case study questions and answers in marketing

28 Case Study Examples Every Marketer Should See

Published: March 08, 2023

Putting together a compelling case study is one of the most powerful strategies for showcasing your product and attracting future customers. But it's not easy to create case studies that your audience can’t wait to read.

In this post, we’ll go over the definition of a case study and the best examples to inspire you.

What is a case study?

A case study is a detailed story of something your company did. It includes a beginning — often discussing a conflict, an explanation of what happened next, and a resolution that explains how the company solved or improved on something.

A case study proves how your product has helped other companies by demonstrating real-life results. Not only that, but marketing case studies with solutions typically contain quotes from the customer. This means that they’re not just ads where you praise your own product. Rather, other companies are praising your company — and there’s no stronger marketing material than a verbal recommendation or testimonial. A great case study is also filled with research and stats to back up points made about a project's results.

There are myriad ways to use case studies in your marketing strategy . From featuring them on your website to including them in a sales presentation, a case study is a strong, persuasive tool that shows customers why they should work with you — straight from another customer. Writing one from scratch is hard, though, which is why we’ve created a collection of case study templates for you to get started.

Fill out the form below to access the free case study templates.

Free Case Study Templates

Showcase your company's success using these three free case study templates.

• Data-Driven Case Study Template
• Product-Specific Case Study Template
• General Case Study Template

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

There’s no better way to generate more leads than by writing case studies . But without case study examples to draw inspiration from, it can be difficult to write impactful studies that convince visitors to submit a form.

Marketing Case Study Examples

To help you create an attractive and high-converting case study, we've put together a list of some of our favorites. This list includes famous case studies in marketing, technology, and business.

These studies can show you how to frame your company offers in a way that is both meaningful and useful to your audience. So, take a look, and let these examples inspire your next brilliant case study design.

These marketing case studies with solutions show the value proposition of each product. They also show how each company benefited in both the short and long term using quantitative data. In other words, you don’t get just nice statements, like "This company helped us a lot." You see actual change within the firm through numbers and figures.

You can put your learnings into action with HubSpot's Free Case Study Templates . Available as custom designs and text-based documents, you can upload these templates to your CMS or send them to prospects as you see fit.

1. " How Handled Scaled from Zero to 121 Locations with the Help of HubSpot ," by HubSpot

What's interesting about this case study is the way it leads with the customer. That reflects a major HubSpot cornerstone, which is to always solve for the customer first. The copy leads with a brief description of why the CEO of Handled founded the company and why he thought Handled could benefit from adopting a CRM. The case study also opens up with one key data point about Handled’s success using HubSpot, namely that it grew to 121 locations.

Notice that this case study uses mixed media. Yes, there is a short video, but it's elaborated upon in the other text on the page. So while your case studies can use one or the other, don't be afraid to combine written copy with visuals to emphasize the project's success.

Key Learnings from the HubSpot Case Study Example

• Give the case study a personal touch by focusing on the CEO rather than the company itself.
• Use multimedia to engage website visitors as they read the case study.

2. " The Whole Package ," by IDEO

Here's a design company that knows how to lead with simplicity in its case studies. As soon as the visitor arrives at the page, they’re greeted with a big, bold photo and the title of the case study — which just so happens to summarize how IDEO helped its client. It summarizes the case study in three snippets: The challenge, the impact, and the outcome.

Immediately, IDEO communicates its impact — the company partnered with H&M to remove plastic from its packaging — but it doesn't stop there. As the user scrolls down, the challenge, impact, and progress are elaborated upon with comprehensive (but not overwhelming) copy that outlines what that process looked like, replete with quotes and intriguing visuals.

Key Learnings from the IDEO Case Study Example

• Split up the takeaways of your case studies into bite-sized sections.
• Always use visuals and images to enrich the case study experience, especially if it’s a comprehensive case study.

3. " Rozum Robotics intensifies its PR game with Awario ," by Awario

In this case study, Awario greets the user with a summary straight away — so if you’re feeling up to reading the entire case study, you can scan the snapshot and understand how the company serves its customers. The case study then includes jump links to several sections, such as "Company Profile," "Rozum Robotics' Pains," "Challenge," "Solution," and "Results and Improvements."

The sparse copy and prominent headings show that you don’t need a lot of elaborate information to show the value of your products and services. Like the other case study examples on this list, it includes visuals and quotes to demonstrate the effectiveness of the company’s efforts. The case study ends with a bulleted list that shows the results.

Key Learnings from the Awario Robotics Case Study Example

• Create a table of contents to make your case study easier to navigate.
• Include a bulleted list of the results you achieved for your client.

4. " Chevrolet DTU ," by Carol H. Williams

If you’ve worked with a company that’s well-known, use only the name in the title — like Carol H. Williams, one of the nation’s top advertising agencies, does here. The "DTU," stands for "Discover the Unexpected." It generates interest because you want to find out what the initials mean.

They keep your interest in this case study by using a mixture of headings, images, and videos to describe the challenges, objectives, and solutions of the project. The case study closes with a summary of the key achievements that Chevrolet’s DTU Journalism Fellows reached during the project.

Key Learnings from the Carol H. Williams Case Study Example

• If you’ve worked with a big brand before, consider only using the name in the title — just enough to pique interest.
• Use a mixture of headings and subheadings to guide users through the case study.

5. " How Fractl Earned Links from 931 Unique Domains for Porch.com in a Single Year ," by Fractl

Fractl uses both text and graphic design in their Porch.com case study to immerse the viewer in a more interesting user experience. For instance, as you scroll, you'll see the results are illustrated in an infographic-design form as well as the text itself.

Further down the page, they use icons like a heart and a circle to illustrate their pitch angles, and graphs to showcase their results. Rather than writing which publications have mentioned Porch.com during Fractl’s campaign, they incorporated the media outlets’ icons for further visual diversity.

Key Learnings from the Fractl Case Study Example

• Let pictures speak for you by incorporating graphs, logos, and icons all throughout the case study.
• Start the case study by right away stating the key results, like Fractl does, instead of putting the results all the way at the bottom.

6. " The Met ," by Fantasy

What's the best way to showcase the responsiveness and user interface of a website? Probably by diving right into it with a series of simple showcases— which is exactly what Fantasy does on their case study page for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They keep the page simple and clean, inviting you to review their redesign of the Met’s website feature-by-feature.

Each section is simple, showing a single piece of the new website's interface so that users aren’t overwhelmed with information and can focus on what matters most.

If you're more interested in text, you can read the objective for each feature. Fantasy understands that, as a potential customer, this is all you need to know. Scrolling further, you're greeted with a simple "Contact Us" CTA.

Key Learnings from the Fantasy Case Study Example

• You don’t have to write a ton of text to create a great case study. Focus on the solution you delivered itself.
• Include a CTA at the bottom inviting visitors to contact you.

7. " Rovio: How Rovio Grew Into a Gaming Superpower ," by App Annie

If your client had a lot of positive things to say about you, take a note from App Annie’s Rovio case study and open up with a quote from your client. The case study also closes with a quote, so that the case study doesn’t seem like a promotion written by your marketing team but a story that’s taken straight from your client’s mouth. It includes a photo of a Rovio employee, too.

Another thing this example does well? It immediately includes a link to the product that Rovio used (namely, App Annie Intelligence) at the top of the case study. The case study closes with a call-to-action button prompting users to book a demo.

Key Learnings from the App Annie Case Study Example

• Feature quotes from your client at the beginning and end of the case study.
• Include a mention of the product right at the beginning and prompt users to learn more about the product.

8. " Embracing first-party data: 3 success stories from HubSpot ," by Think with Google

Google takes a different approach to text-focused case studies by choosing three different companies to highlight.

The case study is clean and easily scannable. It has sections for each company, with quotes and headers that clarify the way these three distinct stories connect. The simple format also uses colors and text that align with the Google brand.

Another differentiator is the focus on data. This case study is less than a thousand words, but it's packed with useful data points. Data-driven insights quickly and clearly show how the value of leveraging first-party data while prioritizing consumer privacy.

Key Learnings from the Think with Google Case Study Example

• A case study doesn’t need to be long or complex to be powerful.
• Clear data points are a quick and effective way to prove value.

9. " In-Depth Performance Marketing Case Study ," by Switch

Switch is an international marketing agency based in Malta that knocks it out of the park with this case study. Its biggest challenge is effectively communicating what it did for its client without ever revealing the client’s name. It also effectively keeps non-marketers in the loop by including a glossary of terms on page 4.

The PDF case study reads like a compelling research article, including titles like "In-Depth Performance Marketing Case Study," "Scenario," and "Approach," so that readers get a high-level overview of what the client needed and why they approached Switch. It also includes a different page for each strategy. For instance, if you’d only be interested in hiring Switch for optimizing your Facebook ads, you can skip to page 10 to see how they did it.

The PDF is fourteen pages long but features big fonts and plenty of white space, so viewers can easily skim it in only a few minutes.

Key Learnings from the Switch Case Study Example

• If you want to go into specialized information, include a glossary of terms so that non-specialists can easily understand.
• Close with a CTA page in your case study PDF and include contact information for prospective clients.

10. " Gila River ," by OH Partners

Let pictures speak for you, like OH Partners did in this case study. While you’ll quickly come across a heading and some text when you land on this case study page, you’ll get the bulk of the case study through examples of actual work OH Partners did for its client. You will see OH Partners’ work in a billboard, magazine, and video. This communicates to website visitors that if they work with OH Partners, their business will be visible everywhere.

And like the other case studies here, it closes with a summary of what the firm achieved for its client in an eye-catching way.

Key Learnings from the OH Partners Case Study Example

• Let the visuals speak by including examples of the actual work you did for your client — which is especially useful for branding and marketing agencies.
• Always close out with your achievements and how they impacted your client.

11. " Facing a Hater ," by Digitas

Digitas' case study page for Sprite’s #ILOVEYOUHATER campaign keeps it brief while communicating the key facts of Digitas’ work for the popular soda brand. The page opens with an impactful image of a hundred people facing a single man. It turns out, that man is the biggest "bully" in Argentina, and the people facing him are those whom he’s bullied before.

Scrolling down, it's obvious that Digitas kept Sprite at the forefront of their strategy, but more than that, they used real people as their focal point. They leveraged the Twitter API to pull data from Tweets that people had actually tweeted to find the identity of the biggest "hater" in the country. That turned out to be @AguanteElCofler, a Twitter user who has since been suspended.

Key Learnings from the Digitas Case Study Example

• If a video was part of your work for your client, be sure to include the most impactful screenshot as the heading.
• Don’t be afraid to provide details on how you helped your client achieve their goals, including the tools you leveraged.

12. " Better Experiences for All ," by HermanMiller

HermanMiller sells sleek, utilitarian furniture with no frills and extreme functionality, and that ethos extends to its case study page for a hospital in Dubai.

What first attracted me to this case study was the beautiful video at the top and the clean user experience. User experience matters a lot in a case study. It determines whether users will keep reading or leave. Another notable aspect of this case study is that the video includes closed-captioning for greater accessibility, and users have the option of expanding the CC and searching through the text.

HermanMiller’s case study also offers an impressive amount of information packed in just a few short paragraphs for those wanting to understand the nuances of their strategy. It closes out with a quote from their client and, most importantly, the list of furniture products that the hospital purchased from the brand.

Key Learnings from the HermanMiller Case Study Example

• Close out with a list of products that users can buy after reading the case study.
• Include accessibility features such as closed captioning and night mode to make your case study more user-friendly.

13. " Capital One on AWS ," by Amazon

Do you work continuously with your clients? Consider structuring your case study page like Amazon did in this stellar case study example. Instead of just featuring one article about Capital One and how it benefited from using AWS, Amazon features a series of articles that you can then access if you’re interested in reading more. It goes all the way back to 2016, all with different stories that feature Capital One’s achievements using AWS.

This may look unattainable for a small firm, but you don’t have to go to extreme measures and do it for every single one of your clients. You could choose the one you most wish to focus on and establish a contact both on your side and your client’s for coming up with the content. Check in every year and write a new piece. These don’t have to be long, either — five hundred to eight hundred words will do.

Key Learnings from the Amazon AWS Case Study Example

• Write a new article each year featuring one of your clients, then include links to those articles in one big case study page.
• Consider including external articles as well that emphasize your client’s success in their industry.

14. " HackReactor teaches the world to code #withAsana ," by Asana

While Asana's case study design looks text-heavy, there's a good reason. It reads like a creative story, told entirely from the customer's perspective.

For instance, Asana knows you won't trust its word alone on why this product is useful. So, they let Tony Phillips, HackReactor CEO, tell you instead: "We take in a lot of information. Our brains are awful at storage but very good at thinking; you really start to want some third party to store your information so you can do something with it."

Asana features frequent quotes from Phillips to break up the wall of text and humanize the case study. It reads like an in-depth interview and captivates the reader through creative storytelling. Even more, Asana includes in-depth detail about how HackReactor uses Asana. This includes how they build templates and workflows:

"There's a huge differentiator between Asana and other tools, and that’s the very easy API access. Even if Asana isn’t the perfect fit for a workflow, someone like me— a relatively mediocre software engineer—can add functionality via the API to build a custom solution that helps a team get more done."

Key Learnings from the Asana Example

• Include quotes from your client throughout the case study.
• Provide extensive detail on how your client worked with you or used your product.

15. " Rips Sewed, Brand Love Reaped ," by Amp Agency

Amp Agency's Patagonia marketing strategy aimed to appeal to a new audience through guerrilla marketing efforts and a coast-to-coast road trip. Their case study page effectively conveys a voyager theme, complete with real photos of Patagonia customers from across the U.S., and a map of the expedition. I liked Amp Agency's storytelling approach best. It captures viewers' attention from start to finish simply because it's an intriguing and unique approach to marketing.

Key Learnings from the Amp Agency Example

• Open up with a summary that communicates who your client is and why they reached out to you.
• Like in the other case study examples, you’ll want to close out with a quantitative list of your achievements.

16. " NetApp ," by Evisort

Evisort opens up its NetApp case study with an at-a-glance overview of the client. It’s imperative to always focus on the client in your case study — not on your amazing product and equally amazing team. By opening up with a snapshot of the client’s company, Evisort places the focus on the client.

This case study example checks all the boxes for a great case study that’s informative, thorough, and compelling. It includes quotes from the client and details about the challenges NetApp faced during the COVID pandemic. It closes out with a quote from the client and with a link to download the case study in PDF format, which is incredibly important if you want your case study to be accessible in a wider variety of formats.

Key Learnings from the Evisort Example

• Place the focus immediately on your client by including a snapshot of their company.
• Mention challenging eras, such as a pandemic or recession, to show how your company can help your client succeed even during difficult times.

17. " Copernicus Land Monitoring – CLC+ Core ," by Cloudflight

Including highly specialized information in your case study is an effective way to show prospects that you’re not just trying to get their business. You’re deep within their industry, too, and willing to learn everything you need to learn to create a solution that works specifically for them.

Cloudflight does a splendid job at that in its Copernicus Land Monitoring case study. While the information may be difficult to read at first glance, it will capture the interest of prospects who are in the environmental industry. It thus shows Cloudflight’s value as a partner much more effectively than a general case study would.

The page is comprehensive and ends with a compelling call-to-action — "Looking for a solution that automates, and enhances your Big Data system? Are you struggling with large datasets and accessibility? We would be happy to advise and support you!" The clean, whitespace-heavy page is an effective example of using a case study to capture future leads.

Key Learnings from the Cloudflight Case Study Example

• Don’t be afraid to get technical in your explanation of what you did for your client.
• Include a snapshot of the sales representative prospects should contact, especially if you have different sales reps for different industries, like Cloudflight does.

18. " Valvoline Increases Coupon Send Rate by 76% with Textel’s MMS Picture Texting ," by Textel

If you’re targeting large enterprises with a long purchasing cycle, you’ll want to include a wealth of information in an easily transferable format. That’s what Textel does here in its PDF case study for Valvoline. It greets the user with an eye-catching headline that shows the value of using Textel. Valvoline saw a significant return on investment from using the platform.

Another smart decision in this case study is highlighting the client’s quote by putting it in green font and doing the same thing for the client’s results because it helps the reader quickly connect the two pieces of information. If you’re in a hurry, you can also take a look at the "At a Glance" column to get the key facts of the case study, starting with information about Valvoline.

Key Learnings from the Textel Case Study Example

• Include your client’s ROI right in the title of the case study.
• Add an "At a Glance" column to your case study PDF to make it easy to get insights without needing to read all the text.

19. " Hunt Club and Happeo — a tech-enabled love story ," by Happeo

In this blog-post-like case study, Happeo opens with a quote from the client, then dives into a compelling heading: "Technology at the forefront of Hunt Club's strategy." Say you’re investigating Happeo as a solution and consider your firm to be technology-driven. This approach would spark your curiosity about why the client chose to work with Happeo. It also effectively communicates the software’s value proposition without sounding like it’s coming from an in-house marketing team.

Every paragraph is a quote written from the customer’s perspective. Later down the page, the case study also dives into "the features that changed the game for Hunt Club," giving Happeo a chance to highlight some of the platform’s most salient features.

Key Learnings from the Happeo Case Study Example

• Consider writing the entirety of the case study from the perspective of the customer.
• Include a list of the features that convinced your client to go with you.

20. " Red Sox Season Campaign ," by CTP Boston

What's great about CTP's case study page for their Red Sox Season Campaign is their combination of video, images, and text. A video automatically begins playing when you visit the page, and as you scroll, you'll see more embedded videos of Red Sox players, a compilation of print ads, and social media images you can click to enlarge.

At the bottom, it says "Find out how we can do something similar for your brand." The page is clean, cohesive, and aesthetically pleasing. It invites viewers to appreciate the well-roundedness of CTP's campaign for Boston's beloved baseball team.

Key Learnings from the CTP Case Study Example

• Include a video in the heading of the case study.
• Close with a call-to-action that makes leads want to turn into prospects.

21. " Acoustic ," by Genuine

Sometimes, simple is key. Genuine's case study for Acoustic is straightforward and minimal, with just a few short paragraphs, including "Reimagining the B2B website experience," "Speaking to marketers 1:1," and "Inventing Together." After the core of the case study, we then see a quote from Acoustic’s CMO and the results Genuine achieved for the company.

The simplicity of the page allows the reader to focus on both the visual aspects and the copy. The page displays Genuine's brand personality while offering the viewer all the necessary information they need.

• You don’t need to write a lot to create a great case study. Keep it simple.
• Always include quantifiable data to illustrate the results you achieved for your client.

22. " Using Apptio Targetprocess Automated Rules in Wargaming ," by Apptio

Apptio’s case study for Wargaming summarizes three key pieces of information right at the beginning: The goals, the obstacles, and the results.

Readers then have the opportunity to continue reading — or they can walk away right then with the information they need. This case study also excels in keeping the human interest factor by formatting the information like an interview.

The piece is well-organized and uses compelling headers to keep the reader engaged. Despite its length, Apptio's case study is appealing enough to keep the viewer's attention. Every Apptio case study ends with a "recommendation for other companies" section, where the client can give advice for other companies that are looking for a similar solution but aren’t sure how to get started.

Key Learnings from the Apptio Case Study Example

• Put your client in an advisory role by giving them the opportunity to give recommendations to other companies that are reading the case study.
• Include the takeaways from the case study right at the beginning so prospects quickly get what they need.

23. " Airbnb + Zendesk: building a powerful solution together ," by Zendesk

Zendesk's Airbnb case study reads like a blog post, and focuses equally on Zendesk and Airbnb, highlighting a true partnership between the companies. To captivate readers, it begins like this: "Halfway around the globe is a place to stay with your name on it. At least for a weekend."

The piece focuses on telling a good story and provides photographs of beautiful Airbnb locations. In a case study meant to highlight Zendesk's helpfulness, nothing could be more authentic than their decision to focus on Airbnb's service in such great detail.

Key Learnings from the Zendesk Case Study Example

• Include images of your client’s offerings — not necessarily of the service or product you provided. Notice how Zendesk doesn’t include screenshots of its product.
• Include a call-to-action right at the beginning of the case study. Zendesk gives you two options: to find a solution or start a trial.

24. " Biobot Customer Success Story: Rollins College, Winter Park, Florida ," by Biobot

Like some of the other top examples in this list, Biobot opens its case study with a quote from its client, which captures the value proposition of working with Biobot. It mentions the COVID pandemic and goes into detail about the challenges the client faced during this time.

This case study is structured more like a news article than a traditional case study. This format can work in more formal industries where decision-makers need to see in-depth information about the case. Be sure to test different methods and measure engagement .

Key Learnings from the Biobot Case Study Example

• Mention environmental, public health, or economic emergencies and how you helped your client get past such difficult times.
• Feel free to write the case study like a normal blog post, but be sure to test different methods to find the one that best works for you.

25. " Discovering Cost Savings With Efficient Decision Making ," by Gartner

You don't always need a ton of text or a video to convey your message — sometimes, you just need a few paragraphs and bullet points. Gartner does a fantastic job of quickly providing the fundamental statistics a potential customer would need to know, without boggling down their readers with dense paragraphs. The case study closes with a shaded box that summarizes the impact that Gartner had on its client. It includes a quote and a call-to-action to "Learn More."

Key Learnings from the Gartner Case Study Example

• Feel free to keep the case study short.
• Include a call-to-action at the bottom that takes the reader to a page that most relates to them.

26. " Bringing an Operator to the Game ," by Redapt

This case study example by Redapt is another great demonstration of the power of summarizing your case study’s takeaways right at the start of the study. Redapt includes three easy-to-scan columns: "The problem," "the solution," and "the outcome." But its most notable feature is a section titled "Moment of clarity," which shows why this particular project was difficult or challenging.

The section is shaded in green, making it impossible to miss. Redapt does the same thing for each case study. In the same way, you should highlight the "turning point" for both you and your client when you were working toward a solution.

Key Learnings from the Redapt Case Study Example

• Highlight the turning point for both you and your client during the solution-seeking process.
• Use the same structure (including the same headings) for your case studies to make them easy to scan and read.

27. " Virtual Call Center Sees 300% Boost In Contact Rate ," by Convoso

Convoso’s PDF case study for Digital Market Media immediately mentions the results that the client achieved and takes advantage of white space. On the second page, the case study presents more influential results. It’s colorful and engaging and closes with a spread that prompts readers to request a demo.

Key Learnings from the Convoso Case Study Example

• List the results of your work right at the beginning of the case study.
• Use color to differentiate your case study from others. Convoso’s example is one of the most colorful ones on this list.

28. " Ensuring quality of service during a pandemic ," by Ericsson

Ericsson’s case study page for Orange Spain is an excellent example of using diverse written and visual media — such as videos, graphs, and quotes — to showcase the success a client experienced. Throughout the case study, Ericsson provides links to product and service pages users might find relevant as they’re reading the study.

For instance, under the heading "Preloaded with the power of automation," Ericsson mentions its Ericsson Operations Engine product, then links to that product page. It closes the case study with a link to another product page.

Key Learnings from the Ericsson Case Study Example

• Link to product pages throughout the case study so that readers can learn more about the solution you offer.
• Use multimedia to engage users as they read the case study.

Start creating your case study.

Now that you've got a great list of examples of case studies, think about a topic you'd like to write about that highlights your company or work you did with a customer.

A customer’s success story is the most persuasive marketing material you could ever create. With a strong portfolio of case studies, you can ensure prospects know why they should give you their business.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

How to Write a Case Study: Bookmarkable Guide & Template

How to Market an Ebook: 21 Ways to Promote Your Content Offers

7 Pieces of Content Your Audience Really Wants to See [New Data]

How to Write a Listicle [+ Examples and Ideas]

What Is a White Paper? [FAQs]

What is an Advertorial? 8 Examples to Help You Write One

How to Create Marketing Offers That Don't Fall Flat

20 Creative Ways To Repurpose Content

16 Important Ways to Use Case Studies in Your Marketing

11 Ways to Make Your Blog Post Interactive

Showcase your company's success using these free case study templates.

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

At SmartBug Media ® , we do it all. We’re with you at every stage of the customer lifecycle.

• Meet the Team
• SmartBug Culture
• News & Media
• Inbound Marketing

We’re Hiring!

Join our award-winning team of whip-smart marketers.

Client Success

• Case Studies
• Digital Designs
• Email Strategy
• Web Designs
• Testimonials
• View All Projects
• Manufacturing
• Senior Living

Recent Case Studies

How email marketing increased aov by 25%, how we used a digital overlay at an in-person event to increase mqls.

• Marketing Hub
• Service Hub
• Operations Hub
• Content Hub
• Commerce Hub

More Partners

Explore more of our top-tier partnerships.

• Marketing Strategy
• Sales & Marketing Alignment
• Reporting & Attribution
• Demand Generation
• Public Relations

Content Type

• Assessments
• View All Resources
• Senior Care

Recent Resources

Cmo marketing dashboard, utilizing hubspot service hub to maximize your full customer lifecycle.

23 Case Study Questions Every Marketer Should Ask

December 16, 2022

By Joe Gillespie

Case studies offer one of the most powerful types of content in the inbound marketer’s toolbox.

When done right—with descriptive storytelling and a powerful visual presentation—a case study can deliver a clinching message to leads in the decision stage of the buyer’s journey . Prospects who already know they need a solution to their problems read the case study and see how your company has helped others, which nudges them closer to becoming customers.

That said, case studies are a different animal from other inbound marketing content, such as blogs , e-books, pillar pages, and infographics. Most content in the awareness and consideration stages of the buyer’s journey doesn’t self-promote much but, instead, simply gives the reader information. The decision stage, however, is a chance to persuade leads that your solution is their best option. 

Shifting gears usually isn’t much of a problem for marketers, but switching to the case study format can be. The process is more journalistic—you conduct interviews, gather information, and weave a narrative—and that can be daunting for someone more accustomed to blogging than article writing.

Don’t stress out: Case studies aren’t difficult if you take your time, are diligent about gathering information and writing the content, and ask the right questions. And we can help with the questions! Below are 23 to ask when conducting the interviews.

Case Study Questions to Ask Your Project Manager

Usually, you will interview someone at your company—maybe a project manager, salesperson, client manager, customer liaison, or other colleague who deals with customers—who worked with the client you are profiling for the case study. 

Often, this interview will occur first and give you a good launching point for subsequent interviews with the customer’s representatives. You might already know the answers, but ask these questions anyway. You may get a deeper explanation from your interview subject and something quotable you can use in the case study.

(Note: I’m using product , solution , and service interchangeably throughout these case study questions; simply use the term that best applies to your company during the actual interviews.)

• What initial challenges did you encounter with the client that could be overcome with our product? This question is good to establish what problem the customer was experiencing and how your organization was poised to help.
• What process did you follow during implementation? Again, this may be obvious to you but is worth hearing from the PM. A little bit of process info in your case study can go a long way toward showing leads how you, step by step, can help solve their problem.
• What roadblocks for implementation did you help the client overcome? Highlighting how you assisted shows that no matter how messy a customer’s status with its previous solution is, you are positioned to overcome the hurdles that get in the way.
• How have we helped the client since implementation/introduction? Some customers are good to go after your solution is implemented, but others rely on additional support—be sure to find out what that support entails.
• What kind of success did the client enjoy with our product? Results, results, results!
• Did we go above and beyond with our service? If the answer to this is no, that’s OK, and perhaps you don’t want to set unreasonable expectations—even if you did go above and beyond—with the case study, which is also fine. That said, showing how you went the extra mile or were unusually innovative stands out to readers looking for a company that will take care of its customers.

Case Study Questions to Ask the Client

If a client has agreed to be the subject of a case study, they obviously are happy with the service you provided. Take advantage of this enthusiasm by asking open-ended questions and letting your interviewee gush about your organization and your solution.

Some of the case study questions listed here may seem redundant to the ones you asked internally, but ask them anyway. You want both perspectives, and often, the best quotes you hear and use will be from the client.

• Can you give a brief description of your company? If you aren’t familiar with the client, ask for some basic background. Yes, you usually can find such information online, but this is a good icebreaker to get the interviewee talking.
• How did you first hear about our service? If the client learned about you via other case studies or articles in outside publications or websites—or they simply knew about you by reputation or word of mouth—you definitely want to include that in the case study. For the reader, this info strengthens your industry presence and thought leadership. This question is also a good lead-in to learn about how the deal between the client and your company was finalized.
• What challenges/problems necessitated a change? Listen carefully to the answer to this question. Ideally, the challenges and problems the client was facing are exactly what your organization’s product addresses.
• What trends in your industry drove the need to use our product?
• What were you looking for in a solution?
• What made our solution stand out over others that you researched? Ideally, you want the interviewee to say how great your product is. This and other questions lead them to be your greatest advocate.
• What feature of our product was most appealing?
• How did you implement/introduce our solution? The rollout, and the steps taken to get to that point, can make or break the success of the solution. Ideally, the client will say the process was seamless and that your product and team were the reasons for such ease.
• How did our team help with implementation?
• What was the initial reaction to our product? In other words, how did the client’s users and customers accept and utilize the solution?
• How has our solution helped since implementation? Dig into the success realized by your product. This is important because it provides the basis of the case study: “X Company Used Our Solution and Achieved X Hundred Percent Growth.”
• Has this solution saved money and/or increased productivity?
• Can you share any metrics/KPIs that show the success you have enjoyed with our service? The more hard numbers, the better.
• What have you been most impressed with? Here’s another chance for the client to gush.
• What surprised you about us? Hopefully, the customer will share the positive unexpected—things that make you stand out amid the competition.
• What plans do you have to use our solution in the future? After initial success, many companies expand the use of a product, either to more people or additional applications. This info is also important to include in the case study because it shows that the client is not only sticking with your product but also using it to foster more growth and productivity.
• Is there anything else we should know? If you’ve been thorough, the answer to this is likely no, but the question still offers a chance for the interviewee to conclude.

A case study is a wonderful inbound marketing opportunity for your organization. Ask these questions, and use the answers to write a case study that helps your product and your company shine in the eyes of leads.

This blog was originally published on 2017 and has been updated since. 

Easily craft compelling customer interviews & provide leads with the information they need to make an informed decision.

Case Study Questions Template

About the author

Joe Gillespie is Director of Inbound Copy for SmartBug Media. He graduated from Marquette University with a B.A. in journalism and, before coming to SmartBug, was a two-decade veteran of the newspaper industry. Read more articles by Joe Gillespie .

Subscribe to get our new blogs delivered right to your inbox

Other insights you might like.

Content Marketing

Writing Awesome ChatGPT Prompts for Marketing: The Pro Writer’s Guide

Driving Sales One Resource at a Time: The Importance of Sales Enablement Content

Inbound Copywriting: What Great Authors Can Teach Us

Hacking the Case Interview

If you are interviewing for a consulting firm or marketing firm, expect to be given several case interviews or case study interviews during your interview process. You’ll need to ace every one of your case interviews in order to land a job offer.

If you have an upcoming marketing case interview, don’t worry because we have you covered. In this comprehensive article, we’ll cover:

• What is a marketing case interview?
• The 7 steps to solve any marketing case interview
• Marketing case interview framework
• Marketing case interview examples
• Recommended marketing case interview resources

If you’re looking for a step-by-step shortcut to learn case interviews quickly, enroll in our case interview course . These insider strategies from a former Bain interviewer helped 30,000+ land consulting offers while saving hundreds of hours of prep time.

What is a Marketing Case Interview?

Case interviews are a special type of interview that every single consulting firm uses. They are almost exclusively used by consulting firms, although some companies with ex-consultants may also use them.

A case interview, also known as a “case” for short, is a 30 to 45-minute exercise in which you and the interviewer work together to develop a recommendation or answer to a business problem.

For marketing case interviews, you’ll be given a business problem that has to do with designing or selling a product. Examples of the types of marketing case interview questions you could be given include:  

• How would you market [product X] to [customer segment X]?
• How would you decide what product to design for [customer segment X]?
• How would you decide which customer segment to target for [product X]?

Case interviews are used by consulting firms because they are the best way for firms to predict which candidates will make the best consultants. Case interviews do not predict this perfectly, but they come quite close.

Since case interviews simulate the consulting job by placing you in a hypothetical business situation, interviewers use case interviews to see how you would perform as a hypothetical consultant.

Many of the skills and qualities needed to successfully complete a case interview are the same skills and qualities needed to successfully finish a consulting case project. These skills and qualities include:

• Logical, structured thinking : Consultants need to be organized and methodical in order to work efficiently.
• Analytical problem solving : Consultants work with a tremendous amount of data and information in order to develop recommendations to complex problems.
• Business acumen : A strong business instinct helps consultants make the right decisions and develop the right recommendations.
• Communication skills : Consultants need strong communication skills to collaborate with teammates and clients effectively.
• Personality and cultural fit : Consultants spend a lot of time working closely in small teams. Having a personality and attitude that fits with the team makes the whole team work better together.

Case interviews also give you a sense of whether you would like the consulting job. If you find case interviews interesting and exciting, you’ll likely enjoy consulting. If you find case interviews dull and boring, consulting may not be the best profession for you.

The 7 Steps to Solve Any Marketing Case Interview

Although you cannot predict the exact case interview question or business situation you’ll be given, almost all case interviews follow a similar structure or flow. Therefore, you can follow these seven steps to solve any marketing case interview.

1. Understand the case background information

The case interview will start with the interviewer explaining the case background information. Make sure that you are taking notes while the interviewer is speaking. You’ll want to focus specifically on understanding the context, the company, and the objective of the case.

The most important part of the case interview is to make sure you understand the business issue and objective of the case. Addressing the wrong business problem is the quickest way to fail a case interview.

2. Ask clarifying questions

Once the interviewer has finished giving you the case information, you’ll have an opportunity to ask questions. 

While you can ask any question that you want, try to prioritize asking questions that help you better understand the situation and problem. You want to avoid asking questions that are too specific or not relevant to understanding the case situation. 

Most candidates ask between one to three questions. You’ll be able to ask more questions later in the case interview if you need to.

3. Summarize the information and verify the objective

Once you have finished asking your immediate questions, summarize all of the major case information and verify that you understand the objective correctly.

In this step, many candidates make the mistake of stating every fact of the case verbatim. Instead, you should summarize the case concisely and clearly in your own words. This demonstrates that you can synthesize information effectively.

4. Develop a framework

The next step is to structure a framework to help guide you through the case.

A case interview framework is a tool that helps you structure and break down a complex problem into simpler, smaller components. Think of a framework as brainstorming different ideas and organizing them into different categories.

To develop a framework, ask yourself what are the three to four major questions that you need to answer in order to make a confident recommendation?

Many candidates make the mistake of using memorized frameworks and applying them to their case interviews. Interviewers can tell when you are using a memorized framework because not all of the elements of the framework will be relevant to the case.

Using a memorized framework reflects poorly on your capabilities because it shows that you cannot think critically for yourself. Therefore, practice creating unique and tailored frameworks for each case that you get.

We’ll go over how to create outstanding marketing case interview frameworks in the next section of this article.

When creating your framework, it is acceptable to ask the interviewer for a few minutes of silence to collect your thoughts. Afterwards, present your framework to the interviewer.

5. Kick off the case

Once you have finished presenting your framework, the interviewer may agree with your approach or may provide some feedback or suggestions. Afterwards, it is time to start solving the case.

How the case investigation will start depends on whether your case is a candidate-led or interviewer-led case . Most cases are candidate-led.

Candidate-led case : In this type of case, you will be expected to drive the direction of the case. You will be suggesting what areas to explore, what analyses to do, and what the next step should be. So, pick an area of your framework to start analyzing. There is no right or wrong area to pick as long as it is relevant to solving the case.

Interviewer-led case : In this type of case, the interviewer will be leading the direction of the case. They will be asking you specific questions that you will answer. After each question, they’ll direct you to the next question. For interviewer-led cases, the interviewer will typically kick off the case by asking you a question after you finish presenting your framework.

6. Answer quantitative and qualitative questions

The majority of the interview will be spent answering a mix of quantitative and qualitative questions.

Quantitative questions may have you estimate the size of a particular market, perform some calculations to determine profitability, or interpret various charts and graphs.

When solving quantitative problems, make sure that you walk the interviewer through your approach before you begin doing any math. When performing calculations, make sure to talk through your steps out loud so that it is easy for the interviewer to follow your work.

Qualitative questions may ask you to brainstorm potential ideas or ask for your judgment on an open-ended business question. When answering these questions, try to structure your answer as much as possible.

After answering each question, make sure that you take your answer and connect it back to the overall case objective. How does your answer help you solve the case? How does your answer impact your potential recommendation?

7. Deliver a recommendation

At the end of the case, the interviewer will ask you to prepare an overall recommendation. It is acceptable to ask the interviewer for a minute to look through your notes before you give your recommendation.

Based on the quantitative and qualitative questions you have answered, what recommendation do they collectively support?

Structure your recommendation in the following way:

• State your recommendation
• Provide the two to three reasons that support your recommendation
• Propose next steps that you would take if you had more time

After you deliver your recommendation, the interviewer will conclude the case interview. If the case interview was based on a real life project, the interviewer may explain what actually happened in the case.

Don’t worry if your recommendation does not match what actually happened during the project. For case interviews, you are not assessed on your answer, but on your process.

Marketing Case Interview Framework

The only framework you need to know for marketing case interviews is the 5C’s + STP + 4P’s framework. Although this is the only marketing framework you need to know, we do not recommend that you simply memorize this framework and use it in every single marketing case interview.

Instead, we recommend that you fully understand each of the individual elements in this framework such that you can use specific elements here and there to piece together your own unique framework. We’ll have examples of how exactly to do this in the next section of the article.

At a high level, here’s how the 5C’s + STP + 4P’s framework is organized:

• 5 C’s : Helps analyze the business situation before making any marketing decisions
• STP : Helps identify which customer segment to target
• 4 P’s : Helps develop a strategy to implement marketing decisions

Let’s go through each of these components to understand the specific elements in each.

The goal of the 5 C’s framework is to collect and gather all of the relevant and necessary background information in order to make an informed marketing decision. 5 C’s stands for: company, collaborators, customers, competitors, and context.

• What products does the company have?
• What competitive advantages does the company have?
• What are the company’s goals?
• What is the company’s brand image?

Collaborators

• Who are the company’s suppliers and distributors?
• Who are the company’s investors?
• Who has the company partnered with?
• What other relationships does the company have with third parties?
• Who are the company’s customers?
• What are customer needs and preferences?
• What are customer purchasing habits or behaviors?
• What are customer perceptions of the company?

Competitors

• Who are the company’s competitors?
• What are competitors’ strengths and weaknesses?
• What are competitors’ strategies and tactics?
• Who are the new potential threats?
• What are the laws and regulations in this industry?
• What are the economic trends?
• What are the new emerging technologies?
• What are social or behavioral trends?

Having knowledge of these five elements will help you with the next part of the framework, STP.

The goal of STP is to help you identify which customer segment to target or focus on. There are three steps to STP: segmentation, targeting, and positioning.

Segmentation

The first step is to understand how the market is segmented. Customers have a wide variety of needs and preferences. Therefore, a broad marketing strategy targeting every customer will not be as effective as a tailored marketing strategy focused on a specific customer segment.

You will need to decide what type of segmentation makes the most sense for your product. You can segment customers on needs, use cases, or various demographics, such as age, geography, income, lifestyle, and attitudes.

At the end of this step, you should have a list of the different customer segments.

The next step is to evaluate the attractiveness of each segment and choose a target segment to focus on. There are many different factors to consider when selecting a target segment:  

• Which segment is the largest?
• Which segment is growing the quickest?
• What segment is the most profitable?
• Which segment is the most accessible?
• Which segment is the best fit for your product?
• Which segment has the potential for the most improvement?
• Which segment is the most influenced by marketing?

Once you have selected a customer segment to focus on, you can move onto the next step, developing a positioning statement.

Positioning

In this final step, you will determine how to position and communicate the product to potential customers.

Your positioning and communication of the product should be tailored to the specific needs and preferences of the customer segment you have decided to focus on. In determining how to position the product, ask yourself the following questions:

• What makes this customer segment different from others?
• What does this customer segment value?
• What are the attitudes or beliefs of this customer segment?

Below are a few examples of positioning statements from well-known companies:

• Amazon : For customers who want to purchase a wide variety of products online, Amazon offers a one-stop shopping experience
• Apple : For technology users who want a seamless experience, Apple leads the industry with the most innovative and easy-to-use products
• Disney : For consumers looking for unique entertainment, Disney provides magical memories and experiences

Having a positioning statement will help you decide the best way to market the product. To do that, you will move onto the next framework, the 4 P’s.

The goal of the 4 P’s is to develop an actionable strategy to market the product to the targeted customer segment. 4 P’s stands for product, place, promotion, and price.

If there are multiple products or different versions of a product, you will need to decide which product to market. To do this, you will need to fully understand the benefits and points of differentiation of each product.

Select the product that best fits customer needs and the positioning statement you developed for the segment you are focusing on.

You will need to decide where the product will be sold to customers. Different customer segments have different purchasing habits and behaviors. Therefore, some distribution channels will be more effective than others.

Should the product be sold directly to the customer online? Should the product be sold in the company’s stores? Should the product be sold through retail partners instead?

You will need to decide how to spread information about the product to customers. Different customer segments have different media consumption habits and preferences. Therefore, some promotional strategies will be more effective than others.

Promotional techniques and strategies include advertising, social media marketing, email marketing, search engine marketing, video marketing, and public relations. Select the strategies and techniques that will be the most effective.

You will need to decide how to price the product. Pricing is important because it determines the profits and the quantity of units sold. Pricing can also communicate information on the quality or value of the product.

If you price the product too high, you may be pricing the product above your customer segment’s willingness to pay. This would lead to lost sales.

If you price the product too low, you may be losing potential profit from customers who were willing to pay a higher price. You may also be losing profits from customers who perceive the product as low-quality due to a low price point.

In deciding on a price, you can consider the costs to produce the product, the prices of other similar products, and the value that you are providing to customers.

Marketing Case Interview Examples

By now, you should understand the components and elements of the only marketing case interview framework that you need to know. We’ll go through a few examples of how to use specific elements of the 5 C’s + STP + 4 P’s to create unique and tailored frameworks to marketing case interview questions.

Example #1: How would you market [product X] to [customer segment Y]?

How to answer: In order to decide how to best market a product, you need to first understand what the customers’ needs are. Next, you’d need to develop a positioning statement or value proposition for your product that addresses these needs. Finally, there are specific implementation decisions you would need to make that include how much to sell the product for and where to sell the product.

Therefore, your framework could look like the following:

• Customer needs: What are customer needs and preferences? What pain points or problems do they face?
• Value proposition: What is the positioning statement for the product? What value will it add to customers?
• Implementation: What should the optimal price be? How should the product be advertised? Where should the product be sold?

Example #2: How would you decide what product to design for [customer segment X]?

How to answer: For this question, you’ll need to understand the customer segment’s needs, preferences, behaviors, and purchasing habits. You’ll likely also need to look at competitors to see what kinds of products they offer. Finally, you can then decide on product features or characteristics based on this information.

• Competition: Who are the major competitors to the product that you’d be designing? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
• Product design: What product qualities and features are lacking in competitors’ products that customers have a need for?

Example #3: How would you decide which customer segment to target for [product X]?

How to answer: For this question, you’ll first need to understand what are the different customer segments and the characteristics of each customer segment that make them different from one another. You’ll also need to better understand the product to see which customer segment the product fits best with. Finally, you’ll likely need to calculate expected profitability of targeting each customer segment to see which is most attractive.

Therefore, your framework could look like the following:  

• Customer segment attractiveness: What are the different customer segments? What are the characteristics or behaviors of each segment? What are their needs or preferences?
• Product qualities: What are the characteristics of the product? What pain points or problems does the product solve for?
• Profitability: What are the expected revenues of targeting each customer segment? What are the expected costs? What are the expected profits?

More marketing case interview examples and practice

For more practice, check out our article on 23 MBA consulting casebooks with 700+ free practice cases .

In addition to marketing case interviews, we also have additional step-by-step guides to: profitability case interviews , market entry case interviews , growth strategy case interviews , M&A case interviews , pricing case interviews , operations case interviews , and private equity case interviews .

Recommended Marketing Case Interview Resources

Here are the resources we recommend to learn the most robust, effective case interview strategies in the least time-consuming way:

• Comprehensive Case Interview Course (our #1 recommendation): The only resource you need. Whether you have no business background, rusty math skills, or are short on time, this step-by-step course will transform you into a top 1% caser that lands multiple consulting offers.
• Hacking the Case Interview Book   (available on Amazon): Perfect for beginners that are short on time. Transform yourself from a stressed-out case interview newbie to a confident intermediate in under a week. Some readers finish this book in a day and can already tackle tough cases.
• The Ultimate Case Interview Workbook (available on Amazon): Perfect for intermediates struggling with frameworks, case math, or generating business insights. No need to find a case partner – these drills, practice problems, and full-length cases can all be done by yourself.
• Case Interview Coaching : Personalized, one-on-one coaching with former consulting interviewers
• Behavioral & Fit Interview Course : Be prepared for 98% of behavioral and fit questions in just a few hours. We'll teach you exactly how to draft answers that will impress your interviewer
• Resume Review & Editing : Transform your resume into one that will get you multiple interviews

Land Multiple Consulting Offers

Complete, step-by-step case interview course. 30,000+ happy customers.

• Content Writing Services
• Get in Touch

20+ Best Case Study Questions for Customer Interviews

Updated April 2023 : Case studies are a critical element of most SaaS marketing strategies. But what case study questions do you ask in the interview to ensure you elicit an authentic and compelling story?

In research we conducted this year, SaaS marketers ranked case studies the #1 most effective marketing tactic to increase sales—ahead of general website content, SEO, blog posts, social media and other marketing tactics.

Gathering the insights, data and customer quotes that make a case study resonate, however, takes some savvy when coming up with relevant case study questions for interviews with customers.

In this post, we’ll explore the best case study questions to ask at your next customer interview. 

Prepare your case study questions in advance

The best case study questions for interviews with customers, find a convenient time for the interview, send the case study questions ahead of time, an email interview won’t cut it, take notes and record the interview, watch out for these 4 common interview mistakes.

20+ Best Case Study Questions for Customer Interviews is the 4th post in a 7-part series on best practices for case studies .

You’ll probably have just 20 or 30 minutes to capture your customer’s story so be thoroughly prepared before you even schedule the case study interview. Case study questions generally fall into these categories:

• who your customer is (background)
• what their pain is (challenge)
• why they chose your solution (solution)
• what results they experienced (results)

Usually, the most logical way to structure your case study questions is chronologically—it’s helpful to think of the case study as a story with a natural narrative arc:

• beginning (background and challenge)
• middle (solution, including implementation)
• end (results)

Do you need help with your case studies? Partner with Uplift to drive more sales with case studies that convert .

Use the 4 categories below to craft a list of case study interview questions you’ll want to ask your customers:

• Tell me a little about your company.
• What do you love about working there?
• Tell me a bit about your role.
• What are your goals? Your company’s?
• What business challenges were you facing that caused you to look for a solution?
• Why were these challenges such a big problem for your company? For you?
• What were you hoping to achieve with a new solution?
• What criteria did the new solution need to meet?
• How were you planning to meaure the success of the new solution?
• What solutions did you try before you came to us? 
• How did you discover us?
• What did the vetting process look like?
• Why, specifically, did you choose to work with us?
• What services are we providing for you?
• What challenges do those services solve for you?
• Tell me a bit about the implementation process. 
• How are we supporting you when you need it?
• How has our solution impacted or benefited your end users?
• How has our solution impacted or benefited your company as a whole?
• Do you have any measurable data you can share around the impact or benefits of our solution?
• Overall, what’s it like working with us?
• What’s next for your company and us?
• What advice would you have for others considering our solution?

Tailor these case study questions to suit the person you’re talking to. Eliminate any that seem repetitive or irrelevant—and highlight 1 or 2 from each category that are most important. Leave space and time for follow-up questions.

Learn how to write a SaaS case study in 9 steps.

Your customers are busy—and they’re doing you a big favor by participating in the case study—so be as flexible as possible when you’re scheduling the case study interview. And while you’ll likely want to talk to them for hours, be respectful of their time and ask for 30 minutes.

Some people worry that sending case study questions in advance will result in less candid and honest responses. Not true. You want your customer to be at ease during your case study interview, and you want them to have all the information and data they need at their fingertips.

Providing the case study questions for interviews with customers ahead of time will lead to a more informative and useful interview. It also helps ensure that you have enough time to cover all the important points. During the interview, you can jump in with follow-up questions to dive deeper into certain areas if needed.

9 components your case studies need to include.

Don’t settle for a case study interview done by email. Not only are people more candid in conversation, but you’ll also be able to ask spur-of-the-moment questions and explore ideas as they’re presented.

Here are the 4 best ways you can conduct your case study interview:

• face-to-face (this is the best and most personable choice; try to arrange this if your customer is in your region)
• phone interview
• repurposing webinar

A recording and transcription of the case study interview will ensure accuracy and give you peace of mind. Down the road, you can also use the transcript for other marketing activities, such as grabbing testimonials and pull quotes, writing blog posts and more.

Use an app to record phone calls, or use Zoom or Google Meet to record video calls. Make sure you have permission to record the conversation.

1 . Using yes/no questions

Does your list have any yes/no questions? If so, be ready with follow-up questions. Better yet, revise the question so it’s open-ended to elicit a more thoughtful response.

2 . Not pushing for numbers

Don’t be afraid to ask for numbers, concrete examples or more information. You need these for a quality case study and this is your chance to get them. Don’t be afraid to repeat case study questions or rephrase them to make sure you get what you need.

3 . Not allowing the conversation to flow

You don’t need to be rigid about asking every single question on your list. The best insights are often unexpected so allow the conversation to flow a little—but don’t get too far off-topic or you’ll run out of time.

4 . Not listening to your customer

Don’t think you already have all the answers. Go into the case study interview with an open mind and be ready to listen.

Get help with your case studies

As a  SaaS content marketing agency , we write case studies, ebooks and blog posts for high-growth SaaS companies like ClickUp, WalkMe and Lean Data.  Check out our case study writing service .

21 Interview Questions to Help You Uncover Case Study Gold Get the powerful questions we use when conducting a case study interview, plus 7 interviewing dos and don'ts.

As the founder of Uplift Content, Emily leads her team in creating done-for-you case studies, ebooks and blog posts for high-growth SaaS companies like ClickUp, Calendly and WalkMe. Connect with Emily on Linkedin

Sign up for the Content Huddle newsletter

Learn from Emily’s 17 years of aha moments, mistakes, observations, and insights—and find out how you can apply these lessons to your own marketing efforts.

You can unsubscribe any time. Visit our  Terms of Use  for information on our privacy practices.

Marketing case study 101 (plus tips, examples, and templates)

Summary/Overview

If you’re familiar with content lines like, “See how our fancy new app saved Sarah 10 hours a week doing payroll,” you’ve encountered a marketing case study. That’s because case studies are one of the most powerful marketing tools, showcasing real-world applications and customer success stories that help build trust with potential customers.

More than 42% of marketers use case studies in their marketing strategy. Let’s face it — we love testimonials and reviews. People love hearing customer stories and experiences firsthand. In fact, 88% of consumers view reviews before making a purchase decision. Case studies work similarly by providing prospective customers with real-life stories demonstrating the brand’s success.

Case studies provide a more in-depth view of how your product solves an existing problem — something potential buyers can relate to and learn from.

In this article, we take a closer look at what marketing case studies are, why they’re important, and how you can use them to improve your content marketing efforts. You’ll also learn the key elements of a successful case study and how to turn a good case study into a great case study.

What is a marketing case study?

A case study is a narrative that documents a real-world situation or example. A marketing case study is a detailed examination and analysis of a specific strategy, initiative, or marketing campaign that a business has implemented. It’s intended to serve as an all-inclusive narrative that documents a real-world business situation and its outcome.

Marketing case studies are tools businesses use to showcase the effectiveness of a particular tool, technique, or service by using a real-world example. Companies often use case studies as sales collateral on websites, email marketing, social media , and other marketing materials. They provide readers with a firsthand look into how your product or service has helped someone else and demonstrate the value of your offering while building trust with potential customers.

Some common key components of a marketing case study include:

• Context: A case study begins by describing the business’s situation or problem. This often includes challenges, opportunities, or objectives.
• Strategy: An outline of the tactics or strategy utilized to address the business’s situation. This includes details such as the target audience, messaging, channels used, and other unique aspects of the approach.
• Implementation: Provide information about how the strategy was implemented, including timeline, resources, and budget.
• Results: This is arguably the most crucial part of a marketing case study. Present the results through data, metrics, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate the impact of the strategy. The results section should highlight both qualitative and quantitative data.
• Challenges and Solutions: A great case study not only focuses on the successes but addresses any obstacles faced during the campaign. Make sure to address any challenges and how they were overcome or mitigated.
• Customer Feedback: Including testimonials or quotes from satisfied clients is a great way to add credibility and authenticity to a case study. Choose customer feedback that reinforces the positive outcomes of the strategy taken.
• Visuals: Compelling case studies include visuals such as graphs, charts, images, videos, and infographics to make the information presented more engaging and easier to understand.
• Analysis: An optional way to conclude a case study includes discussing key takeaways, insights, and lessons learned from a campaign.

Case studies can help you connect your product to the customer’s needs by providing a real world examples of success and encouraging conversions.

Benefits of marketing case studies

Some of the key benefits of using case studies in your marketing efforts include the following:

• Building trust and credibility. You build trust and credibility with potential clients or customers by demonstrating real world success stories. In-depth looks at how your products or services have helped other businesses or people achieve success can increase customer loyalty and encourage repeat business.
• Learn best practices. Learn from strategies employed in successful case studies and apply similar approaches to future campaigns.
• Enhancing sales and conversions. By highlighting the real world results your products or services have delivered, case studies can be a powerful tool for boosting sales. They can help demonstrate the value of your offering and persuade your target audience to make a purchase.
• Explain how your business generates results. Case studies are a compelling way to share key takeaways with your target audience and showcase your brand.
• Use them as content marketing material. Use case studies as content for marketing purposes on websites, social media, and beyond.

Case studies can help your business stand out and achieve success. By highlighting the real world results you’ve delivered, you can use case studies to boost sales, build customer loyalty, and compellingly showcase your business.

Tips on how to write an effective marketing case study

Are you ready to write a compelling case study? Get started with these tips.

Develop a clear and compelling headline

You have about 10 seconds to communicate your value proposition to keep customer attention. Whether you’re designing a new landing page or making a long-term plan for your brand’s content marketing strategy , the headline is the most crucial part.

A compelling title should capture readers’ attention and make them want to read more. To craft a compelling headline:

• Understand your audience: Before crafting a headline, ensure you know your target audience — what are their pain points, interests, and needs?
• Highlight the most significant result: Focus on the most impactful result achieved in the case study. What was the primary outcome of the strategy implemented?
• Keep it brief: Keep your headline concise and to the point. Try to keep your headline under 12 words.
• Use action words: Incorporate action verbs such as “achieved,” “transformed,” or “boosted” to convey a sense of accomplishment.
• Include data: Numbers make your headline more credible. For example, if the case study achieved a 75% increase in sales, include that in the headline.
• Emphasize benefits: Focus on the positive changes or advantages the implemented strategy brought to the client or business. Use these as selling points in your headline.
• Make it unique and memorable: Avoid generic phrases to make your headline stand out from the competition.
• Use keywords wisely: Incorporate relevant keywords that align with the case study and your target audience’s search interest to improve search engine visibility through search engine optimization (SEO).
• Consider subheadings: If you cannot fit all the necessary information in a headline, consider adding a subheading to provide additional context or details.

Here are some examples of clear and convincing case study headlines:

• “Achieving a 150% ROI: How [XYZ] Strategy Transformed a Startup”
• “How Optimized SEO Tactics Skyrocketed Sales by 80%”
• “Mastering Social Media: How [ABC] Brand Increased Engagement by 50%”
• “The Power of Personalization: How Tailored Content Quadrupled Conversions”

Write relatable content

Almost 90% of Gen Z and millennial shoppers prefer influencers who they consider relatable. Relatability is part of building trust and connection with your target audience.

When writing your case study, make content that resonates with readers and speaks to their pain points. The best marketing doesn’t just increase conversion rates — it also serves your customers’ needs. To write content that really resonates with your target audience, make sure to:

• Understand your audience: To successfully write relatable content, you first need to understand your target audience — their interests, pain points, and challenges. The more you know about your target audience, the better you can tailor your content to their needs.
• Identify pain points: As mentioned above, identify challenges your target audience may face. Make sure to highlight how the product or service in the case study can effectively address these pain points.
• Tell a story: Create a narrative that follows a standard story arc. Start with a relatable struggle that the customer or business faced and describe its associated emotions.
• Use real customer feedback: Incorporate quotes or testimonials from actual customers or clients. Including authentic voices makes the content more relatable to readers because they can see real people expressing their experiences.
• Use relatable language: Write in a tone to which your audience can relate. Only include overly technical terms if your target audience solely consists of experts who would understand them.
• Use social proof: Mention any recognitions, awards, or industry acknowledgments that may have been received by the customer or business in the case study.
• Encourage engagement: Urge readers to share their own challenges or experiences related to the subject matter of the case study. This is a great way to foster a sense of community.

Outline your strategies with corresponding statistics

Whether you’re showing off the results your marketing team achieved with a new strategy or explaining how your product has helped customers, data and research make it easier to back up claims.

Include relevant statistics in your case study to provide evidence of the effectiveness of your strategies, such as:

• Quantitative data: Use numerical data to quantify results.
• Qualitative data: Use qualitative data, such as customer testimonials, to back up numerical results.
• Comparisons: Compare the post-campaign results with the pre-campaign benchmarks to provide context for the data.
• Case study metrics: Include specific metrics relevant to your industry or campaign if applicable. For example, in e-commerce, common metrics could include customer acquisition cost, average order value, or cart abandonment rate.

By incorporating relatable outcomes — such as cost savings from new automation or customer responsiveness from your new social media marketing campaign — you can provide concrete evidence of how your product or service has helped others in similar situations.

Use multiple formats of representation

People love visuals . It doesn’t matter if it’s an infographic for digital marketing or a graph chart in print materials — we love to see our data and results represented in visuals that are easy to understand. Additionally, including multiple representation formats is a great way to increase accessibility and enhance clarity.

When making a case study, consider including various forms of representation, such as:

• Infographics: Use infographics to condense critical information into a visually appealing, easy-to-understand graphic. Infographics are highly sharable and can be used across marketing channels.
• Charts: Use charts (bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, etc.) to illustrate statistical information such as data trends or comparisons. Make sure to include clear labels and titles for each chart.
• Images: Include relevant photos to enhance the storytelling aspect of your case study. Consider including “before and after” pictures if relevant to your case study.
• Videos: Short videos summarizing a case study’s main points are great for sharing across social media or embedding into your case study.
• Tables: Use tables to help organize data and make it easier for readers to digest.
• Data visualizations: Include data visualizations such as flowcharts or heatmaps to illustrate user journeys or specific processes.
• Screenshots: If your case study involves digital products, include screenshots to provide a visual walkthrough of how the product or service works.
• Diagrams: Use diagrams, such as a flowchart, to explain complex processes, decision trees, or workflows to simplify complicated information.
• Timelines: If your case study involves a timeline of specific events, present it using a timeline graphic.

Use a consistent design style and color scheme to maintain cohesion when incorporating multiple formats. Remember that each format you use should serve a specific purpose in engaging the reader and conveying information.

Get your case study in front of your intended audience

What good is a compelling case study and a killer call to action (CTA) if no one sees it? Once you’ve completed your case study, share it across the appropriate channels and networks your target audience frequents and incorporate it into your content strategy to increase visibility and reach. To get your case study noticed:

• Take advantage of your website. Create a dedicated section or landing page on your website for your case study. If your website has a blog section, consider including it here. Optimize the page for search engines (SEO) by including relevant keywords and optimizing the meta description and headers. Make sure to feature your case study on your homepage and relevant product or service pages.
• Launch email marketing campaigns. Send out the case study to your email subscriber list. Be specific and target groups that would most likely be interested in the case study.
• Launch social media campaigns. Share your case study on your social media platforms. Use eye-catching graphics and engaging captions to draw in potential readers. Consider creating teaser videos or graphics to generate interest.
• Utilize paid promotions. Use targeted social media and search engine ads to reach specific demographics or interests. Consider retargeting ads to re-engage visitors who have previously interacted with your website.
• Issue a press release. If your case study results in a significant industry impact, consider issuing a press release to share the exciting news with relevant media outlets or publications.
• Utilize influencer outreach. Collaborate with influencers who can share your case study with their followers to increase credibility and expand your reach.
• Host webinars and presentations. Discuss the case study findings and insights through webinars or presentations. Promote these events through your various marketing channels and make sure to encourage participation.
• Utilize networking events and conferences. Present your case study at industry-related conferences, trade shows, or networking events. Consider distributing printed or digital copies of the case study to attendees.
• Utilize online communities. Share the case study in relevant online forums and discussion groups where your target audience congregates.
• Practice search engine optimization (SEO). Optimize the SEO elements of your case study to improve organic search ranking and visibility.

Remember, the key to successfully promoting your case study is to tailor your approach to your specific target audience and their preferences. Consistently promoting your case study across multiple channels increases your chances of it reaching your intended audience.

Marketing case study examples

Let’s look at some successful marketing case studies for inspiration.

“How Handled Scaled from Zero to 121 Locations with HubSpot”

Right away, they lead with compelling metrics — the numbers don’t lie. They use two different formats: a well-made video accompanied by well-written text.

The study also addresses customer pain points, like meeting a higher demand during the pandemic.

“How AppSumo grew organic traffic 843% and revenue from organic traffic 340%”

This case study from Omniscient Digital leads with motivating stats, a glowing review sharing a real user experience, and a video review from the AppSumo Head of Content.

The case study information is broken down into clearly marked sections, explaining the benefits to their target audience (startups) and providing plenty of visuals, charts, and metrics to back it up.

“How One Ecommerce Business Solved the Omnichannel Challenge with Bitly Campaigns”

Download this Bitly case study from their site to see the details of how this company made an impact.

Not only is it well designed, but it also tackles customer challenges right away. The most compelling types of case studies serve their audience by showing how the product or service solves their problems.

Bitly nails it by listing obstacles and jumping right into how the brand can help.

Marketing case study template

Use this basic template to better understand the typical structure of a business case study and use it as a starting place to create your own:

Case Study Title

Date: [Date]

Client or Company Profile:

• Client/Company Name: [Client/Company Name]
• Industry: [Industry]
• Location: [Location]
• Client/Company Background: [Brief client or company background information.]

Introduction:

• Briefly introduce the client or company and any necessary context for the campaign or initiative.
• Problem statement: Describe the specific challenge or problem faced by the client or company before implementing the campaign or initiative.
• Strategy: Explain the strategy that was implemented to address the challenge. Include details such as target audience, objectives, goals, and tactics.
• Implementation: Provide a timeline of the strategy’s implementation, including key milestones and other notable considerations taken during execution.
• Outcomes: Present the qualitative and quantitative results achieved through the implemented strategy. Include relevant metrics, statistics, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Comparative data: Compare the post-campaign results to pre-campaign benchmarks or industry standards.

Analysis and Insights:

• Key insights: Summarize insights and lessons learned from the campaign and discuss the campaign's impact on the client or company’s goals.
• Challenges faced: Address any obstacles encountered during the campaign and how they were mitigated or overcome.

Conclusion:

• Conclusion: Summarize the campaign’s overall impact on the client or company. Highlight the value that was delivered by the implemented strategy and the success it achieved.
• Next Steps: Discuss potential follow-up actions, recommendations, or future strategies.

Testimonials:

• Include quotes or testimonials from the clients or customers who benefitted from the campaign.
• Incorporate relevant visuals to illustrate key points, findings, and results.

The above template is a great way to get started gathering your ideas and findings for a marketing case study. Feel free to add additional sections or customize the template to match your requirements.

Craft a compelling marketing case study for your business

Are you ready to make your marketing case study shine? With Adobe Express, you can make high-quality infographics and presentations that take your case studies to the next level.

Choose from our library of designed templates, or make it yourself with powerful tools and a library of ready-to-use graphic elements.

Get started with Adobe Express today to make compelling marketing case studies that engage your audience and drive conversions.

Try Adobe Express today

Ready to create standout content?

Start for free

Explore Related Posts

https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/brand-strategy

https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/marketing-plan

https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/types-of-marketing

46 case study questions to build trust with your target audience

Building trust with your target audience is essential to the success of your business and marketing strategy. One way to do this is to prove that your products work and solve their pain points. 

How can you do that? With the help of case studies. In a case study, you take an opportunity to show just how effective your product or service can be. But for a compelling case study, you need to ask the right questions and deliver valuable insights.

We'll share the most burning and needed case study questions you can ask your clients to find out what they want. These questions will also help you to tailor your products and services to meet their needs better.

What is a case study?

Businesses must comprehensively understand their potential customers' needs and behaviors when it comes to decision-making and product development. Case studies are an excellent tool for understanding the behavior of a particular individual, organization, or event.

A study seeks to investigate practically every area of the user's life, looking at the activities and motivations that make up who they are. This analysis is invaluable to businesses as it gives them the insights they need to develop products and services tailored to their customer's needs and wants.

Not only do case studies provide valuable data, but they can also be used in various fields, such as social work, education, and medicine. Companies can use the collected data to show the effectiveness of their product or service for a specific problem. 

Also, case studies can help with successful marketing. You can use them to showcase the successes of your business's strategies and tactics, giving potential customers a better understanding of how the services or products could benefit them.

Try for free

Plan, write and optimize SEO content

Sign up today for a free trial, and you'll have access to 5000 words and 300 bonus credits—completely free.

What are the benefits of case studies?

Case studies can be invaluable tools in the business world. They comprehensively understand a business's situation, allowing all stakeholders to analyze data, understand the context, and draw lessons from a real-life situation.

You can use them to build trust with your customers. These studies prove that you have solved similar problems of other clients in the past. 

Some of the significant benefits of case studies:

• Accumulates a considerable amount of data
• Assists in the development of hypotheses
• Increases brand reliability and loyalty
• Creates a case for more investigation
• Reveals fresh insights into a subject
• Uses storylines to bring in consumers

The methods of a case study

Case studies are generally qualitative and are constructed on interviews, observations, and in-depth subject analysis. They can describe an event or phenomenon by providing detailed information about its context and circumstances.

While various steps are involved in conducting a successful case study, the following points outline the general process for how a content writing business can do this.

Identify a subject

The subjects could be previous customers who have had success working with your business and are willing to provide insight into their experiences. It should be someone who can accurately represent the business and will be a positive reflection on its services.

Collect data

Listen carefully to everything the subject says. Use the collected data to illustrate your service's success in solving the subject's issues. It should include quotes from the subject, compelling statistics, and other relevant information showcasing your strategy's effectiveness.

Analyze and interpret data

After collecting the essential data, analyze and interpret the information. Flesh out the story that the data are telling and decode their implications. Doing so will help your agency create a compelling case study that accurately conveys your service's value.

Write the case study

Now you can craft a narrative that explains the project in detail, including information about the strategies and results.

For added credibility, include quotes from the client or other third parties involved in the project and visual elements such as screenshots, images, or graphs. It will help show the reader the tangible results and make the report more persuasive.

Publish the study

Finally, publish the study on your website and other digital platforms. It will showcase the expertise and results of your services and position the business as an authority in the field.

By following these steps, your content writing agency can effectively conduct a case study to promote the services and drive more business. 

Still trying to figure out how to start one? Check these wonderful examples . 

The categories of case study questions

Most of the case study questions fall into these categories.

Estimation questions

These questions allow you to make informed assumptions from data and business knowledge to determine the market size.

Business case study questions

These inquiries measure your analytical skills and ability to make judgment calls in light of the available data.

Value proposition questions

In addition to business principles, research techniques, and intuition, these questions assess the capacity to recognize client behavior and preferences.

Logic and reasoning questions

These questions are more general and primarily connected to non-business themes, measuring analytical thinking and creativity.

Of course, there are other question types, many of which cross two or more categories. These classifications are meant to help you prepare case study question lists.

The best ways to perform a business case study interview

Once you've found your subject willing to talk to you about how your service led to their company's success, you'll need to draft your interview questions. It will help your readers know your company's contribution to their success. 

Gather as much information about the client as possible. It includes their background, history, financial status, and anything relevant to the case study you're trying to write. You can even contact the sales team to learn more about customer preferences.

Once you've gathered all that data, it's time to conduct a mock interview with someone familiar with the client.

Ask open-ended questions

These encourage the interviewee to talk and expand on their answers. For example, you can ask, "What was the biggest challenge you faced when working with X?" They might respond, "Our team didn't have much experience with a writing solution." 

You could follow up with, "How did our content writing service company help your team overcome that challenge?"

Keep records

When performing a business case study interview, recording and transcribing your conversations can be very helpful. They will work as sources and references whenever you need them.

How to format questions for your case study

Creating a solid structure for your case study questions can produce better results. 

And one of the most important things you can do when creating a case study is to ask questions that give you the information you need to make a compelling case for your service.

You'll probably get stuck in a rut and ask the same old questions, but that will not help you sell anything. You want your case studies to be tailored to your interested leads as possible, so it's necessary to make your questions more specific.

For instance, you should inquire about the client's brand, other solutions they've tried in the past, and how they feel about the outcomes. And you can only ask those questions to a brand, a person, or an organization if you are familiar with them.

What defines a solid case study question?

A good case study question should initiate a dialogue and give the subject control over the narrative. Questions should be open-ended, allowing prospects to tell their story. You must know how to make these questions relevant to your product or service.

Case studies are the most effective when you present them as a solution instead of making them your company's advertisement. It shows the audience you care about your clients, whether they are big or small businesses, and want to help them grow. It lets them know your company is concerned with customer satisfaction and long-term success.

Well-crafted case study questions send a strong message to customers at the decision stage of their buyer's journey and turn them into loyal customers.

What makes a questionnaire perfect for a case study?

One of the most important things you can do when developing a case study questionnaire is to ensure that it doesn't feel like an interrogation. The last thing you want is to let your clients feel like they are being investigated.

To avoid this, create a list of questions that sound like having a friendly conversation. You just want honest answers from them to use the information in your case study report with integrity.

The following are just a few of the key topics your questionnaire has to touch on:

• The issues the client had before selecting your service.
• Reasons they chose your company.
• How did your products solve their problems?
• The measurable outcomes of the provided solution.
• Data and metrics (if available) that demonstrate the effectiveness of your products.

Need help with showing your service's worth to your potential customers? Try our expert white paper writers . They will craft compelling papers to educate your audience about your authority in your field or the effectiveness of your services. 

The most important case study interview questions

Here we'll outline the most fundamental case study questions you should ask.

Begin with the background

When drafting case study questions, the first thing is to determine why you're doing it. Outline questions based on the primary issues you want to emphasize. 

So, what questions will allow you to explain how you solved others' problems? 

Ideally, you should ask previous clients about their company's history. It's an excellent method to introduce them to the readers. Then, begin the report by introducing the initial problems.

We'll provide a list of case study interview questions below that you can ask your clients to learn about their industry. Remember to modify them depending on the client's business and your objectives.

Give a brief description of your company and its beginnings.

The customer has the chance to describe their business at this point, including information about the company size, work environment, etc. In addition to getting helpful background information, it's a simple way to start a conversation with the client.

Who are your ideal clients?

The readers of your case study will get a better insight into their industry by knowing the target audience.

Explain your position inside the organization.

The interviewee's answer will give a better understanding of the obligations they're entitled to.

What are some of the most prevalent difficulties that firms in your industry face?

Request the subject to elaborate on this topic as much as possible. For example, they might struggle to find a service for writing high-quality content or plan an effective SEO strategy . That way, the readers can get some ideas about the topics to be discussed. 

What concerns or obstacles prompted you to seek out our product or service?

Give specific examples of these challenges. Suppose your client took professional content writing services from you to solve their issues. 

The readers should learn as much as possible about the issue since this will help them understand why others took your company's service. It will also make it easier for them to make a purchase decision.

Why was this particular problem a top priority?

If your customer has a particular problem, the readers will benefit from knowing about it. They will learn about which issues to prioritize.

How did this issue affect your business?

Explain the significant impact of the issue, so the readers become curious to seek your solutions.

What other viable solutions have you attempted in the past?

This will show readers that the customer considered alternative solutions before selecting your service.

How many people work in your company?

The client’s description will help your readers to compare their company size with the highlighted firm.

How long have you been operating your business?

From this information, your readers can evaluate if the challenges are more relevant to a fresh or starting firm or an established one.

Build your connection

The most important questions you can ask clients are about their connection with your business. Answers to these queries will give you a deep understanding of why they chose to work with you and what makes them repeat customers.

When speaking with a new client, find out what made them choose your company over others. In the case of repeat customers, ask them how they found you, the reasons to pick your content marketing service, and most importantly, what made them come back.

You can include some questions like the following:

When have you signed up as a client of ours?

The readers will feel more confident about your product's performance if they attribute a timeframe to it.

How did you discover our company?

Ask the subject about how they found your service. Was it through a referral, an online search, or a case study? It'll show that you are a dependable brand with a track record of producing outcomes.

From when have you been searching for a solution to your problem?

It will give the customers an idea about how difficult (or easy) it is to find a solution to that particular problem. 

Why did you pick our business over the main competitors?

It will answer why the client chose your product over competitors. Let them explain this point in detail because it may bring in more leads.

How was the buying procedure for our service?

The readers will get the chance to know how smooth and straightforward the purchasing procedure of your service is. This is an essential point because many customers make the buying decision based on the purchasing experience. 

How did you plan to use our product to enable the solution?

Your readers will better understand how they can use your product to solve their problems.

Allow your clients to explain your solutions

Now that you've established the primary problem and explained why your client picked your service, it's time to move into specific questions. Now you'll ask about your client's experience regarding your product. These queries will elicit the most valuable information for your target audience. 

Try to ask direct questions to create a solid case study based on those answers. That way, potential leads experiencing the same problem will consider buying your service.

How did our product solve your problem?

This is one of the most critical questions since it serves as the foundation for the case study. It will educate your audience and convince them to try your service. 

The responses are a testament that your business does an excellent job for the clients. It also gives you the ground to declare, "X firm utilized our service and accomplished Y."

Which aspects of the service you found most helpful?

The elements will help the readers understand the value of your service better.

Was this service a substitute for a similar tool you previously used?

The subject could have used other services first. If so, providing this data could influence your readers' decision-making process and convince them to select your product over competitors.

What are the benefits of choosing our company over others?

The subject should highlight the unique values they received by choosing your business over your competitors. It's crucial for persuading potential customers about the worth of your service over the competitors.

Did you get in touch with the customer support team at any point during the process?

Customers may encounter various issues when utilizing your service. User experience on customer assistance will persuade the readers that you have their back when it matters the most. 

If yes, how was our customer assistance?

Readers will feel more confident if your clients perceive your customer service helpful.

How many employees in your company utilize our brand?

Readers can assess whether your solution suits their business needs with this information.

How many teams or departments in your company use our service?

This will illustrate how far your service has spread throughout departments.

How did you feel about the configuration and implementation process?

Readers can understand how accessible your service is from your clients' experiences.

Who was engaged in the execution of our product?

This will provide readers with a better understanding of who should be engaged when using your service. 

How did the rollout go?

Find out as many details as you can regarding the rollout. We can only hope that they'll praise just how easy it was.

What kind of comments have you heard from your employees regarding our service?

If the conversation has gone well, you can anticipate positive feedback from your client's staff. So, this feedback will help you stay one step ahead of your competitors.

Define the product's advantages

Here comes the most crucial part of the interview. You'll ask the client about particular outcomes and the metrics they used to monitor the performance of your service.

How did our service handle your particular problems?

When it comes to solving issues, your clients can often better explain the contribution of your service than you.

What sort of measurable results did you observe?

Any data provided by your respondent will highlight the significance of your product.

How has your business changed since you started using our service?

Your clients now have the chance to emphasize how your solution helped them achieve their measurements and objectives.

Which metrics or KPIs did you track to see if our solution effectively resolved your issue?

It'd be best for the customer to provide as many figures and data as possible. The more, the better for you.

How did your original issue affect your business? Does the problem still exist or get fixed?

Let them comprehensively answer how the problem initially hurt their business and how your services resolved those hurdles.

What's your suggestion to other customers who’ll use our services for optimum results?

Suggestions from your existing client can play a vital role. Make sure that they specifically talk about the features of your service.

Fortify your relationship with the client

Now, we'll list questions that'll fortify your relationship with the client and make it long-lasting. 

Ask them the case study questions listed below.

Do you believe our product was beneficial for your business? How so?

This is a great question to ask at the end of a case study interview. It's an excellent way to grab the attention of your potential customers. You can ask the subject how your company offers a valuable product and service and why they think that is.

How much time does a new employee need to become familiar with our product? 

Your potential leads will know the estimated time to train a new employee to use your solution. It's good for you if a newbie can easily and quickly get up and running.

What are the reasons to recommend our service to a customer or friend?

Ensure that your client describes the aspects they’d emphasize when recommending to a customer.

Have you spoken to any of your coworkers about our product?

It’s a great opportunity to get more potential leads and a referral.

What would happen if your team didn’t use our service?

The answer will focus on the value your service provides and its importance.

What else can we do to help your company gain your objectives?

This can be helpful in terms of making sure you're giving them exactly what they want and need. It will also help with building a long-term relationship with them. 

What would it take for your company to derive the biggest return from our product?

You'll be able to provide more assistance to them through this information.

What feature of our company do you admire the most?

It’ll illustrate the value of your service in detail to the readers.

What makes you choose to work with us?

The subject is likely to talk about how professional and efficient you are. It may make the readers gain confidence in your work ethic. 

Talk about the future objectives of your client

Try to get more involved with your clients by discussing their future objectives. They know what they want, but they want assistance in obtaining it. And your relationship with them will become stronger if you demonstrate that you're prepared to go above and beyond to assist them.

How can we assist you in achieving your company's goals?

You'll learn more about how you can support your clients more effectively. 

What objectives do you have for the following three months? 

Your organization can make a particular strategy to help the clients by learning their objectives.

How can we assist you in achieving long-term objectives?

If you know your customer's specific requirements, you'll be able to provide more effective solutions.

Case studies are an effective way to market your business, one that you should plan on integrating into your marketing strategy sooner rather than later. If you want your brand to stand out amongst thousands of competitors online, we urge you to set up a case study questions campaign for your business. You'll be amazed to see traffic and leads acquired through this content. 

Top Ecommerce SEO Best Practices to Boost Your Online Store

Rebecca Hey

16 May 2024

How to Summarize Articles With AI

How to make money with AI: 6 proven ways

14 May 2024

How to outsource eCommerce content creation

How to do link building for eCommerce

Ecommerce AI: 8 ways AI can transform your eCommerce business

Marketing Analytics Case Study Guide for 2024

Case study questions in marketing analyst interviews are scenario-based questions that mirror the day-to-day work of analysts.

In marketing analytics case studies, the interviewee is provided with marketing data or a specific scenario, then must develop a detailed solution for the provided case question. For example, in a marketing analytics case interview, you might be asked, “How would you measure the effectiveness of a marketing channel?”

You would then propose marketing analytics metrics that you would be most interested in, like cost per acquisition (CPA) or the return on ad spend (ROAS). Ultimately, the most common types of marketing analytics case study questions include:

• Measuring effectiveness - These questions ask you to gauge the effectiveness of marketing campaigns based on the provided data.
• Marketing analysis - These questions provide data that you can first analyze and then propose marketing strategies based on your analysis.
• Marketing metrics - These questions ask you to propose metrics to assess performance or investigate a problem. An example would be: “Campaign A and Campaign B have the same spend. However, Campaign A is converting at a much higher rate. What metrics would you use to investigate the discrepancy?”

What is Marketing Analytics?

Marketing analytics use data to inform marketing decisions. By integrating data into marketing decisions, businesses can refine their marketing campaigns, better understand what drives customer action and increase ROI on their marketing spend.

Marketing analytics has numerous applications for businesses, including:

• Determining the ROI for marketing campaigns.
• A/B testing marketing messages to find what works best.
• Identifying which messages, advertisements, and marketing activities drive customer action.
• Optimizing and personalizing marketing messages for customers.

Marketing case study questions within interviews mirror the job responsibilities of marketing analysts . For example, you could be provided with data and asked to make an analysis on how the company should allocate marketing spend.

At their core, marketing case studies are scenario-based questions that ask you to present a well-constructed solution to a potential or real-world marketing problem. These questions allow you to apply your marketing expertise to a real case, as well as use your problem-solving and analytical thinking skills to address it.

Marketing Analytics Case Study Question: Example Answer

Here we will review a deep dive into a solution for one of the most common marketing analyst case study questions:

1. How would you measure the effectiveness of different marketing channels?

More context. Say you are running paid advertisements for an online learning business, to drive customers to your curriculum. The business only sells a single course, which costs $100. You have spent $1,000 on Facebook Ads and Google Ads in order to increase sign-ups. What metrics would you be most interested in reviewing your decision and investment?

A version of this question is asked in nearly every marketing analyst interview. Your goal should be to define what “effective” means in this context, and then talk about the most important metrics for measuring it.

Example Solution:

First, start with some clarifying questions like:

• What are the goals of the two marketing campaigns? Is it to increase sales of the course? Generate awareness of the public to your product? Drive engagement from existing enrollees?
• Are these the first two campaigns the company has run? How long have they invested in paid advertising?

For the purposes of this example, assume the goal is to increase sales and that the company already has an established marketing presence on Google and Facebook.

If the goal is sales, we would be interested in return on investment (ROI). That is, if we invest more money into marketing channels that have a higher ROI, we are effectively pursuing the options that maximize our returns.

To understand ROI, there are two main marketing analytics metrics we should focus on:

• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) - The total ad spend for a marketing channel divided by the number of customers. Ideally, we want CPA to be as low as possible so that we’re spending less to acquire customers than they’re bringing in.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) - The amount of revenue brought in by customers from a specific marketing channel. For SaaS companies, acquiring one customer may yield an average of five or six years of annual subscription renewals, such that the lifetime value of one customer is quite a bit higher than the upfront cost to get them to sign up.

Let’s focus on breaking down the cost per acquisition metric. CPA is the average cost to acquire a customer for each marketing channel spent. Here is the following data we are given for this situation:

• We spend $1000 on Facebook Ads.
• 10 individuals converted to customers.
• To calculate CPA, we divide the ad spend of $1,000 by the 10 customers acquired ( 1000 ⁄ 10 ), for an expected CPA value of $100 per customer.

Next, we want to look at the CLV and how it relates to CPA. For our example, the customer lifetime value is $100 (because the company only sells one course, and does not expect customers to purchase multiple times).

• If my course costs $100 and I convert 10 customers (with a CPA of $100 each), then I am breaking even on my ad spending and revenue.
• But if the business adds another course, and on average all customers from Facebook purchase 1.5 courses, then my customer lifetime value is $150, which gives me a $50 profit per customer (the CPA has not increased in this scenario).

Note that CLV is particularly important for subscription-based products because if one channel results in long-term customers with a higher CLV versus a larger payoff upfront but drastically worse long-term value, we would likely want to target the option with the greater long-term outlook.

1. Reviewing Funnel Metrics

Since most marketing is about getting the company brand and mission in front of customers, many times it is up to the internal product team to work on converting customers down the line.

So in marketing analytics, we focus on breaking that CPA number down a bit more into a funnel:

• How many people saw my Facebook ad?
• How many people clicked the ad and viewed the course landing page?
• How many people actually converted?

By reviewing the funnel metrics for CPA, we can learn which channels are the most efficient at turning ad impressions into conversions. This will also help us identify where we need to improve in the funnel.

2. Considering Multi-Channel Attribution

Everything we have covered so far assumes that we are evaluating each marketing channel individually. But actually getting the right data for situations in which it is possible a customer might have interacted with marketing material across several platforms and mediums is the hard part. To separate out the different influences, we are going to have to use tools like Mixpanel, Google Analytics, or internal data systems to measure attribution.

Attribution is defined as the way we allocate and tie a visitor to a marketing channel. And it is not easy. For example, we might see that a customer came from Facebook but then dropped off or got bored on my landing page before seeing a Google Ads campaign and finally converting. From all of this, we still have to choose a marketing channel to attribute the conversion.

If they saw a Facebook ad and didn’t convert but then came back and made a purchase from a Google Ads driven organic search, do we attribute it to Facebook Ads or Google Ads?

There are a few ways to allocate attribution when we run into multi-touch attribution issues:

• First touch attribution - This attributes the conversion to the first campaign, e.g., Facebook Ads for the above example.
• Last touch attribution - The conversion would be attributed to the last campaign, e.g., Google Ads.
• Regression model - This type of attribution model would be developed and may weigh the impact of both the Facebook Ads and Google Ads impression before deciding which deserves the attribution.

Many times we try to improve our marketing techniques by segmenting our paid channels by campaigns. For Google Ads I might run two campaigns: one targeting a certain demographic like younger users and another targeting older users.

If we can find the CPA and CLV by these demographics, we can then zero in on better ratios to target and optimize campaign performance.

3. Next steps

Analytics case studies are generally discussions. The above answer would show that you understand the fundamentals of marketing performance measurement. However, the interviewer may try to steer the question by asking follow-ups or providing new information. For instance, they might ask, “what if the goal had been different? How would the response change if the goal was brand awareness?” The interviewer will now evaluate how well you can pivot and adapt your thinking.

Marketing Analytics Case Study: Video Guide

Here’s a video guide on Marketing Analytics for Online Businesses:

Additional Marketing Analytics Case Study Questions

2. how would you determine how much a company should pay for advertisements on a third-party app.

Case study questions are vague by nature, and it is your responsibility to ask clarifying questions before you jump into an answer. With this case, there are a lot of questions you can ask like:

• How widely used is the app?
• Do we have any information about its user base?
• Are the advertisements click-based or impression-based?
• What placements does the app offer?
• What is the goal of the campaign? Awareness, sales, engagement, leads?
• Is there a target ROI for the campaign?

To best estimate possible costs, you would want to look at historical advertising data. What campaigns have the company run before? What were the funnel metrics for these campaigns, e.g. click-through rates and conversion rates? Besides those two questions, you would need to consider customer metrics like customer lifetime value, average order value, or lead-to-conversion rate.

With this information, you can begin to define the maximum CPC or maximum CPM for advertisements on the third-party app.

3. An e-commerce company is experiencing a reduction in revenue for the past 12 months. What would you investigate to understand exactly where the revenue loss is occurring?

To investigate the revenue decline, you have access to such information as:

• Date of sale.
• Amount paid by customers.
• Profit margin per unit.
• Quantity of item.
• Item category.
• Item subcategory.
• Marketing attribution source.
• Percent discount applied.

A question like this gets asked in marketing analyst interviews to determine if you can propose strong metrics to investigate a problem. You might start by investigating monthly revenue by marketing source, category/subcategory, or by the percent of the discount applied.

This analysis would help you understand if the decline is due to decreasing marketing efficiency, an overreliance on discounts, or if a particular category is declining. Another option would be to investigate changes in profit margin per unit, which could help identify if production costs are rising.

4. Use the provided data to calculate the overall advertising cost per conversion.

More context. You work for an e-commerce company that wants to invest in Facebook Ads. You learn that an ad placement is $0.05 per impression, and the click-through rate (click per impression) is 1%. Based on your historical data, you also know that you have an average of 2% conversion rate on your website.

With this question, model the data to help you calculate cost per conversion.

• 10,000 impressions (at $0.05 per impression) would cost $500.
• This would result in 100 clicks (because the CTR is 1% of 10,000 impressions).
• Therefore, the cost per click would be $5 ($500 ad spend / 100 clicks).
• Since our average conversion rate is 2%, 100 clicks would result in 2 conversions.
• Therefore, the cost per conversion would be $250 ($500 ad spend / 2 conversions).

5. How would you design an A/B test to utilize the marketing budget in the most efficient way possible?

More context. You want to test multiple new channels, including YouTube Ads, Google Search Ads, Facebook Ads, and direct mail campaigns.

Start with follow-up questions. You want to define what “efficient” means, you need to understand the total budget to ensure you could test each channel properly, you want to know about marketing performance to-date, and finally discover if any data exists.

With an A/B testing question, you should propose metrics for the test like:

• Confidence interval.
• Power (likelihood that the change will actually make a difference).
• Length of the test.

Similarly, you would also want to provide a high-level overview of how you would run the test, including gathering data, checking distributions and performing post hoc analysis.

Note: A/B testing questions are not widely asked in marketing analyst roles during their interviews. However, testing and marketing optimization questions are common. Therefore, a simpler version of this question might be: what metrics would you be interested in when testing new marketing channels?

More Marketing Analytics Interview Resources

Interviews for a marketing analyst role typically include a mix of data science SQL questions , product metrics questions, and sometimes, a data analytics takehome assessment , in addition to the marketing analytics case study. See our guides for more practice marketing analyst questions.

Top 35 Marketing Interview Questions (Example Answers Included)

Mike Simpson 0 Comments

By Mike Simpson

Marketers aren’t strangers to promotion. After all, their main job is to showcase the virtues of products or services and get people to buy. When you think about it, they should be naturals when it comes to answering marketing interview questions, right?

Highlighting their expertise should be right up their alley. Well, not necessarily.

Self-promotion isn’t always easy. Somehow, it’s different when you have to talk about yourself. You might worry about coming off as a braggart, causing you to hold back.

Plus, if a person decides to say no to an energy drink, streaming services, or anything else, that product or service isn’t going to “feel” rejected. But, if the hiring manager says no to you, you’ll experience that sting, and that’s scary.

Nerves get the better of a ton of candidates, causing them to struggle during interviews. They just aren’t sure how to sell themselves like they do anything else. Luckily, you can harness your skills in a way that leads to job search success.

Take our hand and let us show you the way.

How to Answer Marketing Interview Questions

Okay, we know that you’re looking for marketing interview question examples, and we promise we’ll get to that. But first, we want to spend a minute on something else that’s excruciatingly important: your interview strategy.

By learning the right approach, you’ll be ready to face expected interview questions and navigate ones that take you by surprise. After all, you can’t predict everything the hiring manager may ask; that’s simply not possible.

So, how do you prepare for the unpredictable? With research and proper technique.

When you’re prepping for an interview, information is your friend. By digging in, you’ll learn critical tidbits that can help you cover your bases and stand out from the crowd.

In an interview, the hiring manager wants to figure out if you have what it takes to excel in the job. Essentially, they need to know if you have the right skills and traits . Which ones are the right ones? Well, the ones in the job description .

So, scour the job ad, especially the must-haves list. It’ll tell you a ton about what the hiring manager wants to find. That’ll be your foundation.

But don’t stop yet. Keep your research cap on and head to the company’s website. There, look for the mission and values statements. Those little chunks of text are chocked full of clues about the kind of person that will mesh with the culture. Plus, they reflect the company’s priorities. If you can discuss those points a bit in your interview, you’re going to separate yourself from the pack.

Now that you know what to talk about, let’s focus on how to cover it. Crafting great answers to marketing interview questions doesn’t happen by accident. Instead, it’s a skill, one you can learn.

Usually, traditional interview questions are simple. It’s the behavioral interview questions that are tricky. Luckily, we have a technique for you.

Start by using the STAR Method , turning a blasé response into a compelling story. Then, it’s the Tailoring Method you want to use, allowing you to make your answer relevant.

Together, those techniques let you craft highly targeted and engaging responses, significantly increasing your odds of interview success.

We also wanted to let you know that we created an amazing free cheat sheet that will give you word-for-word answers for some of the toughest interview questions you are going to face in your upcoming interview. After all, hiring managers will often ask you more generalized interview questions along with their marketing specific questions!

Click below to get your free PDF now:

Get Our Job Interview Questions & Answers Cheat Sheet!

FREE BONUS PDF CHEAT SHEET: Get our " Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet " that gives you " word-word sample answers to the most common job interview questions you'll face at your next interview .

CLICK HERE TO GET THE JOB INTERVIEW QUESTIONS CHEAT SHEET

Top 3 Marketing Interview Questions

With a winning strategy by your side, it’s time to take it up a notch. Here are the top three marketing interview questions with example answers, allowing you to see how you can put your new skills to work.

1. When a next-generation product hits the market, how do you position a legacy product to ensure its long-term success?

When the newest version releases, companies don’t necessarily remove the legacy product or service from the market. Hiring managers ask this question to see how a candidate may ensure that prior versions remain successful. Plus, they want to know if you can leverage them, creating new interest.

EXAMPLE ANSWER:

“When the next-gen product enters the market, I strive to position the legacy option as a solution for price-sensitive consumers. My goal is to showcase it as a bargain, allowing it to serve as a lower point of entry for customers who may otherwise be priced out. For example, in my last role, I created a marketing campaign that showcased the legacy product as feature-rich yet budget-friendly. The combined approach kept interest in it high and also allowed us to position the next-gen product as a premium version, an approach that also yielded positive results.”

2. For social media marketing, which platforms do you prefer and why?

The social media landscape is always expanding, and many companies don’t know where to focus their energies. They may turn to their marketing experts to figure out which platforms need attention. With this marketing interview question, the hiring manager wants to learn more about how you decide between the slew of options.

“Each social media platform has its merits. Plus, they represent different audiences. As a result, I vary my approach based on the product and the ideal consumer. If the goal is to appeal to younger generations, I may favor platforms that resonate with the under-30 group, like Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok. Facebook and YouTube can be excellent additions for reaching nearly any generation since they rate the highest in overall usage. However, Facebook is essentially a must for targeting adults over 30. Ultimately, my goal would be to embrace platforms that the target market connects with, allowing me to showcase a product or service in a place they already frequent. That creates the widest reach while remaining relevant to the audience.”

3. Tell me about a marketing trend that’s caught your eye. What about it interests you?

Marketing, like many fields, is ever-evolving. If you aren’t staying on top of trends, your campaigns might not be as effective.

Hiring managers want to know that you’re vigilant about up-and-coming techniques and tools. That’s why they ask you to discuss trends. Additionally, candidates who follow industry news on their own time tend to be more passionate about the field than their less-informed counterparts, giving hiring managers another reason to dig into the topic.

“There are quite a few trends that I’ve kept on my radar recently. Shoppable posts have me particularly intrigued, especially on platforms like Instagram. The visual nature of the platform makes it ideal for showcasing certain products, and the ability for users to actively pursue those that interest them allows the initial connection to advance a user through the sales funnel with greater ease. It simplifies the buying process, shortening it dramatically, while also making use of a platform that users already frequent and trust. I think there is a significant amount of potential there, and believe it’s a trend that will quickly become a norm in the marketing industry.”

32 More Marketing Interview Questions

Here are 32 more marketing interview questions you may face when you meet with a hiring manager:

• What social media tools do you use and why?
• Is face-to-face marketing still valuable or necessary? Why or why not?
• How would you manage the launch of a new product or service?
• Describe the difference between direct and indirect marketing.
• What research techniques do you use to identify potential customers for a new product or service?
• Tell me about the biggest marketing challenge you’ve faced. How did you overcome it?
• Describe a time where you made a mistake with how you positioned a product or service. What did you do to fix the issue?
• When it comes to products or services like ours, do you think a hard sell or soft sell is the better approach? Why?
• Tell me about your all-time favorite campaign. What about it resonates with you?
• If you had to sum up our product or service in one word, what would it be? How would you use that to determine the direction of a campaign?
• What do you do when you present an idea for a campaign, and it’s rejected?
• Do you think that email marketing is still viable? Why or why not?
• If you could pick any slogan for our product or service, what would you recommend?
• When developing a campaign concept, do you prefer to work alone or as part of a team? Why?
• Can you tell me about your most successful campaign? What about it made it shine?
• Tell me about your least successful campaign? What went wrong, and what did you learn from the experience?
• The coronavirus pandemic forced many companies to rethink their marketing. What changes do you think yielded positive results? Do you believe some resulted in negative outcomes?
• Who do you think is our biggest competitor? How can we differentiate our product or service from theirs?
• Which traits are most critical for being a successful marketer?
• In your own words, what do you think is the goal of marketing?
• Why did you decide to launch a career in marketing?
• What about this marketing position appeals to you, and why?
• The marketing industry has changed dramatically in recent years. What changes do you think are on the horizon, and why?
• Can you describe your experience with paid advertising?
• What steps do you take to generate organic traffic?
• Have you created campaigns for products or services that are similar to ours?
• Tell me about a time where you achieved a marketing objective while dealing with a tight budget.
• Can you describe who you think our target market is?
• Are you familiar with our product or service? What about it stands out to you?
• Do you follow any brands on social media? If so, which ones, and why? If not, why do you choose not to?
• What resources do you turn to when you want to stay on top of industry trends?
• Do you think a social media presence is a must for companies? Why or why not?

5 Good Questions to Ask at the End of a Marketing Interview

As you wrap up with the last marketing interview questions, you’ll usually get a chance to ask a few of your own. This is an exceptional opportunity, so you need to have a few questions at the ready. That way, you’ll come off as more engaged. Plus, you’ll have a chance to discover details that let you know if the job is actually a good match for you.

If you don’t know what to ask the hiring manager, here are five great standby questions to use at the end of your marketing interview:

• Which of the company’s past marketing campaigns was most successful? Which one was the least successful?
• What does a typical day in this marketing position look like?
• Does this role focus on a single product or service, or will it be responsible for campaigns across the board?
• What are the marketing team’s greatest strengths? Are there any weaknesses that my skillset could cover?
• Has the company faced any unique challenges when it comes to engaging with their target market?

Putting It All Together

It’s true; even marketers can struggle when it’s interview time. But, by embracing the tips above and studying the marketing interview questions, you can make sure you’re ready to shine. After all, the interview is just a campaign about you. So, take a deep breath, have faith in your skills, and show that hiring manager that you’re an amazing candidate.

FREE : Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet!

Download our " Job Interview Questions & Answers PDF Cheat Sheet " that gives you word-for-word sample answers to some of the most common interview questions including:

• What Is Your Greatest Weakness?
• What Is Your Greatest Strength?
• Tell Me About Yourself
• Why Should We Hire You?

Click Here To Get The Job Interview Questions & Answers Cheat Sheet

Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com.

His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others.

Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

About The Author

Mike simpson.

Co-Founder and CEO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Mike is a job interview and career expert and the head writer at TheInterviewGuys.com. His advice and insights have been shared and featured by publications such as Forbes , Entrepreneur , CNBC and more as well as educational institutions such as the University of Michigan , Penn State , Northeastern and others. Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

Copyright © 2024 · TheInterviewguys.com · All Rights Reserved

• Our Products
• Case Studies
• Interview Questions
• Jobs Articles
• Members Login

Unkover your competitors’ Marketing Secrets

Say goodbye to wasting hours on competitor analysis by equipping your team with an AI-driven, always-on competitive intelligence platform. 

Join now to lock in an exclusive 50% lifetime discount

Stay Ahead with AI-DRIVEN Competitive Intelligence

Always-on competitive intelligence team

Unkover is your AI-driven Competitive Intelligence team delivering critical updates about your competitors the moment they happen:

• Relevant Page Changes
• New Funding Rounds
• Customer reviews
• Press mentions
• Acquisitions & Exits
• SEO gaps & opportunities

Track your competitors website changes

Keep tabs on your competitors key pages

Why spend all day stalking the competition when you don’t have to?

With Unkover, you’ll know instantly when your competitors tweak their messaging or shake up their pricing. No more endless scrolling through their sites or second-guessing your strategies.

Let us do the heavy lifting for you, ensuring you’re always in the loop by notifying you the moment a critical change happens on your competitor’s pages.

Sit back, relax, and keep winning—Unkover makes sure you’re not just in the game, you’re always a step ahead.

Read your competitors emails

Get competitor insights directly from the source

Companies love updating their customers and prospects about relevant news, product updates, and special offers.

That juicy info from your competitors? It’s yours too. Unkover will automatically capture all their emails and bring them right to your doorstep—accessible to your entire team, anytime.

[COMING SOON: Our fine-tuned AI will sift through these emails, extract key information and send them over to the best team within your org. Less noise, more signal!]

There’s no use in gathering intelligence unless it’s actionable!

We hear you! Unkover’s goal is not to flood you with tons of data points that no one in your team will ever read. We gather competitive intelligence from thousands of data sources and use AI to highlight actionable information to the right team in your company.

Say goodbye to noise. We’re 100% signal.

A sneak peek into what’s coming

We’re excited to get Unkover in your hands as soon as possible and keep building the best competitive intelligence tool with your precious feedback. The roadmap for the next few months is already exciting, so take a look!

While we build and deliver, here’s our promise to you: as an early tester and customer, you’ll lock in an exclusive bargain price we’ll never offer again in the future.

Marketing Hub

Spy on your competitors’ full marketing strategy: social, ads, content marketing, email flows, and more.

Track competitive Win/Loss analysis and build battle cards. Get alerted at every pricing change.

Product Hub

Get immediate alerts when competitors announce new features or major releases. Identify strengths and weaknesses from online reviews.

Integrations

Get the competitive intelligence you need where you need it: Slack, eMail, MS Teams, Salesforce, Hubspot, Pipedrive and more.

slack integration

Never miss a beat

Unkover’s Slack integration lets you keep your whole team up to speed with your competitors’ updates.

Choose your plan

Join now to lock in an exclusive 50% lifetime discount

For startups and small teams, it’s the essential toolkit you need to keep an eye on a select few competitors.

Up to 5 competitors

50 pages monitored

10 email workflows

3-day data refresh

50% discount

Billed annually

Professional

For growing businesses, it allows you to monitor more competitors, pages, and email workflows.

Up to 10 competitors

100 pages monitored

20 email workflows

1-day data refresh

For large companies, it is tailored to meet the needs of multiple teams needing granular insights.

Custom number of competitors

Custom number of pages monitored

Custom number of email workflows

Hourly data refresh

Custom price

Billed monthly

14 Best Case Study Questions to Ask Your Top Customers

If you want to show interested leads that you can put your money where your mouth is, case studies are a good way to go. They’re a valuable form of content that can even be used as lead magnets under the right conditions, and they have a singular purpose: To show how your clients achieved specific, significant results with your product or service. 

Knowing how to write a great case study is an important part of success, but there’s a part of the process that comes before that: Knowing which questions to ask, which you’ll determine when you’re preparing for a case study interview. 

The questions you ask can make the difference between a case study that feels like it’s been churned out by a low-quality AI machine compared to one that feels actionable, engaging, and high-stakes to your readers. 

In this post, we’re going to go over the 14 best case study questions to ask, along with discussing some tips to improve the results you’ll get. 

How to Structure Your Case Study Questions

Before we dive in, we want to talk about how to structure your questions in the interview.

In this post specifically, we’re going to look at individual questions you should ask around pointed topics, like about the client’s brand, solutions they’ve tried already, and their results. 

It’s best to stick close to the progression outlined here because it will give you the basic information you need at every level of the case study interview . You can’t ask what solutions they’ve tried before when you don’t even understand their brands’ needs. 

And keep in mind that when you’re asking users to provide specific information about a topic up front, they’ll often reference it later, strengthening the overall case study and sometimes encouraging them to share information they may not have thought to share otherwise. 

That being said, let’s go ahead and start to dive in to the best case study questions you should ask. 

Questions About Their Brand 

The best case studies will have some information about the brand they’re featuring and not just about how the brand uses their product. Information about the brand size, industry, and unique selling propositions (USPs ) can all play a valuable part in building a strong case study. 

These are a few important case study questions to consider asking about branding: 

1. Can you tell us a little bit about your brand? 

This is a great way to start the interview off strong. Ask the client to tell you about the brand, plain and simple. See what they have to say; they may share information about their product or service, how they fit into their industry, what differentiates them, and more. 

Leaving this first question relatively vague and open-ended helps them feel more comfortable while giving you some good ideas for where to go. 

If they’re stumped, ask them to provide a brief description of what their company does.

2. Can you tell me about your business’s structure, including industry, company size, or years in business? 

While this may feel technical, it can be exceptionally valuable to readers of the case study to help them relate or get a good understanding of who is using your products. 

3. An industry-relevant question 

SaaS tools that help with ad management may ask clients about their total monthly ad spend, for example. An eco-friendly company may ask clients what their “green goals” are or their previous carbon emissions. 

Think about what would benefit you to have in the case study, and ask it here if possible. 

Questions About Their Challenge & Pain Points 

We know that all great case studies will highlight the challenges that clients have before finding your product or service as their solution, exacerbated by key pain points. 

It’s so important to get enough information that these challenges feel real and significant in the case study; if you neglect to explain why a challenge was an actual obstacle, it can come across as seeming trivial. That can make your solution seem trivial, too.

These are the best case study questions to ask for this stage of the interview.   

4. What were the challenges you needed to solve before finding our product? 

This is a specific, pointed question, which helps make it effective. 

If I ask my content marketing clients this question, for example, they might say, “we didn’t know how to create content that ranked well” or “we needed help creating content at scale.” 

You can dive deeper by asking pointed questions about their key problems, which brings us to the next question. 

5. Why did this challenge have such a significant impact on your business?

This is the golden ticket right here, because it’s about pain points. 

Say you’re selling marketing services, and the client’s challenge is that they wanted help with lead generation . 

The pain points of “organic channels were too slow in driving customer acquisition, and our churn rates were eviscerating our client numbers” or “we tried to run ads ourselves but ended up losing hundreds of dollars to no avail.” 

Wasted money. Bleeding clients. Too-slow organic channels. These are pain points that make the case study feel real, and that other customers will connect to.  

6. What other solutions had you tried before and why didn’t they work? 

While it’s best to skip out on trash-talking competitors in the case study, asking this question during the interview can give you valuable context and a lot to work with. 

If, for example, I’m a weight loss coach, my clients may have tried the keto diet and Weight Watchers to no avail. Knowing that the keto diet made them feel queasy and that they found the point-tracking Weight Watchers to be too much work can be useful information for the study, even if you don’t ever name the alternatives.

These are pain points in their own right, and can be utilized like the following: 

 “The client had tried different solutions before but found that the diets either made them sick or were too much work to maintain.” It positions your solution to be the winning option. 

Accessibility-Focused A/B Testing: 6 Strategies To Improve Inclusive B2B Campaigns

Did you know that 15% of the world’s population experience some form of disability in…

How To Integrate AI In Digital Marketing: 7 Tips For A Better Performance With AI

Most people have heard the buzz about artificial intelligence (AI) and the incredible feats it…

A Marketing Guide to Gamifying B2B Lead Generation

Have you noticed how rarely we’re bored nowadays? Every moment of our lives is filled.…

Questions About How They Discovered You 

While it may seem irrelevant, information about how customers discovered you and why they decided to work with you can actually become compelling parts of a case study— even if only mentioned in brief. 

Here’s an example of how you can use this information in the case study: 

“We found Breadcrumbs after our business partner mentioned it to us, and after reading about their easy-to-use interface and accessible lead scoring , we decided to give it a try.” 

You’ve got social proof (business partner referred them) and a promo for a unique feature that made them convert. 

Here are the case study questions you can ask to get this information:

7. How did you find out about our brand? 

It’s a simple question, and it will likely be a simple answer. Nice and easy. 

8. What made you decide to try our product over other solutions? 

This essentially gets the customer to sell your product back to you, which is phenomenal. And someone reading the case study might think, “They’re right; I’ve also looked for a lead scoring tool with a great interface, I’d try that.” 

Questions About How They Used The Product or Service 

This will likely be one of the meatier parts of the case study interview because this is where some of the actionable information comes into play. How did your clients use your product or service, what steps did they take, and how can others use this to replicate the eventual results we’ll discover? 

These are the case study questions to ask: 

9. Which specific products and product features did your team use? 

Say you’re selling invoicing software to small businesses. Not all clients will use every feature.

Graphic designers, for example, may take advantage of project estimates for upfront deposits more than a copywriter who only works for flat fees. That copywriter, however, might be more likely to use invoice templates for retainer clients or automated billing features. 

Ask about the products and services the team used. 

10. How did your team use our products and services to meet their needs? 

You know what products or services were used, but now it’s time to ask how they were used.

Project estimates, for example, allowed graphic designers to send more professional-looking invoices to clients, who could pay upfront deposits through credit card, check, or bank deposit. This helped that designer weed out clients who had no intention of paying and gave them the funds they needed to secure the supplies to begin working.

And for the copywriter who used automated billing, it saved her an exceptional amount of time and ensured she got paid on time because she sent those invoices on time. 

11. How was your experience? 

Was the SaaS tool user-friendly? Did your clients take advantage of a free demo program or the option to have an account manager get their entire account up and running?

Ask about their specific transition process using the tool and what made the experience a more positive one. 

Questions About Their Results 

Last but not least… the results. Believe it or not, some case studies skip this part of the interview, but you definitely want to include hard, quantifiable data in as many case studies as possible. 

12. What end results did you get after using our product? 

Ask for the results your clients achieved. If they’re comfortable sharing the information, ask for KPIs. 

How did using our social media marketing software increase message response rates? 

How did our marketing service improve lead generation efforts, and customer acquisition costs? 

How did our lead scoring software reduce the contact-to-close period for leads or increase the overall financial value of leads acquired? 

Be as specific as the client will allow. The more definitive the data you can share, the better. 

13. What impact did these results have on your business? 

While this may seem self-explanatory, this is a great final question that again helps the impact of your product or service really stand out.

We saw customer satisfaction increase and sales go up by about 15% by improving message response rates on social media. 

Or, by getting more leads at lower costs, our business was able to reinvest those accelerated profits into additional campaigns to scale exponentially at an unprecedented rate, and now we’re opening two new branches. 

This can be a combination of data-focused or story-driven impacts. Either (or both!) works well. 

14. Is there anything else we should know? 

Anything else you want to share? This is a short but powerful question, and while some clients will say, “nope, that’s it,” you may be surprised what some other people share with you. 

There may be something they’ve been excited to talk about that hasn’t come up in the questions yet, or something may pop into mind to elaborate on something you’d discussed earlier.

Give them the floor, and see what they have to say. 

Final Thoughts 

If you’re going to take the time needed to conduct and write up a case study (both your own time and the client’s), you want to get it right. Coming prepared with a list of strong case study questions can help you create content that will be highly effective at generating leads and converting customers for a long time to come. 

Want to speed up the lead conversion funnel with lead scoring software? Create a Breadcrumbs account for free here ! 

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

21 market sizing questions with answers (McKinsey, BCG, etc.)

If you’re preparing for a case interview at McKinsey, BCG, Bain, or another top consulting firm, you can expect to face a market sizing question. This could be something like “What’s the market size for take-away coffee in this country?” or “How many bottles of wine are sold in the U.S. every year?” 

The best way to get the hang of these questions is to practise them. To save you hours of research, we’ve collected 21 typical market sizing questions with good quality solutions and listed them below.

Here’s an overview of what we’ll cover:

• What are market sizing questions?
• How to prepare for market sizing questions

Click here to practise 1-on-1 with MBB ex-interviewers

1. what are market sizing questions.

Market sizing questions are typically asked at the beginning of consulting case interviews. They require you to perform rough calculations in order to estimate the size of a particular market without having any data available.

There are two types of market sizing questions. Most commonly, you'll be asked to estimate the value of a market - that is, to calculate its annual revenue. The market could be anything, from soft drinks to ping pong balls, and you’ll need to give an estimate of its annual worth (e.g £5 billion).

Alternatively, you may be asked to estimate the volume of a market - that is, to calculate the number of units sold (e.g 5 billion ping pong balls).

1.1 Why do companies ask market sizing questions?

Consulting firms tend to ask market sizing questions for two main reasons:

Firstly, it gives the interviewer the chance to see whether the candidate's basic mathematical and problem-solving skills are of a good standard, and whether they can use them quickly and logically in a pressure situation.

Secondly, consultants will often need to provide “guesstimates” and ball-park figures of market size while they’re talking to clients, be it on strategy cases or due diligence cases. Thus the ability to do a quick back of the envelope calculation, perhaps during or just before a client meeting, is of real practical value.

So, let’s take a look at some examples.

2. 21 market sizing questions and solutions

We’ve researched through the questions and solutions available online, and we’ve listed the best ones here for you, including links to video and written resources.

2.1 Medium-level questions

There's a whole list of examples below, but first let's work though an example together so that you can see how we recommend approaching a market sizing question.

2.1.1  How many t-shirts are purchased in New York City in a given year?

We always recommend using a  4-step framework.

Step 1: Ask clarification questions

Market sizing questions are usually ambiguous. Make sure you’re calculating the right numbers before you start. This also buys you some thinking time. You could ask:

• “Does this include NYC only (8m) or the greater metropolitan area (20m)?" 
• "Does 'shirts purchased' mean just in-store? Would an online purchase by someone in New York using a provider outside NYC count?"
• "Does this include sportswear, or is it restricted to regular-use t-shirts?”

Let’s imagine that in this case, the interviewer says they’re interested in NYC only. They clarify that online purchases can be included as long as the buyer is in NYC at the time of purchase, and that sportswear should be excluded.

Step 2: Map out your calculations

We always recommend telling your interviewer your approach to the problem before you start making calculations.  You could lay out these five steps:

• Estimate the population of NYC.
• Estimate the number of t-shirts the average man in NYC buys each year.
• Estimate the number of t-shirts the average woman in NYC buys each year.
• Adjust estimates for age group differences.
• Find average and multiply by population of NYC.

Hopefully the interviewer is on board with your approach, so you can get started.

Step 3. Round numbers and calculate

Calculation step 1: Estimate the population of NYC .

Let's imagine that you live in London. You know that London has about 8m inhabitants, and you think that NYC must be fairly similar.

Estimate: 8 million

New York is a fashion capital in a world of fast-fashion, and also a relatively wealthy city where people have disposable income for clothes shopping. These factors will push your estimates up.

Now, onto the trickier estimates. If you’re a man, start with men so you can use yourself as a base of reference. If you’re a woman, vice-versa. For argument's sake, let's say you're a man.

Calculation step 2: Estimate the number of t-shirts the average man in NYC buys each year.

You can tell the interviewer that here you're using personal experience to make assumptions. Let's imagine that tees are your main item of clothing and you buy around 4 per year. You might say that you think this might be a bit under the NYC average, as you’re not interested in fashion and don’t have much time for shopping. Also, you want to count t-shirts given to men by someone else (their partners, for instance), and so this increases your estimate slightly.

Estimate: 5 t-shirts per year.

Calculation step 3. Estimate the number of t-shirts the average woman in NYC buys each year.

Let's imagine that, drawing from personal experience, your perception is that women don’t wear t-shirts as often as men, but then again they tend to buy more clothes than men. You consider that they may also buy a lot of clothes for men, but as you've already mentioned, you counted these in the male estimate.

Estimate: 3 t-shirts per year.

Calculation step 4. Adjust estimates for age group differences.

You may want to consider children differently, because children go through a lot of clothes as they grow, make a mess of them, etc. However, you could also factor in that children often wear a lot of passed-on clothing (from siblings, etc). You could conclude that these factors balance each other out, and so 3 for girls and 5 for boys seems about right to you.

Calculation step 5: Find average and multiply by population of NYC.

Clearly, the average of 5 and 3 =  4.

4 x 8 million = 32 million.

Step 4. Sense check your results

Your calculations have been fairly simple, so there shouldn’t be any surprises. 32 million t-shirts sold per year in a population of 8 million? It seems reasonable.

You can give the interviewer your final answer:

Total number of t-shirts sold in NYC each year: 32 million

Now you've seen how to approach this type of question, have a go at the ones below.

2.1.2 Provide an estimate for the number of dentists currently working in the UK

2.1.3 Estimate the market size for sofas in the UK

How did you get on? We've listed some more helpful examples below.

2.1.4 More medium-level questions

• How many bottles of wine are sold in the US every year? ( video solution)
• Estimate the size of the European shoe market ( video solution from 07'22) 
• What is the market size for cars in the USA? ( video solution from 00'48)
• Estimate the market size for televisions in Poland ( video solution )
• How big is the golf club market in New York? ( written solution , scroll down a bit)
• What is the market for a coffee shop in Cambridge, England? (Bain: written solution )
• What’s the market size for take-away coffee in Paris? ( written solution )
• What is the market size for smartphones in Germany? ( written solution , scroll to section 2)
• How many bars of chocolate are sold in the US each year? ( pg 34 of book preview )
• How many coffins are sold in Los Angeles (USA) each year? ( pg 43 of book preview )

Remember, there is often more than one valid way of approaching a market sizing question, so if your solution is different to the ones we've linked to, it doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong. However, it is worth learning an approach that works and sticking to it.

2.2 Hard questions

You can't predict how difficult your market sizing question will be, and so you should be prepared for it to be a little bit more complex. Let's apply our   4-step framework   to a slightly trickier question.

2.2.1  Calculate the market size for weddings in the UK

Make sure of the actual number you need to calculate. You could ask the interviewer:

• “Are we talking volume (number of weddings) or value (amount spent on weddings)?"
• "If we’re talking value, do you want to take into account linked expenditure - stag and hen parties, engagement rings, etc - or are we just focusing on the cost of the actual wedding day itself?"
• “Are we including guest expenditure, or just how much the wedding day costs the hosts?”

The interviewer tells you that they want the total direct spend on the wedding day, including guest spending at the venue. They’re not interested in related spend such as hen parties and guest transport, etc.

Right, now you’re ready for the next step.

Here you could explain to the interviewer that you're going to do some segmentation. Why? Because although people can get married at any adult age, there is a huge difference in marriage rate between age groups.

To keep it simple, you could segment the population into age groups spanning 20 yo, and assume even population distribution across those. You can estimate the % of each segment to get married in a year, thus finding the total people getting married in the UK.

• Segment population and estimate % of each that will marry in a given year.
• Use % to calculate number of people estimated to marry in each segment, and add together to find total number of people marrying.
• Two people marry at each wedding, so we’ll halve the number of people marrying to find the number of weddings. 
• Estimate cost per wedding by estimating host spend and guest spend and adding together.
• Multiply total spend per wedding by the total number of weddings to find the market size.

You lay out this approach to the interviewer and hopefully they’re on board with it, so you can start calculating.

Step 3: Round numbers and calculate

Calculation step 1: Segment population and estimate % of each that will marry in a given year

If you've memorised your   cheat sheet , you know the UK population is roughly 70m. 

0-20 years - 17m (rounded from 17.5)

20-40 years- 17m

40-60 years - 17m

60-80+ years - 17m

You could tell the interviewer that you’re going to make some assumptions based on personal experience of living in the UK. (If you're from another country, base it on your own experience and adapt. E.g. if you're from the US you’ll decrease the percentages a little because you know that the UK is less religious than the US and therefore marriage rates should be lower.)

• 0-20 years: Most of this age group is below the legal age of marriage and even at legal age, it’s fairly rare for people to get married before 20 in the UK. You might calculate that it’s less than 1 in 100 - let’s say 0.5%.

So, 17m /100 = 170k / 2 =  85k. You round this to 90k.

• 20-40 years: You estimate that you have around 100 friends and relatives that you're on reasonably close terms with and probably just over half of these are in the 20-40 age group. You say that you tend to be invited to two weddings a year, with one of the newly weds coming from outside this pool:  you estimate that 3 people out of 60 in this age group marry each year -  that’s 5%. 

You already know that 0.5% is 90k. So you multiply by 10 to get to 5% =  900k.

• 40-60 years: You estimate that weddings in this age group are around one third as common as the 20-40 segment, perhaps a little more due to second marriages. You call it 2%.

90k x 4 = 360k

• 60-80 years: Probably not as rare as the first segment, given that all ages are applicable, but still fairly rare. You estimate 1%.

90k x 2 = 180k

Calculation step 2: Use % to calculate the number of people estimated to marry in each segment, and add together to find total number of people marrying.

TOTAL: 90k + 900k + 360k + 180k = 1.530m people getting married. You round it to 1.5m

Calculation step 3: Two people marry at each wedding, so you halve the number of people marrying to find the number of weddings. 

Divide 1.5m / 2  = 750k weddings per year.

Total number of weddings in the UK each year: 750k.

Calculation step 4: Estimate cost per wedding by estimating host spend and guest spend and adding them together.

You could tell the interviewer that from what you’ve heard in the media, the average wedding in the UK costs the hosts £20k.

You need to add guest expenditure. Estimating 70 guests at each wedding, you estimate an average spend of £30. 70 x 30 = £2.1k per wedding, rounding it to £2k.

So, total direct costs of the average wedding comes to 22k.

Calculation step 5: Multiply total spend per wedding by the total number of weddings = market size.

22k x 750k =   16.5 billion

Step four: Sense-check your results

It’s hard to have much sense of how many billions weddings should be worth. Instead, let’s check the calculation before that - the number of weddings in the UK:

750K weddings per year in a population of 70 million people, does that sound right?

Yes, it’s roughly 2% (1% doubled for the two people marrying) of the population marrying each year, which seems reasonable.

You confirm to the interviewer your estimate:

Total market size of weddings in the UK:   £16.5billion

In fact, you’re a little over. The current market size for UK weddings is around $9 billion, with fewer weddings than you estimated. But the interviewer will be evaluating you more on the logic of the thought process than on how close your final result is to the real one. 

Right, let's take a look at some more questions.

2.2.2 Calculate the market size for medical consumables in GP practices (solution from 01'12)

2.2.3 Estimate how many women in the USA play golf

(alternative answer: here )

• Estimate how many women in the USA play golf (solution from 04'45)

2.2.4 Calculate the adult disposable diaper market in the USA

2.2.5 More hard questions

• How many petrol stations are there in the UK? ( video solution from 06'16)
• What’s the market size for residential light bulbs in the US? ( written solution )
• What is the total number of automobile tires sold in the US every year? (written solution)
• What is the size of the sandwich market in India? ( written solution , scroll down halfway)

The 21 questions we've included in this article should be a great resource for you when you need to practise market sizing questions. But what else should you be doing to prepare for them?  Let's take a look.

3. How to prepare for market sizing questions

The questions and calculations we’ve gone through here aren’t rocket science, but they require a calm head and can be tricky to pull off smoothly in a high-pressure situation. And of course, they’re even trickier if you’re not used to answering them!

However, if you prepare using the simple steps below, you should put yourself in a great position to crack them. Here we go:

3.1 Learn a framework

Having a framework will help you structure your answer logically and minimize your potential for mistakes. We recommend using the framework we laid out in the two solutions we walked you through above. See it in more detail in our ultimate guide to market sizing.

3.2 Memorise some basic data

Market sizing questions are not general knowledge or "lucky guess" tests, and you’re not expected to be able to quote all sorts of population demographics and industry stats.

That said, to make a good impression, we recommend brushing up on some basic facts such as the rough population of the country you’re interviewing in. In our ultimate guide to market sizing, we've put the most important data all together for you in a cheat sheet.

3.3 Practise on your own

Once you’ve learned the framework, we recommend answering lots of questions until the approach starts to come naturally. The question list in section 2 above is, as far as we can tell, the best resource available in terms of lists of questions and solutions.

We also recommend talking through your calculations out loud. This may sound strange, but it will help you be more methodical and will significantly improve the way you communicate your calculations during an interview.

3.4 Practise with experts

Of course, it's impossible to replicate a consulting case interview situation on your own. Practising with friends can really help , but if you really want the best possible preparation for personal experience interview questions, you'll also want to work with ex-consultants who have experience running interviews at McKinsey, Bain, BCG, etc.

If you know anyone who fits that description, fantastic! But for most of us, it's tough to find the right connections to make this happen. And it might also be difficult to practice multiple hours with that person unless you know them really well.

Here's the good news. We've already made the connections for you. We’ve created a coaching service where you can do mock interviews 1-on-1 with ex-interviewers from MBB firms. Learn more and start scheduling sessions today.

Further reading: Best interview coaching services 2023

How to Write a Business Case Study

• Established SMEs Insights
• 16 May 2024

• Content Drivers

Establishing trust and credibility with customers is the key to cultivating long-term brand loyalty . And one marketing strategy you can leverage is publishing business case studies online. 

For small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and ecommerce entrepreneurs, showcasing real-life successes through business case studies can be the game-changer that your business needs to reach the next level. 

How case studies help a business

Picture this scenario: You come across a website offering logistics solutions. But you hesitate to commit, since you don’t have enough information to decide if it’s worth the investment for your online store’s operations. 

Then, you come across a case study detailing how the company helped a similar-sized ecommerce business streamline its shipping and fulfillment, resulting in a significant increase in efficiency, cost savings and customer satisfaction. Your doubts fade as you read on, and you’re ready to engage with the logistics solutions provider. 

Case studies can help a business in this way – it builds a pathway for clients through documented evidence of success. They offer an in-depth look at your capabilities and achievements, allowing potential clients to envision the benefits of partnering with your business. 

In showcasing real-world success stories, your brand can get your target audience’s buy-in, creating excitement and anticipation for your offerings and separating yourself from competitors.

These compelling narratives not only demonstrate the value of your products or services but also provide practical insights into overcoming challenges, enhancing productivity and implementing creative solutions. 

#NinjaTip: Get shipping and logistics solutions tailored to your business needs. Ninja Van is your one-stop logistics partner to optimize your business for growth. Discover what we can do for your business.

What is a case study in business?

At its core, a business case study is a detailed account of a specific problem, solution and outcome surrounding a business organization. It typically outlines the challenges a company faces, the strategies to address those challenges and the results achieved. 

Unlike traditional marketing materials, case studies focus on storytelling instead of direct promotion, making them more relatable and persuasive.

For example, here’s a case study on Krispy Kreme Doughnuts ’ struggle and journey as a brand, business, and publicly traded company:

Types of case studies for businesses

A case study can  take on various formats, such as a YouTube video that feels like a class lecture. Depending on your goals or needs, using the right medium for your business case study can  impact its effectiveness. 

Here’s a list of the common case study formats for businesses:

1. Written Case Studies

Traditional and versatile, written case studies allow for an in-depth exploration on any aspects of a business and are suitable for presenting complex information in a structured format. Storytelling is key to weaving a convincing narrative for your readers.

2. Infographic Case Studies

Infographics offer a visually engaging way to present key data and insights from your case study. When compared to text-driven case studies, infographics condense information into digestible chunks, making it easier for readers to grasp the main points quickly.

3. Video Case Studies

Video case studies bring your success stories to life through dynamic and entertaining discussions, interviews and testimonials that have been recorded and edited for audience consumption. They appeal to auditory and visual learners and are also shareable on social media platforms, which offer easy replayability.

4. Podcast Case Studies

Similar to video case studies, podcasts offer a convenient medium for storytelling and can be a cost-effective way to reach busy professionals who prefer audio content. Interviewing clients, talking to industry players or chit-chatting with team members add authenticity and depth to your case study.

Here are a few websites to check examples of case study templates:

• Venngage.com
• HubSpot’s Case Study Creation Kit
• Thompson Rivers University Writing Centre Case Study template PDF

How to write a business case study 

Apart from using templates, there are different ways to go about writing a case study as a marketing tool to leverage for your business.

A basic, yet compelling structure for a compelling business case study’s story answers the following questions:

• What was life like for your target customer before they used your product or service?
• How did customers find your brand?
• What was their life like after they tried your product or service?

Once you’ve reflected on the answers to these questions, proceed to writing your case study. Envision your ideal customer and how they will want to enjoy the same success detailed in the case study.

Follow the steps below to write a case study for your business:

1. Choose the Right Angle for Your Story

Pick a compelling story that aligns with your target audience’s interests and concerns. Look for success stories that highlight the unique value proposition of your business .

Today’s online consumer is unique from others, especially with the shifting preferences in online shopping behavior . So depending on your objectives, you’ll have different ways to approach a narrative.

2. Gather Information

Do interviews with key stakeholders involved in the case study, including clients, employees, and subject matter experts.  Collect data and evidence to support your narrative.

3. Structure Your Case Study

Organize your case study into clear sections, including an introduction, background information, problem statement, solution overview, implementation details and outcomes.

4. Focus on the Human Element

The goal of using a case study is to win over your target audience’s trust by establishing your credibility. But don’t just present facts and figures; humanize your case study by including quotes, anecdotes and testimonials from real people involved in the project. Numbers deliver impact when they’re relevant and relatable.

5. Keep it Concise and Engaging

Aim for brevity while ensuring that your case study provides sufficient detail to convey the story effectively. Use visuals, such as charts, graphs and images to enhance readability, or videos to break the monotony.

6. Highlight Results and Benefits

Emphasize the positive outcomes achieved as a result of your solution, like increased revenue, cost savings, improved efficiency or enhanced customer satisfaction.

Why a case study is important in business

A business case study serves as powerful tools for SMEs and ecommerce entrepreneurs to build credibility and trust with their target audience, from Filipino e-shopaholics to more specific buyer personas in the sales funnel. 

Follow the guidelines in this article and execute with consistency and authenticity. Start crafting narratives that inspire confidence and trust in your brand, and drive business growth.

Table of Contents

Related articles.

• Established SMEs , Insights , Logistics

Top 3 Ways Ninja Van Uses AI in Logistics

• Business Tips , Established SMEs , Logistics

How to Deal with Slow Moving Inventory

• Established SMEs , Marketing

What is Bad UX and How It Impacts Your Business

Get useful business tips sent right into your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive insightful business tips. Learn about marketing, branding, digital strategies, ecommerce trends, logistics and everything you need to know to run a successful ecommerce business.

Thank you for your interest! We'll deliver fresh business insights straight to your inbox once they're ready.

By clicking “Subscribe” you agree to our Privacy Policy and give us consent to use your contact details for our newsletter.

Ship with Us

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

• KSAT Insider
• KSAT Connect
• Entertainment

WEATHER ALERT

3 advisories in effect for 13 regions in the area

Doc talk: university health doctor answers viewer questions, doc talk happens at 6:30 p.m. every thursday on ksat.

Stephania Jimenez , Anchor

Myra Arthur , Anchor/Reporter

University Health Pediatric Hospitalist Dr. Dina Tom joined KSAT anchors Stephania Jimenez and Myra Arthur to answer viewers’ health questions about protecting from mosquitoes, CIDP in kids and tonsils.

• KSAT 12s Doc Talk: Submit your questions and hear the answers on KSAT News at 6:30 p.m.

Copyright 2024 by KSAT - All rights reserved.

About the Authors

Stephania jimenez.

Stephania Jimenez is an anchor on The Nightbeat. She began her journalism career in 2006, after graduating from Syracuse University. She's anchored at NBC Philadelphia, KRIS in Corpus Christi, NBC Connecticut and KTSM in El Paso. Although born and raised in Brooklyn, Stephania considers Texas home. Stephania is bilingual! She speaks Spanish.

Myra Arthur

Myra Arthur is passionate about San Antonio and sharing its stories. She graduated high school in the Alamo City and always wanted to anchor and report in her hometown. Myra anchors KSAT News at 6:00 p.m. and hosts and reports for the streaming show, KSAT Explains. She joined KSAT in 2012 after anchoring and reporting in Waco and Corpus Christi.

Recommended Videos