The anatomy of a great client case study (steal my template)
Every interaction you have with clients and customers leaves an impression. That impression is likely something they’ll share with others at one point or another if it’s strong enough.
As business owners it’s imperative that we set up our offers, systems, processes, and communication to serve our clients as best we can.
In doing so, we’re not only bound to influence the impact we have on our audience, but also to cultivate stronger relationships with our community.
After our work is complete, or a customer has had enough time to use and experience the expected transformation with our product or service, it’s equally important to ask for feedback.
Information is power!
Staying in the loop with your clients’ thoughts and experiences gives you the insight you need to make meaningful improvements in your business. The more you know, the better you can adapt, grow, and serve your audience.
Are you asking your clients for feedback?
Do you know how your customers and clients feel after working with you (or throughout their experience working with you)? Are you asking them to share their input? Do they feel comfortable sharing openly with you?
While we can’t control how people feel, we can make intentional decisions within our business based on the feedback we receive.
Consider these questions,
What do you want your clients and customers to say about you and your business? What have you implemented into your business to encourage this type of experience?
Is the feedback you’re receiving aligned with the transformation and experience you hope(d) to create?
What has happened in the past that you’ve heard about from clients or customers (positive and negative)? What actions did you take that led to them feeling that way?
What improvements can you make to further enhance your client journey, or to mitigate issues that have been brought to your attention?
As your business progresses, you’ll collect more information and data which you can use to optimize your processes, improve your offers, and clarify your communication.
Why feedback matters
Building a sustainable business means welcoming and evaluating all available feedback.
Constructive criticism helps identify areas of improvement, while positive feedback acts as motivation to keep you focused on your vision, and can provide validation for prospective customers (when utilized appropriately).
Case studies in particular are a great way to demonstrate the impact you’ve had on your clients.
Sharing your experience working with a particular client, and the transformation you helped to facilitate, offers a great opportunity to shine a light on the difference you’re able to make for your community.
More than just listing your services and offers, case studies bring your work to life, showing the true impact of your work.
Case studies also open the door for more in-depth testimonials, allowing you to turn client stories and feedback into valuable content and social proof for prospective clients.
In order for your case studies to be impactful, they should illustrate and showcase all (relevant) parts of the customer journey and transformation.
With careful curation, you can highlight your client results and experiences in a way that inspires future customers to choose you.
At a high level, the approach I use looks like this:
Illustrate the problem or challenge the client/ customer was experiencing. Where did they start?
Introduce your unique solution, and why it was right for this particular client.
Share the outcome you delivered, and the transformation your client experienced. Where are they now?
When people see examples of how you’ve helped others, they’re more likely to be able to trust you and your work.
Let’s explore this in further detail. I’ve created an entire outline you can use as a template for sharing case studies within your business!
Case study template (an outline you can follow for your business)
Client Overview / Introduction
This section of the case study should be short and to the point, providing a general overview of the scope of work, as well as an introduction of the client you were supporting.
Client Name (assuming you were given permission):
Including a name can help validate the feedback as authentic. Where relevant, link the client’s website or social media platforms. This can add an extra layer of credibility by allowing prospective clients to see the transformation firsthand (assuming it is reflected in the client’s content, offers, or posts).
If you don’t have permission to share your client’s name, you can still create an impactful (but anonymous) case study! Simply provide a brief, generalized description instead (for example, small e-commerce business owner). Be diligent in your editing to avoid including any confidential or identifying information.
Client Industry (if applicable):
Include a brief description of the client and/or industry if it’s relevant or related to the service you provide. Context is important for understanding the full scope of your work together, and sometimes the client’s industry, profession, or business type can add to this clarity.
Project Name:
What was your project name? Alternatively share the name of the product they purchased or service you provided. Share additional details where relevant (at a high level) to ensure readers are given the information they need to understand the scope of the project and how it may relate to them.
Timeframe (where relevant):
Give readers an idea of how long the project took. Was this the expected timeline? Did the client sign up for a package of a particular length (for example 3 or 6 months), or was the transformation based on certain deliverables or goals being met?
The Challenge
This is the “before.” Paint a picture of the client’s life before they were introduced to your offer. What were their pain points? What were they struggling with? What was the impact on their business or personal life? Follow the framework below.
Provide Context:
Why did this particular client seek your services? Include details about their business and initial situation so readers can see themselves within the case study.
Outline the Problem:
Clearly outline the pain points or challenges the client was facing. For example, did they have inefficiencies with their processes and procedures? Were they struggling with poor messaging? Was there a lack of confidence?
Illustrate only the challenges that were relevant to your working relationship. Case studies should follow a focused customer journey.
Impact:
How was this issue affecting their business operations, finances, or growth? Explore the client’s frustrations (the qualitative impact), along with any accompanying data you have available to you (the quantitative impact), to illustrate the full impact of the issue they were experiencing.
The Solution
Approach:
How did you know that you and your offers were a good fit? What was your approach to working with this client?
Services:
Describe the service you employed to support them, along with any strategies or processes you used to address their problem or concerns. Also include any key deliverables like frameworks, systems, or training that the client benefited from.
Customization:
Highlight how the solution was tailored to the client's unique needs.
The Outcomes
Comparison:
Give an overview of how things have changed. Where did they start? Where are they now? Share the tangible results and outcomes of your work together.
Include specific examples or metrics if possible, including:
Quantitative results. This includes but is not limited to revenue increase, cost savings, time saved, or percentage growth.
Qualitative results. This includes but is not limited to improved client satisfaction, stronger brand positioning, streamlined operations, or greater confidence.
How did your work improve this client’s life and/or business? Highlight your overall impact to showcase the transformation this client experienced.
Client Feedback
If your client has provided a testimonial, include it here. A quote or paraphrased feedback from the client that underscores their satisfaction can add an element of personalization and authenticity to the case study.
Lessons Learned
What unique challenges did this project present, and how did you overcome them? Share any insights you gained that can be applied to future projects.
Showing some of the behind-the-scenes can help illustrate that your business is constantly evolving and improving. This transparency can further incentivize prospective clients to work with you.
Crafting your case study
Following the above structure can help you format your case study in a thoughtful and logical way.
To fill the outline out, you can either choose to collaborate on these questions with your client, or to tackle the case study from your perspective.
If you choose to ask your client for their feedback, it can be helpful to have a questionnaire you send out at the end of your working relationship.
Include questions such as,
Briefly describe your business, profession or industry.
Why did you initially reach out to inquire about my services?
What were the biggest pain points or frustrations you were experiencing before we began working together?
Note: if you include an intake form at the beginning of your working relationship with clients, you may be able to pull content for these first three questions directly from this form, rather than asking clients to repeat themselves.
Of the strategies we implemented, or the services I provided, which did you find most helpful or impactful?
What specific improvements or results have you experienced since working together? This can be qualitative or quantitative!
How has our work together impacted your life and/or business?
What were you hoping to achieve by working with me? Did we hit those goals? Did we meet your expectations?
What would you say to someone else who is considering working with me?
Was there anything about our work together that you wish you could have changed? For example, communication, specific offers, timelines, etc.? Please be honest! Your feedback will help me to further improve and develop my services.
Would you be willing to share a testimonial about your experience working with me?
Your use of these questions (as well as the number of questions) will likely depend on the size of your company, and your relationship with the client at hand.
For small business owners, a formal survey like this may not be necessary. This is especially true if you handled the project from start to finish, and were actively communicating with the client, asking for feedback along the way.
Larger companies and/or projects with lots of moving parts, longer timelines, or multiple people involved may benefit from a comprehensive client post-mortem to assess client satisfaction.
Even if you decide not to provide an in-depth questionnaire, it can be helpful to think through these questions from your own perspective.
Tips for creating an impactful case study
Here are a few final guidelines for creating an impactful case study:
Use visuals where appropriate. Transformation photos, or quantitative visuals like charts or graphs can further illustrate the impact of your work, and can increase engagement.
Keep it focused. Highlight the details of your services and the client’s pain points, as they relate to the transformation you helped facilitate.
Format the case study appropriately. Use headers and bullet points to improve readability.
Keep the language clear and concise—focus on how your work delivered measurable value, rather than getting bogged down with irrelevant details, or industry jargon.
Incorporate relevant keywords for SEO if you’re publishing the case study online, to help with discovery.
Case studies can be powerful business and marketing tools
As a business owner, you’ve likely facilitated a number of client transformations. While this is great on its own, sharing that transformation with your audience and other prospective clients can help you expand your impact and grow your business.
Case studies provide a clear framework for highlighting the tangible impact of the work you do.
Take readers on a journey, illustrating the frustrations and pain points your client was experiencing prior to working with you, highlighting how you supported them, and demonstrating the impact your offer or service had on them and their business.
In doing so, you’ll develop a sense of trust and credibility with prospective clients, allowing them to connect with your work on both a logical and emotional level. They’ll see the value of your work, and will likely feel inspired to start their own journey with you.
Start collecting or compiling this feedback! This process will not only strengthen your business, but will serve as a reminder of the incredible work you do.