The best case study you’ll ever write takes three questions

BySumeera
Woman making heart sign with her hands

Ask any small business owner how they win new clients, and you’ll hear the same thing: word of mouth, recommendations, someone who knew someone.

A case study is word of mouth you can send to anyone. And yet sometimes, most of the businesses I search or look up often have none on their website. Not because they haven’t done great work, but because writing it up feels like a big job.

It isn’t. You just need three questions.

Why case studies are worth the effort

When a potential client lands on your website, they’re asking themselves one thing: “Have they helped someone like me?”

Your services page tells them what you do.
A case study shows them. It’s proof, in someone else’s words, that you deliver.

It also gives you content for weeks: a LinkedIn post, a newsletter story, a slide in your pitch deck, a quote for your homepage.

The three questions

Email a happy client and ask:

  1. What was going on before we worked together? This is the problem, and it’s what your next client will recognise in themselves.
  2. What did we do? Keep it simple. The steps, not the jargon.
  3. What’s different now? Numbers if they have them, feelings if they don’t. “I finally have time to focus on my clients” is just as powerful as “enquiries went up 40%”.

That’s it. Most clients will happily reply in ten minutes, especially if you tell them a few bullet points is fine.

Turning answers into a case study

Once you have their reply:

  • Write a headline that names the result, such as “How a local accountant doubled her LinkedIn enquiries”.
  • Use their words wherever you can. A real quote beats your best copywriting every time.
  • Keep it short. 300 to 500 words is plenty.
  • Add a photo of the client, their team or their work.
  • End with a next step, like a link to book a call.

Send it back to your client to check before you publish. They’ll usually share it too, which is a lovely bonus.

Make it a habit

The easiest time to ask for a case study is right after a project wraps up, while everyone’s still pleased. Add the three questions to your end-of-project email, and you’ll never have to think about it again.