Writing a case study a serious buyer will forward

For a considered purchase, the case study does more work than any other page. It is the evidence a careful buyer needs and the thing they send to whoever else has to agree.

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A case study needs the situation before, what was actually done and why, what happened as a result, and enough specific detail to be credible. Real numbers where you can share them, honest description of what was difficult, and a named client where permission allows. Polished, vague success stories persuade nobody who is paying attention.

Who reads them and why

Case studies are read late in the decision, by somebody who is already interested and now looking for reasons to be confident or reasons to rule you out. That is a different reader from the one skimming your homepage.

They are also read by the person who was not in the room. In many purchases somebody has to justify the choice to a partner, a board or a spouse, and the case study is what gets forwarded. It needs to survive being read without you there to explain it.

The structure that works

Four parts, in order, with the detail concentrated in the middle two. Anything else is decoration.

  • The situation: who they were, what was wrong, why it mattered.
  • The approach: what you actually did, and why that rather than the obvious alternative.
  • The result: what changed, with real figures where you are allowed to share them.
  • The honest part: what was difficult, what you would do differently, what is still ongoing.

Specifics are what make it believable

The difference between a persuasive case study and a forgettable one is almost entirely detail. Not adjectives, but particulars: the constraint that made it awkward, the decision that turned out to matter, the thing that surprised you.

Details of that kind cannot be invented casually, and readers know it. That is precisely why they work.

Numbers: only real ones

Where you can share genuine figures, they are the strongest part of the page. Where you cannot, describe the change qualitatively rather than inventing something plausible.

Never publish an estimated result as though it were measured. A careful buyer will ask how it was measured, and an answer that falls apart takes the rest of the page with it. If a figure came from the client, say so and say when.

  • Use figures you can source, and say where they came from.
  • Give the time period, since a result without one means little.
  • If the client will not allow numbers, say what changed instead.
  • Never round upward, and never present an estimate as a measurement.

Permission, and what to do without it

Ask before publishing anything identifiable, in writing, and be specific about what you want to include: the name, the figures, the photographs. Clients say yes more often when the request is precise and they can see the draft.

Where permission is refused, publish the anonymous version. A described situation with no name is weaker than a named one and considerably stronger than nothing. What you must not do is imply a name you were not given.

Publish the ones that resemble the work you want

Case studies are a filter as well as evidence. Whatever you publish is what you will be asked for, so choose them the way you would choose next year's workload.

If you want larger projects and have only done a few, lead with those and describe them thoroughly. One detailed account of the work you want beats twenty summaries of the work you are trying to leave behind.

How Licheo builds case studies

We write them around the four parts above, with the difficulties included, because a case study with no friction in it reads as marketing rather than as evidence.

And we publish only figures we can source. Estimated results do not appear on this site or in any proposal, since a number that turns out to be invented costs far more than it ever earned.

Part of a larger guide

This page is one part of Better clients, not more. The other parts:

Questions people ask

What should a case study include?
The situation before, what you actually did and why, what changed as a result, and an honest note about what was difficult. Specific details are what make it believable; adjectives are not.
What if I cannot share numbers?
Describe the change qualitatively and say why figures are not included. Never invent a plausible number: a careful buyer will ask how it was measured, and an answer that collapses discredits the whole page.
Do I need the client's permission?
For anything identifiable, yes, and get it in writing. Be specific about the name, figures and photographs you want to use, and show them the draft. Precise requests are agreed to far more often than vague ones.
How long should a case study be?
Long enough to include the detail that makes it credible, which is usually longer than people expect. The reader at this stage is deliberately looking for substance, not skimming.
Should I include projects that went badly?
Include the difficulties inside otherwise successful projects, which is what makes the account trustworthy. A page with no friction anywhere in it reads as marketing rather than as evidence.

Publish evidence people will forward

Real detail, honest difficulty, and only figures we can source. That is what a careful buyer is actually looking for.

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