Show off your most effective work with a case study.

First steps.

Establish the goal.

Decide early on what you want to show with this case study and which individual case would be the best proof of your company’s value. What is it about this project that will inspire people to work with you? Start with the reason the client hired your company. What problem were you asked to solve?

Ask for permission and an interview.

Make sure the client is comfortable with being included in your case study. You’ll be publicly sharing this information, so client approval is essential. While you’re at it, you might ask for an interview or written testimonial. Never underestimate the power of direct quotes from happy clients — 95% of shoppers depend on reviews before making purchase decisions.

Gather evidence.

Collect quantitative data or qualitative research that proves the success of this partnership. Whether it comes in the form of dollars earned, units moved, or smiles produced, it’s important to showcase results.

Choose a medium for the case study.

How you present your success story depends on the nature of your business and how much time and energy you’re willing to spend on it.

Case study for web.

Many businesses publish case studies on their websites. As mobile accounts for over 50% of web traffic, using the web to create a case study with responsive design to fit various screen sizes is important. Content on the web also lets you include hyperlinks to services, contact pages, and other examples of past work. You can even add motion content in the form of animation or embedded video testimonials.

Case study for print.

If you think potential customers would prefer to learn about you through a printed case study, you can always adapt a web-based case study for print and add a downloadable PDF version to your website.

Case study for video.

If you work in media, or if video footage is relevant to your work, you should create a video. If your client is willing to be interviewed, record their testimonial and cut it into a compelling video case study.

Tips for writing a great case study.

Tell a good story.

Outline the story and find the narrative arc. What were you hired to do? How did you do it? What background information do you need to include? Get right to the point to draw readers or viewers in and hold their attention.

Use imagery that engages and helps tell the story. Avoid boring your audience with too many dry statistics or hard-to-read charts and graphs. Infographics can show data in an interesting way and drive home the point that your solution was the best solution.

Highlight your results.

As you would with any report, use design elements to make your big achievements stand out. Lean on color and white space, pull quotes, and any imagery that bolsters your case. For video and web case studies, use animation to draw attention to your most important points.

Add a call-to-action.

Direct readers to engage your services, perhaps with a link or phone number connecting them to your sales team. Drive home the impression that you can do for them exactly what you did in the featured project.