Why (Well-Designed!) Case Studies Can Boost Your Sales Strategy

Remember that one bratty kid in grade school who was always bragging about how they could do anything? “I can run faster than you,” “I can eat twice as many bugs,” “I can roll down the hill faster than you,” and on and on it went.

But then a heroic kid would swoop in and retort, “Oh yeah? Prove it!”

From an early age, we’ve learned to be skeptical of everything we read and hear—until it’s proven to be true.

That’s where case studies come in. Case studies are key to helping prospective clients trust your company and become invested in your services.

Well-designed case studies make good case studies great. Wondering what a well-designed case study entails? I’ll walk you through how you can make your case studies shine.

Always have a clear success statistic

Why are prospective clients looking at your case studies? Because they want to see if what you say you do well is actually true.

That’s why you should lead with a prominent statistic that solidifies the success of the case study. Whether it’s a percentage growth, actual numbers, or a simple statement, use this to hook the reader.

Using a large font size or a stand-out color for this stat creates a hierarchy and draws the user’s eye immediately to it.

Show off the client logo

Do you work with recognizable clients? Make sure your case studies highlight this. Adding your client’s logos provides more validity to your work.

Of course, you should always get permission from your clients first. Once you’ve obtained permission, the design should make the logo a prominent piece of the case study. Play around with color, size, and placement.  

Include a challenge or goal

Present a challenge or a goal your client had. This sums up why your work was needed. It should succinctly articulate why the client came to you and what they wanted to accomplish.

This could be as short as “increase holiday revenue” or a longer paragraph. It depends on your style, the case study, and what kind of narrative you want to tell.

Outline what you did

This section is the meat of your case study. After all, an impressive statistic is not the only thing prospective clients care about. Yes, they want to see results—but they need to know how you made it happen.

Be sure to make your explanation brief, clear, and simply designed. You don’t want to skimp on details but you don’t want to be long-winded either.

Don’t forget to include how what you did is different (and better!) than what other companies could have done.  

Be proud of your results

Yes, you included a great stat at the beginning of your case study—but that’s not the only result you should include.

The results section dives into your introductory success statistic. Use graphs and charts to visualize the progress you and your team accomplished for the featured client.

These graphics will stand out and help your readers process the results more quickly than if they had to read a paragraph of statistics.  

This can be the more challenging portion to design. After all, data can be visualized in so many different ways. Test out different options and get feedback from your team. Keep the numbers compelling and make sure this section is light on text.

Connect it back to the reader

While not necessary for all case studies, it can be nice to include why it matters to the prospect.

The reader just ingested a lot of information—but how does it help them? What can they take away from it?

Guide the reader in the right direction. Clearly outline what the case study shows and how it applies to a wider audience. Then, give them directions to take the next step. You know, like a call-to-action (like I’m about to do…)

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