing and sales.

So make the interview process as easy, streamlined, and stress-free as possible – and always thank them for their time.

The first time you get in touch about the interview, mention the details below:

How case studies help your clients

Always ask yourself, WIIFM, or “What’s In It For Me?” whenever you communicate with clients. Why should your clients take time out of their busy schedules to record their experiences and chat for your case study?

Here are some common ways clients win:

For more tips on reaching out to interviewees, check out our case study proposal template .

Brainstorming questions

Have they accepted? Great! Send the interviewee a questionnaire before the interview. It will help you get insights into anything requiring research, like key metrics and tangible ROI. It will also serve as a guide for brainstorming your interview questions.

Sample questionnaire :

And here are a few tips to shape the actual interview:

But don’t stick to the script during the actual interview. You’ll need to listen actively and engage in some real-time decision-making to ask additional questions based on the answers you receive. That’s another reason why it’s important to interview a key decision maker from your customer’s company.

“Stories constitute the single most powerful weapon in a leader’s arsenal.” Dr. Howard Gardner, Harvard University professor and author

For example, let’s say you have a software-as-a-service (SaaS) product. You ask your interviewee how many people use the solution and discover some surprising departments have been putting it to use.

It would be a perfect opportunity to dig deeper to find out how and why they use it and the extent of their results.

Writing your business case study

Like most forms of writing, the best solution is to use an outline to save time and keep goals clear .

Of course the best business case study format depends on your strategy, but here’s an example of a common format.

Sample case study outline

When it’s time to start writing, gather your list of goals, your case study strategy, the customer’s interview and questionnaire responses, and every relevant link, white paper, and one-pager to make sure you have access to the full scope of information related to the products and services mentioned in your case study.

You won’t be bombarding readers by including it all– but they can help you fill in the blanks while explaining how your customer got things done.

Since your clients know you understand your product or service, they’re likely to answer your questions in broader terms. This is a possible solution to provide your readers with the crucial details they need.

Also remember who your audience is to write in a way that makes the most sense for those individuals. So if your business has buyer personas or ideal customer profiles (ICP), it’s a great idea to keep those on hand.

It’s also important to reserve enough writing time to get creative. Thoughtfully work your way through your materials to come up with the type of angle that will make your case study worthwhile.

Best practices

And make sure your client is the star.

In this piece of content, it’s all about them. Write about your client’s company, challenges, and results .

A case study can’t be as effective if it’s all about you because it’s designed to help clients and prospects relate to the people featured in your story. It can also feel a lot more compelling – and credible – when you let customer experiences do the talking.

Give it a final review

Ask your client for the OK

Send a copy of the case study draft to your client. They should know exactly what you plan to share and have enough time to share it with key stakeholders from their marketing and/or legal department.

Make any necessary changes, then share the revised version for one more round of approval. Finally, ask them to sign a publishing release.

Marketing your case study

When you have the finished product, it’s time to start marketing!

Think about using these channels:

Salespeople love case studies.

Your sales team will get a lot of use out of your case studies. They can feature them as links in their email signatures and include them in sales emails and proposals for new clients and potential customers. To get started, you can use our case study presentation template .

Good case study examples (and why they work)

Start reading well-executed case studies to learn more about what makes them work. Here’s a selection of three very different yet successful case studies.

The first is one of our case studies; it highlights the success of one of our HR clients, TPD. The second case study is from Trello – it tells the story of UNICEF’s disaster-relief success.

The third example describes how SimplePractice won big with Stripe’s automatic payments offering.

PandaDoc case study

Intro: Before diving into the body of the case study, we briefly introduced the company, TPD, and highlighted three major metrics for a promising start.

The problem: We quickly engaged readers with our conversational tone. We also invited them to walk in TPD’s shoes through empathetic language and relatable context (such as the line: “anyone who’s ever been hired, or has hired others, knows that there are multiple forms and contracts to fill out” ).

Challenges, solutions, and results: We took readers on a storytelling journey to help our case study flow. We gave them enough information to understand the “why” , but never bogged them down with unnecessary details. We were also sure to include supporting quotes and specific, measurable results in these critical sections.

Pull quote: We reserved the very best quote as the only pull quote, ensuring it would receive the attention it deserves.

Format: Finally, every time we mentioned a new company, we gave it a hyperlink to help readers save time.

Trello case study

“unicef + trello: helping others when they need it most”.

Facts and figures: Trello opens the case study with great at-a-glance information, sharing insights into UNICEF as an organization and their relationship with Trello products.

Challenges, solutions, and results: This case study takes readers through a detailed narrative, providing statistics and metrics whenever possible. Readers are immersed into the story of exactly how UNICEF used Trello to help thousands of people during a natural disaster – offering enough detail to spark use case inspiration for other Trello users.

Photos: Trello included photos of actual UNICEF employees working remotely around the globe. The pictures gave the case study a personal feel, which could help readers better identify with the story.

Readers are reminded of the unique challenges of working together-apart to start considering how Trello might be able to help them find the solutions they need. Remember, the best case studies are relatable to all of your prospects!

Format: Its structure makes this longer case study easy to read. Sections of text are kept short while bullet points and pull quotes provide visual breaks.

Finally, hyperlinks to organizations’ websites open in separate tabs to help prevent losing case study readers along the way.

Stripe case study

“simplepractice launches automatic payments offering for clinicians with stripe”.

Intro: In just two sentences, Stripe successfully manages to explain what SimplePractice is, what they offer, who they serve, how they serve them, and the benefits those clients gain.

And while it’s not necessary to be this brief, readers will be more likely to read your entire intro if it’s on the shorter side.

Sidebar: The sidebar draws eyes to keep reading with two impressive metrics and a brightly-hued CTA button to “contact sales” .

Challenge and solution: These sections read like a story, with each sentence enticing the reader to continue to the next. It’s also great that a quote from SimplePractice’s COO is used to add context, emphasizing the gravity of their challenge.

Results: Stripe gives a lot of detail here for a strong close to the case study. After explaining how their offering brought ease to SimplePractice’s business, they went on to share detailed specifics on what made things easier and in what ways.

They also explained how their offering improved the businesses of SimplePractice’s clients. It’s highly persuasive for readers to understand they have the opportunity to not only benefit their own companies but also those of their clients.

Pull quote: The case study ends with a strong pull quote in a can’t-miss-it color.

Format: Stripe has a great case study format.

Consider using it as a guide to create a case study template of your own:

Wrapping up

Most clients and prospects would rather hear from the people who use your products over a salesperson, any day. So use the power of trust to help you close the sale with a great business case study highlighting your results.

You and your customers already have the stories – now it’s time to share them with the world.

Wondering if you should reference buyer personas or if ideal customer profiles would work better? Get answers on the PandaDoc blog!

Frequently asked questions

What is the best business case study format.

The best business case study format depends on the nature of the results and whatever it is you’re trying to achieve. You can figure that out by carefully reviewing your customer success stories and interviews.

Pro tip: Some interviews are more quotable than others. If you have too many great quotes to include them in your featured sections, consider adding a few pull quotes to your layout.

How do I create a business case study outline?

To create a business case study outline, list all of your featured sections and use bullet points to note subsections and what should be covered. Most case studies feature the following sections: Introduction, Brief Description of Customer’s Business, Problem/Challenge/Opportunity, Solution, Results/Conclusion, Boiler, and Call-to-Action (CTA). But outlines aren’t just for traditional case studies. Use outlines to guide your infographic and video versions too.

What are some case study best practices?

Case study best practices include planning objectives and goals before selecting your featured client, sending pre-interview questionnaires, and finding an angle that will make the piece compelling to all of your readers. Also be sure to get the approval of your client and their marketing team after you’ve had time to review your first draft and fact-check all information.

Best practices for writing case studies include crafting short, easy-to-digest sections, weaving in a narrative for engaging storytelling, and getting attention from the start with an engaging headline. It’s also a great idea to write in layman’s terms, explain any necessary acronyms, include any supporting metrics or statistics, and use direct quotes to bring your customer’s story to life. Check out the featured case study examples in this article for inspiration.

Where can I find a good case study design template?

You can find a good case study design template on PandaDoc. Our company’s expertise is spot-on and the case study templates are free. Also, don’t be afraid to branch out. Let’s say you have a big following on YouTube or Spotify. You might want to create a video or podcast version of your case study for readers who prefer audiovisual information. Or, you may want to add multimedia content to your case study, such as a video insert or or audio clip.

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