12 great case study examples (plus case study writing tips)
Nia Gyant
GatherContent Contributor, Writer
Case studies have been hailed as a highly effective tool for content marketing—especially for nurturing readers through the middle of the funnel (MOFU) and bottom of the funnel (BOFU).
This long-form content style is also becoming more common as more marketers discover its value. According to Hubspot’s 2021 State of Marketing report, more than 30% of marketers use case studies as a primary marketing media—up from 13% in 2020.
If you’re new to the world of case studies, we’ll be diving into what case studies are, why they’re important, and how to create your own. We’ll also highlight some compelling case study examples that you can learn from.
What is a case study?
A good case study highlights customer stories showing the following:
The problems the business faced before using a product or service
How the product or service proposed to solve the problems
The before and after of using a product or service
The measurable positive impact of the product or service on metrics such as click-through rate, website traffic, or sales
While case studies are most often product or service-focused, sometimes businesses use them to share their brand or founder story.
These types of case studies typically focus on organizational progress, such as how they grew their revenue or website traffic. One example is this Outfunnel case study on how the team saved over 80% of its time with user onboarding.
Why are case studies important?
They may not suit every business. But case studies are beneficial, for example, for helping SaaS brands reach future customers.
If they make sense for your industry, case studies should be an important part of your content marketing strategy for many reasons.
Three reasons you should incorporate them as soon as possible are:
To provide value to your audience: At its core, the best marketing doesn’t just drive sales; it serves its audience. Case studies are a brilliant way to teach your audience tips they can incorporate into their businesses. It can also serve as research for industry experts to quote.
To show off your expertise: A great case study is a perfect blend of data and storytelling. It showcases your expertise to your target audience, most likely dealing with similar issues. By telling a good story in your case studies, you’re essentially saying, “Look how we made everything better for X client—we can do that for you, too.”
As social proof: Because case studies are available to the public, they’re undeniable social proof—better than hard-to-believe testimonials with client initials. This makes them extra valuable as MOFU and BOFU content; they can drive sales at the click of a button.
Good to Know: Not sure how to use case studies? They work well as lead magnets, landing pages, repurposed blog posts, and, if you have the capacity, even video content!
12 real-life case study examples to bookmark
Reading about the mechanics of case studies is more straightforward than writing case studies from scratch.
That’s why we’ve gathered 12 real-life marketing case study examples you can review before you embark on creating yours.
What works: In this great case study, GatherContent includes quotes from the client (the University of Edinburgh) about how their software has improved their content workflow. This adds a human element and will help readers with the same issues identify with the client.
What works: Besides hosting this case study on their website, Bit.ly provides a PDF link that can both be viewed online or downloaded. Plus, the PDF is visually appealing and easy to read.
What works: Asana leads with their impact and includes basic information about their client to the right of the page so the reader immediately gets bite-sized background information.
What works: Shopify includes a video in their case study, as well as multiple eye-catching images of Bombas products. This ensures that the case study serves both companies, possibly generating customer interest in Bombas socks.
What works: Outfunnel has repurposed its case study into a blog post, which increases its visibility. The study is also full of client quotes, which adds valuable social proof.
What works: Sapling also shares quick preliminary information about Zapier on the left panel and includes several screenshots to show the impact of their product on the company’s processes.
What works: The quick metrics in bold hit readers quickly and highlight BigCommerce expertise to potential customers even before they read the entire case study.
What works: Video format. Few things beat hearing the client praise the service and explain the process and results of the campaign in their own words.
What works: The main benefit is highlighted on the first page of the PDF and the rest of the study delves into the process and the nitty-gritty of the product’s impact.
What works: This page features minimal text. It focuses on quotes from decision-makers at Upwork and ends with a call-to-action that will likely drive conversions.
How to write your own case study
How can you write engaging, effective case studies like the examples above? Here are six steps.
1. Identify a worthy case
Think of projects—either for yourself or for clients—that got outstanding results. Then, whittle it down to the cases that your target audience is most likely to relate to, perhaps because they experience the same problem or have the same goal as in the case.
2. Reflect on your chosen case
Once you’ve decided on the case you’ll start with, do some deeper reflection on the details. What was the project goal? What challenges did you encounter along the way? How did you overcome them to reach your goal?
3. Think about differentiation
Take the last step even further and think of anything you did differently than others might. Did you an experimental tactic or strategy or create a custom solution? If so, use those details to subtly show potential customers why they should be interested in what you have to offer.
4. Gather quotes
Next, get hard-hitting quotes from project stakeholders or clients. Having their thoughts on goals, project obstacles, the solutions provided, and the outcomes will make your description of the case more credible.
5. Draft your case study
Time to turn the details you’ve compiled into a case study draft. How? We’ll talk about the best format for case studies shortly.
6. Add visuals
Next, create visuals that will reinforce the main points of your case study. These could include:
Charts or screenshots to show the change in metrics before and after the project
An infographic to give a brief visual overview of the case
Pictures of deliverables (e.g. a web design agency might show a picture of the new site it designed for a client)
Product images such as screenshots from within your software that was used on the project
After any designated reviewers and approvers give their stamp of approval on the case study, it’s ready to be published and promoted!
We’ve seen A+ examples of case studies and gotten some more context on how to create them for your brand or organization. Now, it's time to get to work. As you do, remember to include the following vital sections in your case study format:
Title
Client name and profile
The problem
Your solution (and screenshots!)
Quotes
Before and after (real results with data)
Appealing visuals, photos, illustrations, infographics, charts, and graphs
A memorable CTA
Ready to get started? Thankfully, you don’t have to go it alone.
GatherContent—a powerful tool for case study creation
GatherContent makes it possible to keep track of all your case study research—even while working with your marketing team. You don’t have to guess what stage the piece is at or consult another tool to know when your part is due or who to pass the torch to.
GatherContent is a content hub that helps you keep all your content creation in one place, whether you’re writing blog posts, email newsletters, social media posts, or case studies. With content modeling features like Components, you can effortlessly maintain brand identity throughout all your case studies.
This long-form content style is also becoming more common as more marketers discover its value. According to Hubspot’s 2021 State of Marketing report, more than 30% of marketers use case studies as a primary marketing media—up from 13% in 2020.
If you’re new to the world of case studies, we’ll be diving into what case studies are, why they’re important, and how to create your own. We’ll also highlight some compelling case study examples that you can learn from.
What is a case study?
A good case study highlights customer stories showing the following:
The problems the business faced before using a product or service
How the product or service proposed to solve the problems
The before and after of using a product or service
The measurable positive impact of the product or service on metrics such as click-through rate, website traffic, or sales
While case studies are most often product or service-focused, sometimes businesses use them to share their brand or founder story.
These types of case studies typically focus on organizational progress, such as how they grew their revenue or website traffic. One example is this Outfunnel case study on how the team saved over 80% of its time with user onboarding.
Why are case studies important?
They may not suit every business. But case studies are beneficial, for example, for helping SaaS brands reach future customers.
If they make sense for your industry, case studies should be an important part of your content marketing strategy for many reasons.
Three reasons you should incorporate them as soon as possible are:
To provide value to your audience: At its core, the best marketing doesn’t just drive sales; it serves its audience. Case studies are a brilliant way to teach your audience tips they can incorporate into their businesses. It can also serve as research for industry experts to quote.
To show off your expertise: A great case study is a perfect blend of data and storytelling. It showcases your expertise to your target audience, most likely dealing with similar issues. By telling a good story in your case studies, you’re essentially saying, “Look how we made everything better for X client—we can do that for you, too.”
As social proof: Because case studies are available to the public, they’re undeniable social proof—better than hard-to-believe testimonials with client initials. This makes them extra valuable as MOFU and BOFU content; they can drive sales at the click of a button.
Good to Know: Not sure how to use case studies? They work well as lead magnets, landing pages, repurposed blog posts, and, if you have the capacity, even video content!
12 real-life case study examples to bookmark
Reading about the mechanics of case studies is more straightforward than writing case studies from scratch.
That’s why we’ve gathered 12 real-life marketing case study examples you can review before you embark on creating yours.
What works: In this great case study, GatherContent includes quotes from the client (the University of Edinburgh) about how their software has improved their content workflow. This adds a human element and will help readers with the same issues identify with the client.
What works: Besides hosting this case study on their website, Bit.ly provides a PDF link that can both be viewed online or downloaded. Plus, the PDF is visually appealing and easy to read.
What works: Asana leads with their impact and includes basic information about their client to the right of the page so the reader immediately gets bite-sized background information.
What works: Shopify includes a video in their case study, as well as multiple eye-catching images of Bombas products. This ensures that the case study serves both companies, possibly generating customer interest in Bombas socks.
What works: Outfunnel has repurposed its case study into a blog post, which increases its visibility. The study is also full of client quotes, which adds valuable social proof.
What works: Sapling also shares quick preliminary information about Zapier on the left panel and includes several screenshots to show the impact of their product on the company’s processes.
What works: The quick metrics in bold hit readers quickly and highlight BigCommerce expertise to potential customers even before they read the entire case study.
What works: Video format. Few things beat hearing the client praise the service and explain the process and results of the campaign in their own words.
What works: The main benefit is highlighted on the first page of the PDF and the rest of the study delves into the process and the nitty-gritty of the product’s impact.
What works: This page features minimal text. It focuses on quotes from decision-makers at Upwork and ends with a call-to-action that will likely drive conversions.
How to write your own case study
How can you write engaging, effective case studies like the examples above? Here are six steps.
1. Identify a worthy case
Think of projects—either for yourself or for clients—that got outstanding results. Then, whittle it down to the cases that your target audience is most likely to relate to, perhaps because they experience the same problem or have the same goal as in the case.
2. Reflect on your chosen case
Once you’ve decided on the case you’ll start with, do some deeper reflection on the details. What was the project goal? What challenges did you encounter along the way? How did you overcome them to reach your goal?
3. Think about differentiation
Take the last step even further and think of anything you did differently than others might. Did you an experimental tactic or strategy or create a custom solution? If so, use those details to subtly show potential customers why they should be interested in what you have to offer.
4. Gather quotes
Next, get hard-hitting quotes from project stakeholders or clients. Having their thoughts on goals, project obstacles, the solutions provided, and the outcomes will make your description of the case more credible.
5. Draft your case study
Time to turn the details you’ve compiled into a case study draft. How? We’ll talk about the best format for case studies shortly.
6. Add visuals
Next, create visuals that will reinforce the main points of your case study. These could include:
Charts or screenshots to show the change in metrics before and after the project
An infographic to give a brief visual overview of the case
Pictures of deliverables (e.g. a web design agency might show a picture of the new site it designed for a client)
Product images such as screenshots from within your software that was used on the project
After any designated reviewers and approvers give their stamp of approval on the case study, it’s ready to be published and promoted!
We’ve seen A+ examples of case studies and gotten some more context on how to create them for your brand or organization. Now, it's time to get to work. As you do, remember to include the following vital sections in your case study format:
Title
Client name and profile
The problem
Your solution (and screenshots!)
Quotes
Before and after (real results with data)
Appealing visuals, photos, illustrations, infographics, charts, and graphs
A memorable CTA
Ready to get started? Thankfully, you don’t have to go it alone.
GatherContent—a powerful tool for case study creation
GatherContent makes it possible to keep track of all your case study research—even while working with your marketing team. You don’t have to guess what stage the piece is at or consult another tool to know when your part is due or who to pass the torch to.
GatherContent is a content hub that helps you keep all your content creation in one place, whether you’re writing blog posts, email newsletters, social media posts, or case studies. With content modeling features like Components, you can effortlessly maintain brand identity throughout all your case studies.
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