case study about any company

In terms of the interview structure, I recommend categorizing the questions in a way that the answers flow into six specific sections that will mirror a successful case study format. Combined, they'll allow you to gather enough information to put together a rich, comprehensive study.

Open with the customer's business.

The goal of this section is to generate a better understanding of the company's current challenges and goals, plus how they fit into the landscape of their industry. Sample questions might include:

• How long have you been in business?
• How many employees do you have?
• What are some of the objectives of your department at this time?

Cite a problem or pain point.

To tell a compelling story, you need context that helps match the customer's needs with your solution. Sample questions might include:

• What challenges and objectives led you to look for a solution?
• What might have happened if you did not identify a solution?
• Did you explore other solutions before this that did not work out? If so, what happened?

Discuss the decision process.

Exploring how the customer decided to work with you helps to guide potential customers through their own decision-making processes.

Sample questions might include:

• How did you hear about our product or service?
• Who was involved in the selection process?
• What was most important to you when evaluating your options?

Explain how a solution was implemented.

The focus here should be placed on the customer's experience during the onboarding process. Sample questions might include:

• How long did it take to get up and running?
• Did that meet your expectations?
• Who was involved in the process?

Explain how the solution works.

The goal of this section is to better understand how the customer is using your product or service. Sample questions might include:

• Is there a particular aspect of the product or service that you rely on most?
• Who is using the product or service?

End with the results.

In this section, you want to uncover impressive measurable outcomes — the more numbers, the better. Sample questions might include:

• How is the product or service helping you save time and increase productivity?
• In what ways does that enhance your competitive advantage?
• How much have you increased metrics X, Y, and Z?

It’s a smart idea to send a copy of your interview questions to your subject ahead of time so they can prepare strong answers and collect the numerical data you need from them.

10. Lay out your case study format.

When it comes time to take all of the information you‘ve collected and actually turn it into something useful, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. I always do, but I also know that it works out in the end, so I just jump on in and work it through.

So where should you start? What should you include? What's the best way to structure it?

It‘s important to first understand that there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to the ways you can present a case study.

They can be very visual, which you’ll see in some of the examples we've included below, and can sometimes be communicated through video or photos with a bit of accompanying text.

Here are the sections I’d suggest, and I'll cover these in more detail after #11 below:

• Title. Keep it short. Develop a succinct but interesting project name you can give the work you did with your subject.
• Subtitle. Use this copy to briefly elaborate on the accomplishment. What was done? The case study itself will explain how you got there.
• Executive Summary . A 2-4 sentence summary of the entire story. You'll want to follow it with 2-3 bullet points that display metrics showcasing success.
• About the Subject. An introduction to the person or company you served, which can be pulled from a LinkedIn Business profile or client website.
• Challenges and Objectives. A 2-3 paragraph description of the customer's challenges, before using your product or service. This section should also include the goals or objectives the customer set out to achieve.
• How Product/Service Helped. A 2-3 paragraph section that describes how your product or service provided a solution to their problem.
• Results. A 2-3 paragraph testimonial that proves how your product or service specifically benefited the person or company and helped achieve its goals. Include numbers to quantify your contributions.
• Supporting Visuals or Quotes. Pick one or two powerful quotes that you would feature at the bottom of the sections above, as well as a visual that supports the story you are telling.
• Future Plans. Everyone likes an epilogue. Comment on what's ahead for your case study subject, whether or not those plans involve you.
• Call-to-Action (CTA). Not every case study needs a CTA, but putting a passive one at the end of your case study can encourage your readers to take an action on your website after learning about the work you've done.

When laying out your case study, focus on conveying the information you've gathered in the most clear and concise way possible.

Make it easy to scan and comprehend, and be sure to provide an attractive call-to-action at the bottom — that should provide readers an opportunity to learn more about your product or service.

11. Publish and promote your case study.

Once you‘ve completed your case study, it’s time to publish and promote it.

Some case study formats have pretty obvious promotional outlets — a video case study can go on YouTube, just as an infographic case study can go on Pinterest.

But there are still other ways to publish and promote your case study. Here are a couple of ideas.

Lead Gen in a Blog Post

As stated earlier, written case studies make terrific lead-generators if you convert them into a downloadable format, like a PDF.

To generate leads from your case study, consider writing a blog post that tells an abbreviated story of your client‘s success and asking readers to fill out a form with their name and email address if they’d like to read the rest in your PDF.

Then, promote this blog post on social media, through a Facebook post or a tweet.

Published as a Page on Your Website

As a growing business, you might need to display your case study out in the open to gain the trust of your target audience.

Rather than gating it behind a landing page, publish your case study to its own page on your website, and direct people to it from your homepage with a “Case Studies” or “Testimonials” button along your homepage's top navigation bar.

The traditional case study format includes the following parts: a title and subtitle, a client profile, a summary of the customer’s challenges and objectives, an account of how your solution helped, and a description of the results. You might also want to include supporting visuals and quotes, future plans, and calls-to-action.

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17 Brilliant Case Study Examples To Be Inspired By

Lead generation is complex, which means that your best bet is to have multiple touchpoints on different channels designed to capture as many leads as possible.

While you’re setting up your lead generation funnel , remember that you need to have different touchpoints on your site itself, too. It’s not enough, after all, that they’ve landed on your site on their own; you need to convince them to convert as a lead or even as a customer once they’re there.

Case studies can help with this, allowing you to prove what kind of results your brand, product, or service can offer to real clients. You can back up what you’re promising, and show the how, what, who, and why questions that customers may have. They can help generate more leads and accelerate revenue quickly.

We’ve got some great resources on how to get the information on how to conduct great case study interviews and what makes case studies valuable , but today we’re going to look at 17 individual and diverse case study examples and talk about how to write great B2B case studies.

These examples all do something exceptional and approach their case studies a little differently, but they all have outstanding final results. 

Ready to get inspired and get some actionable tips to write your own B2B case studies? Let’s get started.

How to Write Great B2B Case Studies 

Before we start looking at different B2B case study examples, we want to first talk about what makes B2B case studies valuable and effective.

What All Great B2B Case Studies Accomplish 

Case studies are most often used to build trust by proving that you’ve gotten a specific result for clients and that you can do the same for your existing leads. In many cases, case studies should:

• Establish a persona or audience segment that the client fits into (which, in many cases, leads will relate to)
• Explain what the client’s problem was before they started working with your brand
• Detail what solution you offered to help the client (which should include some level of detail regarding the strategies, products, or tactics that you used)
• Share the results, ideally the more specific (and numerical) the better; statistics that show improvements are golden 
• Feature a client impact statement or a testimonial if possible 

You can use this as a guide post (or almost like a template) of how to get started with the content that you need to cover in your case study. 

B2B Case Study Best Practices 

When writing B2B case studies, you always want to follow these best practices:

• Try to stick to a consistent template, that way as you create a fleshed-out case study section on your site, it will be scannable and familiar to leads 
• Tell a story, using a client’s problems and pain points to connect with potential leads and highlighting how you can help; think of the problem as the beginning of the story, the solution as the climax, and the results section as the resolution of the story 
• Be as detailed as you need to be, but as brief as possible; while B2B case studies can certainly trend much longer in length than most B2C case studies, you also want to make sure you’re offering value because if it goes too long, your customers will lose interest 
• Always include hard facts. Statistics, tactical solutions, and quantifiable data reign supreme here. They carry a case study, and they give you a nice impressive title to draw in the clicks, too.
• Rely on great formatting. Do not write a case study that’s nothing more than a giant block of text. Use great formatting to keep the entire case study scannable and easy to read. Break it up with visuals whenever possible. 

1. Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs has a number of content-based case studies on our site, and you know we had to feature these case studies first! 

These case studies both accomplish everything we’ve discussed above; they detail a client’s problem and pain points, explain the solution, and share the results and client testimonials. All the major boxes are checked.

What these case studies do differently than most, however, is they use a content-focused approach. The case studies aren’t just boasting about the amazing results our clients have seen, but they actually share enough actionable information for other clients to replicate their success, too. 

Let’s look at our case study, How to Reduce Your SLA by 99% . It discussed how a single client did reduce their SLA by 99%, but it also gives enough information that other users can discover how to use lead scoring to reduce SLA successfully themselves. 

The case study is downloadable, which a “Download” button at the top of the page next to “Request Demo” and “Start Free” CTAs. It also features a well-formatted “What you’ll learn” section to engage users and assure them that they won’t just be reading about a client story, but they’ll walk away with something helpful.

One other thing to note here is that some B2B case studies can feel, for lack of a better word, a little cold. The client’s business name is mentioned, but pain points are relatively clinical and the tone is dull. That’s not the case with the Breadcrumbs case studies, where individual client contacts are referred to by first name and are written in a more conversational tone. It feels much more personal, and at the end of the day, we’re not just selling to businesses—we’re selling to the people who work for businesses. 

2. AdEspresso

Want to turn your case study into a lead magnet? This case study example from AdEspresso is an excellent demonstration of how to use case studies not only to pique users’ but to actually convert them to leads.

Here’s how it works:

• People go to the case study part of the site, find it through organic search, or are referred there by email, paid social ads, or blog posts
• They read the title and the description, which mentions the company name, what was accomplished, a brief explanation of how (here, it’s split testing, targeting new and existing audiences, and AdEspresso)
• The description gives a concrete result–“GlobeIn doubled its revenue”
• They encourage users to download the PDF 

While most of the case studies that we’re looking at are published on their brands’ sites, this one works as a lead magnet. When users click the “Download PDF” CTA, they’re taken to a landing page with a lead form. 

The landing page touches more on what results were achieved, but still requires users to download the PDF to find out exactly which strategies were used. This works because the case study isn’t just stating “our tool gets more results,” it also offers strategic insights similar to a blog post that readers can leverage to improve their own campaigns. 

If you create case studies that get strategic and are heavily content-based instead of just sharing results, they can act as a different kind of touchpoint in the digital sales funnel .

3. Freshbooks

Most businesses have multiple different buyer personas and audience segments that they’re targeting at any given point in time. When you want your case studies to really be effective, publishing diverse content that really speaks to each of those segments is crucial.

Freshbooks ’ case study examples really showcase how you can do that well. Their case studies feature brief customer stories from “relatable” small businesses (aka not mega CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, who are not Freshbook’s core Facebook target audience) talking about how their business used the tools to benefit.

You can see the different personas represented here. One is an agency that wanted to scale quickly; one case study example featured a growing franchise. Another was for a small business that needed help with tax prep, and the last pictured here is a freelancer who uses the invoicing software’s time tracking features to measure productivity and assess rates. 

These are four very different types of businesses, and it shows potential leads in each audience segment that there’s a reason they should use this tool. By highlighting different use cases, it can increase lead generation for all high-value audiences by appealing to their specific needs instead of just highlighting general stories that would appeal to all.

4. Disruptive Digital

Disruptive Digital is a paid social agency while a high-level holistic approach to advertising. Instead of looking at “general best practices” that you could find on ten other blogs in five seconds or less, they offer strategic insights that showcases how they really get their customers result. They make case study examples a central part of a large number of their blog posts.

They’ll write a blog post about a high-level topic like “how to calculate your target ROAS,” and then show a case study with real client data to walk you through the process. This is more powerful than hypotheticals when you’re talking about data-driven PPC campaigns, and they always use it to back up their arguments as well as teach a strategy. 

While these case study examples aren’t on a dedicated landing page, they work by appealing to users more towards the top of the funnel . It helps to build trust and establish credibility early while setting their blog posts apart. It’s good for their content marketing and lead generation efforts. 

5. CoSchedule

CoSchedule is a well-known SaaS content and social media planning and organization tool, and their case studies are phenomenal. 

They do a few things well. The first is by featuring different types of clients in their case studies. In the case study example below, they’re showcasing not a brand, but a University alumni group. 

Their formatting is also great. The first thing you see is “This 5-Person Marketing Team Managed 12x More Work While Working Remotely” in bright blue across the top of the page. They’ve also got a quick-reference, quick-facts bar on the side of the case study that lists the brand name, the brand’s site, the industry, company size, and marketing team size. Here, you can download a PDF of the case study, and immediately under there is a CTA to request a demo (also in blue, ideally to have the eye go from the headline to the CTA).

The case study itself is well written, and you can read the full study here . It breaks things down by sharing the challenge, the solution, and the results. As you can see below, they have a graph in bright colors to showcase exactly how impactful those results were, with the results in bolded text underneath it. They finish it off with a quote from a key team member to really drive it home.

As far as case study examples go, this one is pretty perfect. The design is excellent, with quick-reference data, important facts highlighted, great design elements to draw the users’ eye and attention where you want it, and a customer quote. They also have a strong CTA to get in touch, which can get the process moving quickly, or the option to download the case study (turning it into valuable content and a lead magnet) if the customer chooses.

6. ONESOURCE

ONESOURCE  is a tax preparation product from Thomas Reuter’s, and the site features the below case study of The Cheesecake Factory—a major American brand—to help showcase value and generate sales. 

As far as design goes, this case study is clean, organized, and condensed. It’s like a digital brochure, with all the information cleanly broken down into bullet points, key quotes and statements, and subheadings. 

They share only the core information that’s needed (including what products were used, what was accomplished, and data about the Cheesecake factory’s tax department) and nothing that isn’t. It’s to the point and highly effective.

Slack is one of the most popular instant communication chat tools available right now, and especially after everyone had to work from home during the pandemic, we’re guessing a large number of readers are familiar with the platform.

Their case studies are, as you’d expect, strong and well-written. They’re longer and read almost more like a story-driven blog post than studies like CoSchedule’s fast-facts, brief-and-to-the-point content. But this works for this brand; storytelling is powerful, after all, and it’s memorable and relatable.

In this case study, they use storytelling to really highlight the company’s pain points, focusing on how shopping habits changed and impacted businesses during COVID-19. They focus on Shipt, a grocery-delivery company that was thrust into high demand quickly. 

The case study talked about how Shipt had been using Slack for years, but how they really embraced advanced features and integrations during COVID to get the most out of the platform. They then share how the company uses it, and share data and statistics about usage . 

There’s a quote from the director of IT in there, too, to stress the importance, and you’ll see they have a “quick facts” tab on the side with a powerful quote that highlights the value, key integrations that were featured, and a CTA to both contact the sales team and to try Slack for free. 

They have a full page of case studies available, all of which state what Slack helped accomplish in a storytelling format as opposed to going hard with the data upfront. This feels more casual, but is just as powerful.

8. Culture Amp

We’re going meta. We just looked at case study examples from Slack, and now we’re going to look at a case study example about Slack. 

Culture Amp helps brands maintain and facilitate their desired communication culture through feedback and communication response.

This case study features my favorite quick facts tab, sharing the brand name featured in the case study, a sentence each about the challenge, solution, and result. And there is, of course, that “request demo” CTA. 

The case study does a few things that you don’t see a lot. They introduce two of the key figures in the Slack department who worked directly with Culture Amp, giving it a more personal touch and adding more credibility to the study.

It’s also well-written and engaging to read. Sentences like “Company culture is Slack’s North Star” aren’t your standard technical and almost clinical “just the facts, ma’am” approach to case studies. The case study is longer than some others, but the creative writing can keep you hooked, and it thoroughly explains how the single brand used the product and services to excel.

9. KlientBoost 

We’ve already looked at one case study from a marketing agency, but the way KlientBoost has their case studies set up, it’s well worth taking a look at another.

Their numerous case studies are found under the “Results” tab on their site, making them all readily visible and easy to locate. It also increases the odds that users will stumble across the case studies on their own, even if they weren’t intentionally looking for them.

And one thing worth noting: They’ve got a sorting feature to “show me clients who” meet certain qualities like “are worth billions, “got acquired,” “have small budgets,” and “have crazy complex offerings.” 

This is an easy way to tell all of their potential clients that “yes, we take clients like you and get results!” while making it simple for them to find proof. 

The case study itself is of course well-written and designed, too. You’ve got a bold, color-contrasting header at the top in large text that lays out core benefits (x results in just three months), with more detailed results visible on the side.

They also break down the different advanced advertising features they used, a customer quote, and an image of what the ads looked like to bring the whole thing together. This shows prospective clients exactly what they can expect when working with the agency, and it builds a massive amount of trust. 

10. Omnivore 

Omnivore.io is a menu management tool designed specifically for restaurants that integrate with other tools to streamline the guest experience.

The content we’re going to look at is a great example of case study creation for hyper-niche industries that have specific needs. 

It’s presented as a standard blog post, but the H1 title says exactly what benefits the company achieved, and they still have a “more seating options, more problems” header to present the challenge in a creative way. 

They then explain how the TableUp app works with Omnivore’s tech and other integrations to be able to offer additional services to customers like adding their party to a restaurant’s waitlist, joining email lists for points, making to-go orders, and more. 

They also shared an example of how a real client (Budweiser) used the feature, and included a blurb about the integrating tool. 

You’ll notice that this case study looks a little different from others that we’ve looked at. It doesn’t have a lot of hard numbers or super detailed examples, but it works because it showcases a specific integration and details specific uses. 

This is, in many cases, going to be an audience focused on use case value more than just statistics; if the tool can do what’s needed, that’s what they’re going to care most about. So this formatting works. 

11. Pepperi

We’re on a food-themed case study roll right now! Next, we’re going to look at a case study of how Chex Finer Foods worked with the Pepperi omnichannel B2B Commerce. 

This case study is long . It’s much longer than the others that we’re looking at, with 6 total pages of content (though some are heavily dominated by images). See the entire case study by clicking above. 

Here’s why it works though: They keep the “Challenges” brief and the client breakdown visible right upfront to show users why they should care. 

The solutions section is also brief, explaining how Pepperi solved the company’s challenges. That all happens within the first page of the case study. 

The rest of the study has five pages that look like this, showing visuals that highlight the exact product that users received when working with Pepperi. There’s no hypothetical mock-up; you get to see the mobile app design , the site, the home page here. Other pages show how search results work for brands with extensive inventories, along with features like analytics, multi-product views, and more. 

For customers who really want to understand what they’re getting and why they should choose this particular service, there’s no doubt. They can see what the interface looks like, and what real clients’ platforms offer. 

12. DOTVOX 

DOTVOX sells hosted VoIP business lines to their clients.

There are a few reasons I really liked this particular case study.

First, they do a great job showcasing how their specific technology can benefit a specific type of client: a multi-site company that needs help with business communications. This is niche enough that some other tools may not be able to help (or that may be a concern that some customers have). 

They also focused the case study on a business in the financial industry, letting other clients in that niche know that they offer secure communication options suited for banks, mortgage lenders, and more. These are high-value clients, so it’s a solid choice. 

Later on in the case study, they break down the individual results, services, and solutions achieved. The “Feature-rich” part is my favorite; they detail unique features that other tools may not offer and explain briefly how they work. 

Potential leads reading this can get a good idea of what’s possible. 

13. PortaFab 

Last but not least, we’ve got this case study from PortaFab . 

The reason I really wanted to look at this particular case study is that it’s not selling a service or a SaaS tool; it’s a physical product being sold to businesses. That automatically changes things up a bit. 

They, of course, have a brief overview of what the project entailed, but it’s organized a bit differently. They featured the challenge on the right side of the case study and the project overview and benefits provided on the left. 

Underneath this, however, they’ve got their solution featured, along with an extensive photo gallery showing the finished project. 

Allowing customers to easily visualize the end result is important for physical goods, so this was a smart call. 

14. Strands Retail

Strands Retail sells personalization and product recommendation software to eCommerce brands. Their case study below features the work they did for mega-brand Chewy.

Featuring this particular client was smart. Chewy is highly regarded for the exceptional customer service experiences they provide, so linking themselves to the brand is a good move. It’s also a massive company, and since the case study focuses on the fact that Chewy needed a solution that scaled with their brand, it gives them outstanding credibility in terms of the potential to serve enterprise-grade clients.

The case study is visually solid and well-designed, too. Since not all leads want to read the details and just want a few quick stats, featuring a few impressive key stats at the top in contrasting colors or with graphics (which they do here) can get the point across quickly and really exemplify how beneficial the product was. 

15. Codeless.io 

Like Breadcrumbs, Codeless.io takes a content-heavy approach to the case studies they feature on their site. 

They don’t just want to show results (which are crucial for a content marketing agency to do in order to leverage trust), but they want to prove that it wasn’t just luck. They got their clients real, sustainable results with careful processes, and they can do the same for you, too. 

Let’s look at an example. Their Loomly case study boasts an impressive 827% increase in CTR by updating the client’s existing content. This is smart, because it highlights a service many agencies may not offer and demonstrates the value of the service to clients who may be reluctant to spend on updating existing content. 

The case study itself is written and formatted almost like a blog post and case study hybrid. You’ve got the essential details about the company listed off to the side, but there’s also an entire H2 section that details more about the business in question. 

They also are incredibly transparent in the processes they used to help their client obtain impressive results, and this is something you won’t see many agencies do because they don’t want to “give away their secrets.” This builds trust, however, because clients can see that there is an actual strategy and that the company can help them, too. Everyone walks away from the case study without a doubt that Codeless was responsible for these results, not luck. 

16. WizeHire 

WizeHire is a hiring platform that helps businesses find the types of applicants they’re looking for, and their case studies do an outstanding job showcasing exactly how their products work and how they impact clients.

This case study , in particular—which features their client over at Mazda—is a great case study example to look at.

Their formatting is a little different than some of the others on this list, but it’s still undeniably effective. Towards the top of the case study, they have a “How We Helped” section. It introduces the point of contact, the client’s past pain points, and basic “before and after” points to highlight the value of the tool. This is a great quick overview to introduce readers to high-value concepts quickly. 

They also use multiple media here, including images, video, and diverse text formatting. This makes the case study visually appealing and more engaging. If you want to just skim quickly through bullet points you can, but there’s also a video where the client raves about their experience.

And, of course, you’ve got a detailed results section highlighting how the client received long-term value from the product, featuring great statistics and a strong client testimonial. 

Kosli is a highly technical tool for software developers and dev ops teams, and their case studies are a great example of how to discuss extraordinarily technical topics in an approachable way.  

Let’s look at this case study , which promotes how their client Firi delivered over 100,000 changes without worrying about compliance. The case study itself is relatively short, but that’s okay, because it doesn’t need to be long to be effective.

It efficiently stresses that Firi operates in Norway, which has some of the most demanding sets of regulatory standards across the globe. That automatically assures customers that no matter where they’re based, this tool can help, making this client selection for the case study a great choice. They also explain the value upfront—100,000 changes and a proven audit trail if needed. 

The formatting of this case study is smart, cleanly listing common challenges and then solutions. They had a “counterpart” solution, if you will, for each challenge listed, showing how they were able to help the client directly. 

And while there isn’t a long list of statistics or improved performance in this case study, that’s okay, too; not every case study absolutely needs that. Instead, they have an explanation from their client (a CTO of the company), who explained why the software was so invaluable for their needs. 

Final Thoughts

Case studies can be powerful tools used to generate and convert leads, boosting your overall revenue. And as you can see above, there’s no one-size-fits-all requirement for what an effective case study looks like or even where it should appear on your website . Take some time to think about what information you want to present and how it would be most effectively portrayed to your leads. This is a good starting point, and make sure to remember to get your design team’s input, too, so it looks and reads well. 

Ready to get more conversions from the case studies you’re creating? Make sure your sales team is ready to nurture incoming leads with lead scoring! Book your free demo of Breadcrumbs today.

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How to write a business case study: your complete guide

Hanna Stechenko Manager, SEO Management

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Business case studies are powerful tools for marketing, teaching, and training. They help to create valuable learning experiences that can be shared with others.

A well-written business case study can also generate leads, increase customer loyalty, and boost sales.

But writing an effective and compelling case study can be easier said than done.

Great case studies aren’t something that you can write by yourself.

You’ll need help from existing clients who are willing to talk about their problems publicly, and you’ll need to safeguard their reputation while you tell their story.

It’s tricky.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at how to write a business case study, including best practices, case study templates, real examples, and more.

Let’s jump in.

What is a business case study?

A business case study is an in-depth look at a specific company or organization that examines how a business solved a problem, achieved success, or faced failure.

Case studies are often used by businesses to demonstrate the effectiveness of their strategies and solutions.

They can also serve as inspiration for other organizations that may be considering similar approaches.

The idea is simple: Stakeholders evaluating a product may be able to see the value of that product by learning how other companies have tried and succeeded with it.

For that reason, 42% of marketers still list case studies as a top media format used to generate leads and sales.

Strong case studies are often based on interviews with actual customers to highlight the effectiveness of a specific feature, explain a certain use case, or emphasize benefits or results of note.

Done correctly, a case study combines customer testimonials, process information, and usage data to tell a unique story about how a product or service helped a company succeed.

That’s why case studies are sometimes known as customer success stories.

What makes a strong case study?

Before we jump into the details of how to make a great case study, let’s take a closer look at what a strong case study actually looks like.

To create a great case study, you’ll need each of the following:

• Clear, compelling storylines. A good case study should include a clear story line that conveys the problem, solution, and the impact of the solution.
• A strong presentation of data. Demonstrate how your product or service has made an impact on the customer’s business with documented facts and figures.
• Credible client testimonials. Include feedback from real clients and users about how your product or service solved their issue. With permission, use a person’s real name and job title and personal experience to add credibility to your case study.
• Streamlined visuals. Graphics, photos, charts and/or videos can help illustrate results in an engaging and easy to understand way.
• Call to action. Always include a link to more information or a contact form at the end of your case study.

While all of these components are essential to great case studies, they aren’t always easy to acquire. Be prepared to dig for information and work closely with customers to build compelling content.

Why use case studies at all?

Great case studies can take some time to create.

Considering budgets and deadlines, why should you even bother using them when you could create more landing pages, buy more ads, or write more blog posts?

It’s a fair point to consider.

Case studies come with a unique set of benefits for your marketing strategy that other forms of content simply can’t fill.

1. They can last a long time

A single case study can be used as sales and marketing collateral as long as the feature products or services are still relevant.

If your products have a long lifespan, the same piece of content may be useful for months or years.

2. They’re relatively inexpensive

Case studies are relatively inexpensive to produce compared to other forms of marketing, such as white papers, e-books, and long-form blog content.

3. They drastically boost your credibility

Done correctly, case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of your products and services from the perspective of customers who have benefited directly from using them.

In a sense, case studies represent your products and services through the eyes of customers who have already taken the proverbial leap of faith.

When speaking to prospects and leads who aren’t fully bought in, they can minimize risk and offer assurances in a way that no other piece of sales and marketing collateral can match.

With all of that preliminary information out of the way, let’s take a closer look at how to actually build an effective case study.

Before you start: Understanding stakes and obstacles

The strongest case studies are usually created in collaboration between two companies: Your organization and that of a current or former customer with whom you have a good relationship.

At a high level, the process is straightforward:

• Question creation . Your team compiles a list of interview questions designed to tell a compelling story for new, prospective customers.
• Interview. Your team interviews a representative or stakeholder from the customer-partner organization.
• Draft. After the interview is complete, your team transforms the interview into a complete narrative.
• Feedback round. The customer-partner reviews the draft and provides feedback and input.
• Final draft. Your team makes corrections based on that feedback and resubmits for final approval.
• Final approval. The customer-partner approves the draft.
• Publish. Your team creates marketing collateral and publishes or shares the case study.

Simple, right?

Unfortunately, the process is rarely this smooth.

There are several outlying factors that can stop your case in its tracks or prevent it from ever seeing the light of day.

Here are some factors that you’ll need to consider before you start the case study process.

1. Relationship

Potential interview targets are more likely to agree to an interview if they have a strong relationship with someone on your team, like an account manager or a longtime sales rep.

Without a way to get your foot in the door, your interview request may be politely declined.

2. Availability

People are busy.

It’s not uncommon for the interval between reviews and approvals to take weeks at a time.

Because case study drafts need to be approved by both parties, expect delays while your drafts are circulated through your partner organizations.

3. Branding

Even if your product or service helped an organization overcome a huge obstacle, they may not want to talk about that weakness in a public forum.

Many companies are very cautious about anything that portrays their brand in an unfavorable light.

4. Legality

If your customer-partner doesn’t like what you’ve written, they may simply forbid you to use their name, logos, or data as part of your case study.

Moving forward without their permission could cause legal issues and damage customer relationships.

5. Approval

Sometimes, it’s impossible to get final approvals from the appropriate individuals in the customer-partner organization.

If HR or legal needs to sign off on the final product before it can be officially released, it could take weeks or months before that final approval comes through.

Above all else, remember: The customer-partner that agrees to help you create a case study is doing you a favor.

Most of the time, the customer-partner receives no benefit from the time and effort spent creating this piece.

They can’t use it to sell their own services, and they may reveal information and data that demonstrates a weakness in their management or internal process.

Keep that information in mind as you select your customer partners.

Be sure to treat these partners with care and respect, as a bad case study experience can damage a healthy customer relationship.

Step 1: Planning and prep

Business case studies will usually fall under the domain of your marketing team, but you’ll need to be specific when assigning project tasks and responsibilities.

Here’s what you need in order to create a case study:

• Internal project stakeholder. This individual oversees the project internally. They assign tasks, handle outreach, and oversee the production and delivery of the case study.
• External project stakeholder. The individual at the customer organization who agrees to help. This person may or may not be the individual who is interviewed by your organization.
• Interviewer. The individual who conducts the interview.
• Writer. The individual who writes the case study.
• Project manager. The individual who manages the case study project and ensures that deadlines are met.
• Internal editor or approver. The individual who reviews the case study and provides feedback or final approvals.
• External editor or approver. The individual at the customer organization who reviews the case study and provides feedback or final approvals.
• Designer. The individual who formats the case study, provides data-based graphics and illustration, or produces the final product file (typically a PDF or web page) with the case study and all relevant content.

Sometimes, these roles are combined.

The internal project stakeholder may also manage the product and provide editorial feedback after the case study is written.

Or, if you’re working with a freelancer for this process, they may conduct the interview, write the draft, and furnish a final design.

Next, consider your goals:

• Why are you writing this case study? Do you have a specific goal, such as boosting lead generation or improving customer lifetime value (CLV)?
• If your case study is angled to grow business with existing customers, you may select different features from case studies meant to introduce prospective customers to your products.
• This could include add-on services or premium product features.
• Do you have any new products, services or updates you’d like to share with the world?
• Do you have a new positioning strategy?

After you’ve defined your objectives, it’s time to start considering who you might want to interview.

1. Make your list specific

Include the company name, any relevant notes and the name of the intended stakeholders to be interviewed.

2. Only include notable candidates

Make sure that your interview targets have experienced substantial or notable results with your product.

Look for clients who have experienced exceptional and transformative outcomes while using your product or service.

3. Consider existing relationships

Look for clients that already have a strong working relationship with you.

If they regularly work with an account manager or are in constant contact with specific team members, consider bringing those individuals into the conversation early.

Once you have your targets, reach out, explain your project, and see if the customer is interested in participating.

When you ask for an interview, be sure to mention the following details:

• The purpose of the case study and what you’re ultimately trying to accomplish.
• A brief overview of the case study process (including the interview process and what happens next).
• Timeframes and estimated deadlines.
• A general idea of the kinds of questions they may be asked.
• Explain scenarios for how and where the case study may be used (you’ll need their permission to share it with your audiences).
• Thank them for their time.

If they agree, start scheduling your timeline.

Work backwards from the date you’d like to publish, then build in dates for reviews and edits. Also create a flexible internal deadline for securing a client interview.

Since you’ll need to align your schedule with that of your interviewee, pinpointing an actual interview date can take some time.

Step 2: The interview process

As we mentioned above: Most of the time, the customer-partner that agrees to help you with your case study receives no major benefit from the project.

It helps you, but it doesn’t usually help them.

With that in mind, your goal during the interview process is to make things as easy, streamlined, and stress-free as possible.

One major step that you can take to calm nerves and prevent misunderstandings is to send an interview questionnaire prior to your interview.

This will help your customer-partner understand your main objectives and prepare their responses in advance.

Here are a few sample questions you might use:

• How many team members use our product/service? Which departments?
• What were your challenges before using our product/service/process?
• What made you leave your previous solution for our product?
• How do you use our product/service/process?
• What features or tools have been the most helpful for your business?
• If you asked us for help, how did we provide you with what you need? We’d like to understand this from your perspective.
• How have you benefited from our offering–and what have been your greatest results to date? Please provide specific metrics, if possible.
• What surprised you most about using our product/service/process?
• How have your customers or clients benefited from your use of our products or services?
• Is there anything else you would like us to know?

When you sit down to interview the client, it’s easiest to follow the interview questions that you sent over and simply record their responses.

However, don’t just stick to the script during the actual interview . Listen and actively engage with your interviewee.

Ask follow-up questions. Clarify details. Explore the answers in real time with your interviewee.

Use the opportunity to dig deeper and gather all the information you need to tell the right story to your prospects and leads.

You might also use a tool like Otter.ai to record and capture the transcript at the same time, but be sure to have your customer-partner sign a recording permission release if you intend to use sound bytes from that recording as part of your final case study.

Step 3: Writing your business case study

Ideally, the interview is the last piece of information you need before writing your case study.

All of the background information and preliminary work should be done as part of the interview preparation.

When you finish speaking with the customer-partner, it’s time to consolidate your notes and write the draft.

Before you begin, take a moment to review your overall objectives and the story that you want to tell. From there, select a format for your case study and start the draft.

Regardless of the modules, headings, or illustrations that you use, the case study should cover what life was like before the customer started using your product or service and what happened after they adopted those products/services into their workflow.

Sample case study outline

1. introduction.

A brief description of the case study’s contents (bullet point key metrics and successes).

2. Company overview

A brief description of the featured company — what they do, who their customers are, what they sell, etc. Include brief background/context as to how they use your product, service or process.

3. Problem / Challenge

Describe the business problem or opportunity that your customer was facing before they started using your product or service.

Include strong quotes and fully illustrate why the issue was a problem that needed to be solved.

4. Solution

Explain how the customer used your product to solve their problem.

Share their decision-making process, how they arrived at your solution, what convinced them to purchase, and how they implemented that solution internally.

Share benefits and features that stood out to them. Reinforce these details with quotes from your interview.

Summarize the outcome from the customer’s implementation of your product, service, or process.

Recap their wins, as well as the major improvements that they have seen over both the short and long term.

Add data and metrics, where relevant. Include quotes about how the current solution empowers the company and solves their problems.

6. About us

Share a brief explanation of your company and the products or services you provide.

7. Call-to-action (CTA)

Add a call to action with the appropriate contact information (or a contact button, if this is a web-based case study) so that users can get in touch for additional information after reading the case study.

When it’s time to start writing, gather all relevant information and relevant links (white papers, other case studies, sales and spec sheets, etc.) to make sure you have access to the full scope of information related to the products and services mentioned in your case study.

Your goal isn’t to overload the reader by explaining everything. Instead, focus on creating a benefits-driven story around the features that your products and services provide.

Use data and details to provide precise information at key points.

It’s likely that you will need to bridge the information gap between your interviewee and your target audience.

Since your clients know you understand your product or service, they’re likely to answer your questions in broader terms.

However, your readers will not be as familiar with your organization and may only have limited experience with what you sell.

Instead, you’ll need to provide context as you write. If your business has buyer personas or ideal customer profiles (ICP), it’s a great idea to keep those on hand.

It’s also important to reserve enough writing time to get creative. Thoughtfully work your way through your materials to come up with the type of angle that will make your case study worthwhile.

Best practices

• Start with an attention-grabbing, relevant headline.
• Avoid lengthy explanations unless you’re working on a more complex case study.
• If you’re writing a business case study that’s complicated because of the subject matter or necessary background information, consider starting the content with an executive summary to improve readability.
• Only include a table of contents for lengthier case studies.
• Write in the third person.
• Avoid alienating your readers by assuming they’ll understand technical details. Skip the jargon and explain every acronym to hold their attention the entire way.
• A good business case study is a story. Make sure it has a strong beginning, middle, and end. A conversational tone often works best.
• Keep it focused. Don’t highlight a million wins for a single case study. Pick one or two combinations of challenges and solutions instead. If you include more, you might dilute your message or bore your readers.
• Always include direct quotes for an added dose of personality, energy, and human connection.
• Include stats or metrics whenever possible, such as increased revenue, the number of new customers gained, or a measurable boost in traffic.
• If you’re in a very visual industry like graphic design, advertising, fashion, or interior design, include on-brand images where relevant.
• Standard case study length: Roughly 500-1000 words.
• Long-form case study: Roughly 1500-2000 words.
• Make your customer-partner the hero. While your products and services are key to customer success, they are ultimately there to aid the customer in the important work that they do.

Revise and review

Once you’ve completed your case study draft, take a few minutes to re-read everything and ensure that the draft tells the right story.

• Double-check that all facts and figures are correct.
• Set it aside for a time and get some distance. Return to the draft with a fresh perspective.
• Pass it to your colleagues, including internal stakeholders and approvers, for feedback.
• Provide enough details and context so that readers can see customer benefits and how your solution can help them succeed.

Seek client approval

When you’re satisfied with your case study, it’s time to send a copy of the draft to your client for their review and approval.

This is an important step in ensuring maximum transparency and visibility.

Your customer partner should know exactly what you plan to share and have enough time to share it with key stakeholders from their marketing and/or legal department.

It is highly likely that your customer-partner will request changes.

Some changes may be simple (such as clarifying job roles), but others may be more drastic.

Your customer partner may request that you remember sensitive data and details or phrase issues in a more favorable light.

Most organizations seek to avoid bad press and prefer not to point out key weaknesses in their internal processes and strategies.

Be prepared to soften your language or advocate to keep key data points in place.

This is often one of the most critical parts of the case study process. Proceed with caution and choose your battles wisely.

While you can push back on suggested changes, remember that your customer-partner can rescind the use of their name and information in your case study.

Though you can choose to publish anyway (with names and titles omitted), your case study would be far less influential as a result.

Regardless of the potential gains from a case study, it’s not worth poisoning a relationship with a customer that actively uses and promotes your product.

Step 4: Marketing your case study

When you have the finished product, it’s time to share and promote your case study. Think about using these channels:

• A dedicated landing page.
• The resources section of your website.
• Your company blog.
• One or a series of marketing emails.
• Social media.
• Custom infographic.

Requiring readers to fill out a short online form to get the download may allow sales and marketing teams to connect with potential leads.

If you do go the gated route, be sure the conditions of opting in are crystal clear. And feature a couple of non-gated case studies on your site for everyone who’d prefer to skip the forms.

Regardless of how you market your case study, don’t forget about your sales team!

Sales reps will get a lot of use out of your case studies.

They can feature them as links in their email signatures and include them in sales emails and proposals for new clients and potential customers.

Ready to get started? Try out this case study presentation template .

Good case study examples (and why they work)

If you’re struggling with case studies, you can find plenty of great examples around the internet.

Start reading well-executed case studies to learn more about what makes them work.

Below, you’ll find a selection of three very different but successful case studies.

PandaDoc case study

Intro : Before diving into the body of the case study, we briefly introduced the company, TPD, and highlighted three major metrics for a promising start.

The problem: We quickly engaged readers with our conversational tone. We also invited them to walk in TPD’s shoes through empathetic language and relatable context.

Challenges, solutions, and results: We took readers on a storytelling journey to help our case study flow. We gave them enough information to understand the “why”, but never bogged them down with unnecessary details. We were also sure to include supporting quotes and specific, measurable results in these critical sections.

Pull quote: We reserved the very best quote as the only pull quote, ensuring it would receive the attention it deserves.

Format: Finally, every time we mentioned a new company, we gave it a hyperlink to help readers save time.

Trello case study

Unicef + trello: helping others when they need it most.

Facts and figures : Trello opens the case study with great at-a-glance information, sharing insights into UNICEF as an organization and their relationship with Trello products.

Challenges, solutions, and results: This case study takes readers through a detailed narrative, providing statistics and metrics whenever possible. Readers are immersed into the story of exactly how UNICEF used Trello to help thousands of people during a natural disaster, offering enough detail to spark use case inspiration for other Trello users.

Photos: Trello included photos of actual UNICEF employees working remotely around the globe. The pictures gave the case study a personal feel, which could help readers better identify with the story.

Readers are reminded of the unique challenges of working together while apart to start considering how Trello might be able to help them find the solutions they need. Remember, the best case studies are relatable to all of your prospects!

Format: Its structure makes this longer case study easy to read. Sections of text are kept short while bullet points and pull quotes provide visual breaks.

Finally, hyperlinks to organizations’ websites open in separate tabs to help prevent losing case study readers along the way.

Stripe case study

Simplepractice launches automatic payments offering for clinicians with stripe.

Intro: In just two sentences, Stripe successfully manages to explain what SimplePractice is, what they offer, who they serve, how they serve them, and the benefits those clients gain.

While it’s not necessary to be this brief, readers will be more likely to read your entire intro if it’s on the shorter side.

Sidebar : The sidebar draws eyes to keep reading with two impressive metrics and a brightly-hued CTA button to “contact sales”.

Challenge and solution: These sections read like a story, with each sentence enticing the reader to continue to the next. It’s also great that a quote from SimplePractice’s COO is used to add context, emphasizing the gravity of their challenge.

Results: Stripe gives a lot of detail here for a strong close to the case study. After explaining how their offering brought ease to SimplePractice’s business, they went on to share detailed specifics on what made things easier and in what ways.

They also explained how their offering improved the businesses of SimplePractice’s clients. It’s highly persuasive for readers to understand they have the opportunity to not only benefit their own companies but also those of their clients.

Pull quote: The case study ends with a strong pull quote in a can’t-miss-it color.

Format: Stripe has a great case study format.

Wrapping up

The truth is: No matter how much you talk up your product, you’re a biased participant in any conversation. You have an ulterior motive, and that makes any direct claims you make about your product or service questionable.

Why? Because you want to sell your product!

Case studies offer an alternative way to soften your messaging by allowing prospects and potential buyers to hear from the people who use your products in real-world, everyday situations.

By placing your customers and their experiences at the front of your marketing, you can use trust and relatability to bridge a gap in a way that numbers and data just can’t provide.

Your customers already have great stories about how your solutions have transformed the work that they do.

Help them speak and share those stories with the people who need to hear them most with a case study.

Good luck? Be sure to check out other marketing tips and tricks on the PandaDoc blog .

Frequently asked questions

What is the best business case study format.

The best business case study format depends on the nature of the results and what you’re trying to achieve. You can figure that out by carefully reviewing your customer success stories and interviews.

• What stands out the most?
• What are you trying to achieve?
• How can you use your layout to guide readers through your story?
• What is your industry or what is the industry of your featured client?

Pro tip : Some interviews are more quotable than others. If you have too many great quotes to include them in your featured sections, consider adding a few pull quotes to your layout.

How do I create a business case study outline?

To create a business case study outline, list all of your featured sections and use bullet points to note subsections and what should be covered.

Most case studies feature the following sections:

• Introduction
• Brief Description of Customer’s Business
• Problem/Challenge/Opportunity
• Results/Conclusion
• About Us / Boilerplate
• Call-to-Action (CTA).

But outlines aren’t just for traditional case studies. Use outlines to guide your infographic and video versions too.

What are some case study best practices?

Best practices for writing case studies include:

• Crafting short, easy-to-digest sections.
• Weaving in a narrative for engaging storytelling.
• Starting with an engaging headline.
• Writing in layman’s terms.
• Explaining any necessary acronyms.
• Including any supporting metrics or statistics.
• Using direct quotes to bring your customer’s story to life.

Also, be sure to get the approval of your client and their marketing team after you’ve had time to review your first draft and fact-check all information.

Where can I find a good case study design template?

You can find a good case study design template on PandaDoc.

Our company’s expertise is spot-on and the case study templates are free. Also, don’t be afraid to branch out. Let’s say you have a big following on YouTube or Spotify.

You might want to create a video or podcast version of your case study for readers who prefer audiovisual information.

Or, you may want to add multimedia content to your case study, such as a video insert or or audio clip.

PandDoc is not a law firm, or a substitute for an attorney or law firm. This page is not intended to and does not provide legal advice. Should you have legal questions on the validity of e-signatures or digital signatures and the enforceability thereof, please consult with an attorney or law firm. Use of PandaDocs services are governed by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Originally published October 27, 2022, updated March 30, 2023

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How To Write A Consulting Case Study: Guide, Template, & Examples

When you deliver a successful project, do you publish a consulting case study about it?

A consulting case study is a short story about a successful project that explains…

• The problem your client was dealing with before hiring you;
• your expertise and process for solving that problem;
• and the results your expertise and process created for the client and their business.

In my experience, our consulting case studies are among the most powerful pieces of content we publish. They’re a big reason why people are comfortable signing up for our Clarity Coaching Program .

Because our case studies prove our program helps our clients get results.

I can say that our coaching program is the best on the market until I’m blue in the face.

But it’s much more powerful for consultants to see the results others have experienced for themselves: through our case studies and testimonials.

If you don’t have something of value on your website like a case study — something that actually shows you can achieve results for your clients — then your website will only serve as “confirmational marketing.”

It will confirm what people hear about you. But it won’t help you generate interest and leads.

So, if you want to shift your website beyond mere confirmational marketing to an asset that helps you generate leads and conversions, consider writing consulting case studies using the method below.

In this article, you’ll learn how to write compelling case studies that help you win more consulting clients.

Ready? Let’s dive in…

Your case study is proof that not only can you talk the talk, but you can also walk the walk.

What Is A Consulting Case Study?

When a potential client is deciding on whether they will hire you or not, a big question in their mind is…

“Can this person or company really do what they say they can for my business?”

There are many forms of thought leadership you can use to prove you can deliver results.

The consulting case study is one of them.

A case study, in the context of consulting, is typically a written document that describes…

• the problem a client was facing,
• the actions you took to solve that problem,
• and the outcomes it created for your client.

You write case studies to demonstrate the results and value you created for a past or current client.

What makes them so effective as marketing material?

• They are relatively easy to put together (especially when you use our template below).
• Your potential clients enjoy reading them.
• And they are a highly effective way to demonstrate your authority and expertise in your field.

Next, I’ll walk you through how to write a consulting case study.

In our program, one of the things we teach consultants is how to better understand their clients’ problems and articulate their ability to solve those problems in a way that will attract new clients.

How To Write A Consulting Case Study

Here are the steps to writing your consulting case study. You can follow along with our consulting case study template .

1. Get Permission From The Client

You shouldn’t write a case study that names your client without their permission.

So, before you start writing it, ask them if they’d be OK with you publishing a case study about the project.

Now, I’m not a lawyer, and nothing in this article or anything I write is legal or financial advice. But here’s what we’ve found, through running consulting businesses for over two decades, often works best:

A question we often receive from consultants is “What if I can’t use the name of my client or the company I worked with?” Generally, this isn’t an issue. If your contract says you can’t use the client’s company name, or the client says “No” to your request, all is not lost.

What tends to work extremely well is still writing the case study, but without using the client’s name. Instead, describe the client.

For example, let’s say your client is the automaker Mazda. If you can’t use their name, consider “Working with a top 20 global automaker…”

This gives prospective buyers a good idea of the caliber and type of company you worked with.

When you ask your client for their permission to create a case study that features them, you’ll generally find that 9 times out of 10 they won’t have a problem with you doing so, but make sure you ask before publishing.

2. Introduce The Client’s Business

Once you’ve gotten permission from the client, you’ll begin writing your case study. Follow along using our template .

The first section is the introduction. Set the stage here by introducing your client, their business, and their industry.

This section gives context to the case study. Ideally, your ideal client is intrigued by being in a similar industry or situation as the client in your case study.

3. Describe The Problem Or Challenge

In this section, you outline the problem your client was facing.

Be as specific as you can be.

Simply saying they had marketing issues or a problem with their PR is not enough.

The more detail you include the clearer the picture will become and the more effective your case study copywriting will be.

If your ideal client reads this and has a similar problem as the client in the case study, you can guarantee that their eyes will be glued to the screen, salivating to learn how you solved it.

4. Summarize Your Action Steps

Now that you’ve described the problem your client was up against, you’ll explain what you did to help solve the problem.

In this section, break down each part of the process you used or the steps you took to solve it.

The reader should get the sense that you have a process or system capable of solving the problem and getting results.

This is where you get to demonstrate your know-how and expertise. Get as technical as you can. Show your reader “Hey, this is how I can get YOU results too.”

5. Share The Results

It’s time to demonstrate results.

Write the results that were achieved and how they impacted the business/organization/person.

In many cases, the outcome isn’t just dollars and cents — it can also be less tangible value.

Are they less stressed? Do they have more free time? Are they finding more meaning and enjoyment in their work?

Mention if you’re continuing to work with this client through a retainer . If you’re not, describe how the results will impact their business in the future.

This is also a great place to include a quote or testimonial from your client.

The “Results” section is key because it shows prospective clients that you’ve solved the problems they are facing and have delivered the actual results that they likely desire.

6. Write A Call To Action

At the end of the case study, you should always include a sentence or two inviting the ideal client to reach out.

They’ve just read about the problems you can solve, how you solve them, and the results you can create.

They are primed and ready to reach out to inquire about how you can do it for them.

But if you don’t have a direct call to action for them to do that, many of them will leave without taking action.

So, write a direct, clear call to action that takes them to a page where it’s easy to book a consultation with you or where you provide your contact information.

7. Share It

Marketing for consultants is all about providing value to your ideal clients, being known for something specific, and positioning yourself as an expert and authority that your ideal clients want to work with. So, whenever you publish a piece of valuable content like a case study, your mission is to get as many eyes on the case study as possible.

The best place to publish your case study is on your website or blog.

You can also submit case studies to industry publications. These are a great way to spread the word about you and your client’s business.

Make sure to also share your case study on all social media platforms where your ideal clients hang out online. For consultants, that means LinkedIn.

Work your “marketing muscle” by actively promoting your case study, and you’ll reap the rewards of this powerful piece of authority-building content.

Writing case studies for your consulting business not only helps you land new clients, but it’s also a great way for you to review past projects.

Doing this helps you to find what worked and what didn’t.

And you’ll continue to learn from your experiences and implement your best practices into your next consulting project.

Consulting Case Study Template

Click here to access our Consulting Case Study Template .

This template is designed using a “fill in the blank” style to make it easy for you to put together your case studies.

Save this template for yourself. Use it to follow along with the examples below.

Consulting Case Study Examples

Here are some example case studies from our Clarity Coaching Program clients.

1. Larissa Stoddart

Larissa Stoddart teaches charities and nonprofits how to raise money.

To do that, she provides her clients with a training and coaching program that walks them through twelve modules of content on raising money for their organization, creating a fundraising plan, putting an information management system into place, finding prospects, and asking those prospects for money.

Through her case studies, Larissa provides a comprehensive overview of how she helps her clients build robust fundraising plans and achieve and win more donations.

2. Dan Burgos

Danila “Dan” Burgos is the president and CEO of Alphanova Consulting, which works with US manufacturers to help them increase their profitability through operational improvements.

The goal of Alphanova is to increase their clients’ quality and on-time delivery by 99 percent and help them increase their net profits by over 25 percent.

Through his case studies, Dan lays out the problem, his solution, and the results in a clear simple way.

He makes it very easy for his prospects to envision working with his firm — and then schedule a consultation to make it happen.

3. Vanessa Bennet

Through her company Next Evolution Performance, Vanessa Bennett and her business partner Alex Davides, use neuroscience to help driven business leaders improve their productivity, energy, profitability, and staff retention, while avoiding burnout.

Through her “Clients” page, she provides a list of the specific industries she works with as well as specific case studies from clients within those industries.

She then displays in-depth testimonials that detail the results that her consulting services create for her clients.

These are powerful stories that help Vanessa’s clients see their desired future state — and how her firm is the right choice to help them get there.

As you see, our clients have taken our template and made them work for their unique style, clients, and services.

I encourage you to do the same.

And if you’d benefit from personal, 1-on-1 coaching and support from like-minded consultants, check out our Clarity Coaching Program .

Get Help & Feedback Writing Consulting Case Studies

If writing and demonstrating your authority were easy, then every consultant would be publishing case studies.

But that’s not the case.

Sometimes it helps to have a consulting coach to walk you through each step — and a community of like-minded consultants with whom you can share your work and get feedback from.

That’s why we’ve built the Clarity Coaching Program.

Inside the program, we teach you how to write case studies (among dozens of other critical subjects for consulting business founders).

And we’ve also created a network of coaches and other consultants who are in the trenches — and who are willing to share their hard-fought knowledge with you.

Inside the Clarity Coaching program , we’ve helped over 850 consultants to build a more strategic, profitable, and scalable, consulting business.

Learn More About Clarity Coaching

We’ll work hands-on with you to develop a strategic plan and then dive deep and work through your ideal client clarity, strategic messaging, consulting offers, use an effective and proven consulting pricing strategy, help you to increase your fees, business model optimization, and help you to set up your marketing engine and lead generation system to consistently attract ideal clients.

15 thoughts on “ How To Write A Consulting Case Study: Guide, Template, & Examples ”

This is a great outline and I found it quite helpful. Thanks.

Shana – glad you found this post helpful!

I have used case studies to get new clients and you're right, They work.

Jay – thanks for sharing. I've worked with many clients to implement case studies and have used them in several businesses and have always found them to be great at supporting proof and establishing authority and credibility.

Dumb question: guess you can't charge if you're doing a case study, huh?

Terri – No such thing as a dumb question where I come from. Always good to ask.

You definitely can charge for case studies. Michael Stelzner has a lot more information on writing white papers (and case studies) as projects.

This post was really aimed at using case studies to win more business and attract clients. But you can definitely offer this service to companies and they'll pay handsomely for it.

That was a great question!

Hello,I am really glad I stumbled upon your consulting site. This outline is very helpful and I love the e-mails I recieve as well Thanks!

Happy to hear that

This is a great site for consultants – great information for the team to share with consultants that reach out to us. Thank you!

Thanks Deborah

It is a good steps if we know how we start and control our working.

All I wanted to know about putting together a case study I have got. Thanks so much.

to put together your consulting case study: to put together your consulting case study:

I have used your outline today to write one case. Thank you for sharing.

Hi – This is a great piece, and covers all the core elements of a case study with impact.

Couple of extra points…

1. it’s really powerful to provide a mix of qualitative and quantitative results where possible e.g. ‘we saved the client $500 per month and feedback tells us morale improved’

2. We are seeing more and more consultancies include images and video in their case studies. This obviously depends on the context, so while it’s not necessarily appropriate within the confines of a bid, it is definitely something to think about for those case studies that you want to publish online or in a marketing brochure.

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12 Case Studies of Companies that Revised How They Compensate Employees

S HRM has partnered with ChiefExecutive.net to bring you relevant articles on key HR topics and strategies.

Higher compensation is part of the ransom for dealing with the pandemic for most American companies and industries. So salaries, wages, benefits and perks will cost them more—perhaps a lot more—in the year ahead.

The way CEOs and CHROs can make sure the Great Raise works to their companies' advantage is to be proactive, creative and equitable about it. Yet they also must weigh strategically the demands of the moment with their long-term compensation strategy.

"This is a time for real balance when it comes to how you deal with retention and attraction," said Paul Knopp, chair and CEO of KPMG US. "We all have to make sure we meet the market when it comes to base compensation, but the market has changed in a way that you also have to look at those benefits that are most attractive to employees for their careers."

While median full-time earnings of $1,001 per week in the third quarter of 2021 were nearly 9% higher than two years earlier, according to the Labor Department, expectations for 2022 remain frothy given the tight market for talent, the free-agent ethos encouraged by remote work, the geographic reshuffling of workers and decades-high inflation. U.S. wages will increase by 3.9 percent in 2022, according to the Conference Board, the highest rate since 2008.

The compensation surge is occurring at the high end, at a low end that's getting higher and everywhere in between. Goldman Sachs, for example, is offering paid leave for pregnancy loss and expanding the amount of time employees can take for bereavement leave while also boosting its retirement-fund matching contributions for U.S. employees to 6% of total compensation, or 8% for those making $125,000 a year or less.

Meanwhile, at Tyson Foods' chicken-processing plant in New Holland, Pa., the company has started offering a three-day workweek, plus pay for a fourth day that retains employees' status as full-time workers. Just for good measure, Tyson has created a $3,000 sign-on bonus for new hires.

"We're in a bidding war for talent that will go on for a long time," said Alan Beaulieu, president of ITR Economics.

For CEOs and CHROs, several new factors demand their attention along with the overall spike in compensation. They include:

• The end of retention. The "idea of a long-term commitment to one employer has been dead for a while, but it's really dead now," said Dave Roberson, CEO of the RoseRyan financial consulting firm. "You must have a stream of people. Assume you're going to be replacing people. So how do you keep the people you have, if you can, but also bring the next group in?"
• High-balling. A deal to recruit someone may not really be a deal these days. "You've made an offer and you think you've got a hire, and then they're asking for $5,000 or $10,000 more," said David Lewis, CEO of OperationsInc, an HR consulting firm. "Now you have to ask yourself what makes more sense strategically: say no and hold the line and lose the candidate and restart the process, not knowing how that will work out? Blow up your compensation structure? Or as a Band-Aid, give that person a sign-on bonus in hopes that the package will get them in the door?"
• Need for equalization. Recruiting with higher compensation also requires boosting pay and benefits for retention. "You need to be mindful of what you're paying others in the organization and understand the detrimental impact it will have when you bring someone in alongside a tenured employee," Lewis said. "Operate on the idea that everyone's salary is basically posted on the pantry door in your office."
• A focus on mental health. The pandemic, anti-contagion measures and the takeover of remote work has left many Americans isolated, confused, lonely—or at least disjointed. And they expect their employers to help them cope and adjust.

"Mental health is a real thing, regardless of how [a previous generation of leaders] feel and what we did," said Jeffrey Immelt, former CEO of General Electric. "Particularly post-Covid, it's something worth your time to try to understand."

Many Fortune 500 companies already offered mental-health benefits, but by now "mental health is just a place setter: You've got to have it in place to be competitive in the market today, across the board," said Richard Chaifetz, founder and CEO of ComPsych, a large provider of employee-assistance programs. "Companies understand the importance of keeping their people functioning at the highest level."

Codility, for example, has begun supplying all employees with 27 days of paid time off per year plus four mental-health days, which don't have to be approved. "We're offering these days in addition to personal-time-off days to recognize and bring to light the importance of mental health," said Natalia Panowicz, CEO of the platform that evaluates the skills of software engineers, with its U.S. hub in San Francisco.

CHRO360.com asked a dozen CEOs, CHROs and other top executives about their compensation strategies and practices for 2022. Here are some of their ideas:

Let Them Name Their Salary

Chris kovalik, ceo, rushdown revolt, a video-game maker in new york city.

We started as 12 part-timers, mostly people who were giving me their moonlight hours. That's not a lot different from now, except now we have 75 people. The magic of what we do is that we don't recruit anybody. We're just a magnet. We let people come to us.

When it comes to compensation, some say they wanted to volunteer, that they weren't expecting compensation. But we never, ever allow people to volunteer their time for us. So we say our company minimum wage is $15 an hour, and if you insist, we can pay you that per hour.

But generally people come to us with an expectation of compensation because they see that we're making money. When compensation came up, we'd say, "I don't know what your skill set is. I've never hired you before. How much do you think you're worth, and how much do you need?"

If every hour we're compensating them for the amount of money they want and need, if someone is part-time and only giving me 10 hours a week, I'd argue that they're giving me their best 10 hours. Because they're getting paid what they want and doing things that they want to be attached to and be part of.

There's no pattern to the compensation requests. If their number is too low, we'll say, "Are you sure? Are you just giving me a low-ball number I'll say yes to?" If it's high, I don't talk them down, but I ask them to justify it, and if the justification isn't adequate, what I say is, "How long do you think you'll need to prove that justification? Two to three weeks? Then let's pay you two-third to three-quarters of what you asked, and if you prove it, we'll go up to whatever you said."

Tailor Package for Youth Appeal

Ronald hall jr., ceo, bridgewater interiors, an auto-seat maker in detroit.

We enjoyed very low turnover pre-Covid, but during the last two years we have had to replace probably one-third of our workforce at our largest facility, about the same number from termination as voluntary. So we've had to work harder than ever to recruit.

Our most-tenured employees, who are the most highly trained, have had to pick up the slack, working record amounts of overtime and less-predictable production schedules.

In our upcoming negotiations with the United Auto Workers, we're trying to emphasize short-term bonuses rather than wage increases that get baked into our costs. But we have continued health insurance through the pandemic as well as our tuition-reimbursement program, and many employees have thanked me for that.

What I am hearing from new employees is that they're not as interested in benefits but rather in higher cash wages. We've long touted benefits like our generous 401(k) matching and better medical coverage versus our peers, but we're finding that doesn't resonate as readily now as it did a decade ago. So I've asked my team: Should we be looking at some kind of hybrid model of offering higher wages to people who want those and move those dollars from the benefits side to the wages side?

We've also looked at providing childcare in a partnering arrangement where there could be a center developed near our facilities, and we would arrange for some sort of company subsidy or guarantee some level of attendance. The challenge with that is the auto industry runs around the clock, and you'd need a daycare provider who'd be committed to opening around the clock and provide legal, regulated, benchmark-standard levels of care to all those children in the off hours.

Equalize as You Acquire

Diane dooley, chro, world insurance, a business and personal insurer in tinton falls, n.j..

We onboarded about 800 employees in 2021 through acquisitions of small agencies and organic growth, but there had been no compensation modeling. Now we're building out our compensation philosophy with commission plans, incentives and bonuses, centralizing components and ensuring we have the right framework.

When we do an acquisition, we might retain their compensation model for a year or two years then slowly migrate, but make sure employees aren't taking a cut in pay. We are also capitalizing commissions into base compensation—identifying what commissions would have been and what they will be, and recognizing roles that are moving away from a commission base.

Some agencies we acquire are smaller and may be below-market for total compensation. Now we're addressing those concerns. They need to be more front and center. We must do everything to retain our employee population. If they're woefully underpaid, or not at market, we risk losing people, and we don't want to do that.

Educating the owners of some of the agencies [we acquire] is a piece of this. As we partner with them, we are evaluating them and asking, "Did you give people an increase this year?" We're not telling them what to do but providing guidance about what to do.

We're also modifying and increasing our benefits, such as giving employees pet insurance. And making counteroffers is a critical piece today, usually for high-end employees. They work better than they used to because not a lot of people really want to make a move in this environment.

Innovate for the New World

Jason medley, chief people officer, codility, a provider of skill-evaluation software in london.

We really have to step back and be innovative and force ourselves to change. The companies that are going to win are going to be more progressive early and not fighting what's happening.

One thing we've done is change our outdated compensation models that give higher pay to employees living in tech hubs like San Francisco and New York and lower compensation for areas inside the coasts. Now, we've created a United States-wide salary band, so no matter where you live, the compensation is based on the role, not the location. You can go live and work wherever you want to.

We decided to approach compensation through a very human lens. People have seasonality in life, and maybe they are caregivers at different moments and want to live in different places. We want to be as flexible as possible, and this country band gives us that flexibility.

We are starting to see the same thing in Europe, where we have our headquarters in London and offices in Berlin and Warsaw, and employees all over, especially in Poland. People are wanting to live in the countryside of Spain but demanding a London salary. So we are transitioning to one European Union band and saying, "Here is your rate—live where you want to."

We are also seeing that with global warming, it's harder to get work done for people on the west coast of the U.S. and in Europe, because they didn't build homes with air conditioning. If you're sitting in a house at 90 degrees with no air conditioning, there's no way your performance is the same as someone with AC. Supplementing air conditioning isn't something we thought about before, but now we're very much having to look at those things.

Stay Ahead of Expectations

Traci tapani, ceo, wyoming machine, a sheet-metal fabricator in stacy, minn..

Our wages have gone up by about 20% for the typical worker. When I found people I could hire, I knew they were being brought in at an hourly rate that was too high for what I was paying my incumbent workers.

My strategy has been to be proactive about that and not wait for [existing] employees to say something about it or give them a reason to look for another job. We're proactively making wage adjustments to make sure our incumbent workers are in line.

Employees will leave for more money, so they're very appreciative of it. But in my shop, I also know that people like working here, and I know they don't want to leave. I don't want to give them a reason. If they can get an increase in pay that's substantial, I know that I can cut them off at the pass. Retaining my workforce is my No. 1 strategy. They're already here, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep them.

For that reason, we've also been more generous as time has gone on with paid time off, offering it sooner than we once would have, especially for new workers. We recognize that it's healthy for people to be away from work and also, in the pandemic, people need to be away from work. Knowing they have some paid time off makes it easier for them.

Leverage Benefits for DE&I

Mark newman, ceo, chemours, a chemical manufacturer in wilmington, del..

In general our company hasn't seen the Great Resignation. And in fact, we continue to believe our focus on being a great place to work is serving us well, along with appropriate benchmarking on compensation issues.

Chemours  is  a great place to work. We survey our employees every year, to improve our working environment from a compensation and benefits perspective. Also, from the [diversity, equity and inclusion] perspective, we're trying to make sure we tap into the full breadth of talent in our industry.

That means, for instance, we are helping people more with college loans. We are offering same-sex [marriage] benefits. We are providing more family leave for people who have kids. There is clearly an aspect of our benefits package that is evolving to be consistent with our strategy of making Chemours a great place to work.

Overall, we view compensation as something where we want to be either in the median or upper quartile. It's something we're very focused on from both a wage as well as benefit level. From Covid, there's been no fundamental change as it relates to us wanting to be in the median to top quartile.

We've had to make some local adjustments where the labor market is more super-charged. For example, we see a lot of that in the Gulf Coast region, especially with oil prices coming back, and petrochemicals and refining. But it's very much a regional factor. So if industries are moving to a certain region, like the South, you have to make sure you stay current with local benchmarks.

Offer Skin in the Game

Cesar herrera, ceo, yuvo health, a healthcare administrator in new york city.

We're a year-old company that provides tech-enabled administrative solutions for community health centers across the U.S. that are specifically focused on providing primary-care services for low-income individuals. We have a team of about 10 people right now, and we have a number of open roles and positions where we're likely going to be tripling the size of our team in 2022.

Google can compensate well above the market rate. We don't have that since we're an early-stage organization. What we do have as levers aren't up-front financial compensation but equity, support in your role and a relatively flat organization where you can have significant autonomy.

A lot of individuals are going to be driven by the mission; that's the case with the entire founding team. We've made sacrifices to create this organization. So you can come in at a meaningful position with a lot of decision-making.

But one of the biggest carrots we can give is, if you accept the lower pay and the risk that comes with an early-stage organization, you can have meaningful equity in the company. We have an options pool which is not to exceed 10% ownership of the organization, and as we grow and scale, we increase that options pool. For senior-level leaders, we do expect to be able to distribute up to 10% of the company to them.

Pay Extra for Continuity

Corey stowell, vice president of human resources, webasto americas, a maker of automotive sunroofs in auburn hills, mich..

We had to recruit for several hundred new openings at a brand-new facility right at the beginning of the pandemic. So we instituted an attendance bonus. For those who worked all their hours in a week, we paid an additional $3 an hour. We really had to keep it short-term, so we paid it weekly. If you wanted to pay it every month, you couldn't do it, because people needed that instant gratification.

Otherwise they could get it on unemployment. With our pay rate, they could earn more to stay at home and collect unemployment, a significant amount more than they could earn than working for us. So we also had to increase our wages, and we increased them by more than 20% in some classifications [in the summer of 2020].

We've filled all of our positions, but it's still a challenging market. We've had to increase all our wages, with the lowest for a position being $17 an hour, on up to $30 an hour.

We also have offered stay bonuses of $500 a month for three consecutive months, up to $1,500. And for hourly employees we've instituted a different attendance policy, where they can earn two hours of paid personal time for so many hours that they work consecutively with no attendance issues.

The key is the schedule—we can prepare and get someone to cover. That's easier to do than just managing whoever's going to come in today. In this environment, that really has changed with our workforce, and it's tough to rely on our current workforce.

Give Them the Keys

Elliott rodgers, chief people officer, project44, a freight-tracking software provider in chicago.

We have equipped and subsidized a van that we call Romeo, which employees can use to combine work with personal uses like family road trips. We cover the cost of the rental. It's a luxury van that comes equipped with a bed, a toilet and shower, Wi-Fi, device charging and a desktop workspace. And it's pet friendly.

We started it as a pilot project and reservations were full within 10 minutes of when we posted it internally. Then we extended it into 2022. By the end of 2021, more than 20 unique team members completed or nearly completed reservations. They've ventured out to places spanning Mount Rushmore and the Badlands; Rocky Mountain National Park; Salem, Mass.; and Pennsylvania. A pretty broad number of places.

It's something we're really proud of. It allows our team members the opportunity to work in a lot of different places while still being connected to us. And they've appreciated the opportunities to stay connected, but also be connected in other ways with nature and other places in the world. They can maintain their perspective while also continuing to contribute to their role in a productive way.

When you place a team member at the center of what they'd want in an experience like that, the value of it answers itself. It creates a comfort level where it provides the necessities for you to be able to continue to work, and you can work from anywhere. It's the best of both worlds. It's one thing to find that on your own but another to have that accessible to you via work, but done in a way that caters to you.

Help Them Come, Go—and Stay

Aamir paul, country president - u.s., schneider electric, a maker of electrical distribution and control products in andover, mass..

With our knowledge workforce, it's been about intentional flexibility. So, for instance, we launched a "returnship" program for women who'd left the workforce but might want to come back even at reduced hours. That means 20, 30, up to 40 hours a week, and we're finding some incredibly talented people who haven't been in the workforce.

This program is available to men as well. If there's a field engineer who's been in the electrical industry for 35 years and he's now retiring, but he's five years from getting his medical benefits, we say: Don't retire. Go on the program. Work 20 hours a week. Work from home. We'll reduce your pay proportionally, but we will couple you with three university hires, and they will call you on Microsoft Teams and show you what's happening on the job site, and you're going to walk them through it. Work just three days a week. We'll cover your benefits.

We've also expanded the parental leave policy, which already was one of the best in the industrial sector. And we created a way for people to buy more time off without having to leave their positions. They apply for more unpaid time off and we allow them to retain their position and seniority and allow them to work through whatever life event it is.

We landed on six weeks for the maximum. In the most intense industries—such as a fighter pilot or a surgeon—they've found that six weeks of being out of the rotation allows them to re-set. So that's what we did. Before, the limit was two weeks.

Give Sway to Local Management

Tom salmon, ceo, berry global, a maker of plastic packaging in evansville, ind..

We've got to be competitive in all the geographies we serve. We have 295 sites around the world and manage our employees in those sites geographically. Every geography will be a different labor environment. There are different criteria that employees are looking for. It's not just about wages but taking everything into consideration.

We let local management handle things with their insight about wages and competition. They're hearing directly from employees about what they like and don't like, what they want more of and less of. It's a site-by-site discussion.

For example, at some sites, it may be important for employees to be able to access the internet at lunch; at other sites, they may not value that as much. Some want a more advanced locker facility, with different shower facilities. That includes the southwestern United States, where the temperatures are warmer; but in New England, some might not want that.

In any event, if you treat these things locally, you're going to be able to affect that local population and address the need of that geography. If you blanket something across our entire plant population, you may provide something that's not desired or needed.

We depend on our local management to respond to the different demands in terms of compensation and benefits at their sites. The better the front-line leadership is, and the more satisfied their team is, the higher our retention rate and productivity and safety performance. So these leaders participate in profit-sharing plans for those respective sites, because they have a great influence on the success of a given facility.

Focus Benefits on Flexibility

Paul knopp, chair and ceo, kpmg us, a financial consulting firm in new york.

We announced a new package of enhancements to our benefits and compensation, tied to mental, physical, social and financial well-being. These increases are the biggest in the history of the company. You have to make sure your base compensation meets the market, but you also must have attractive benefits.

For example, we cut healthcare premiums by 10% for 2022 with no change in benefit levels, and we introduced healthcare advocacy services. We are replacing our current 401(k) match and pension programs with a single, automatic company-funded contribution within the plan that's equal to 6% to 8% of eligible pay.

As part of this, we're focusing on the crucial element of ensuring that employees know you're watching out for them. They also are looking for flexibility—you don't want to under-index on how important that is. So we also are providing up to three weeks additional caregiver leave, separate and apart from PTO. And all parents will receive 12 weeks of paid parental leave, in addition to disability leave for employees who give birth, allowing some up to 22 weeks of paid leave. We also have expanded our holiday calendar to now include Juneteenth.

Dale Buss is a long-time contributor to Chief Executive, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and other business publications. He lives in Michigan.

This article is adapted from www.ChiefExecutive.net with permission from Chief Executive. C 2022. All rights reserved.

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Home » Management Case Studies » Case Study: Corporate Social Responsibility of Starbucks

Case Study: Corporate Social Responsibility of Starbucks

Starbucks is the world’s largest and most popular coffee company. Since the beginning, this premier cafe aimed to deliver the world’s finest fresh-roasted coffee. Today the company dominates the industry and has created a brand that is tantamount with loyalty, integrity and proven longevity. Starbucks is not just a name, but a culture .

The corporate social responsibility of the Starbucks Corporation address the following issues: Starbucks commitment to the environment, Starbucks commitment to the employees, Starbucks commitment to consumers, discussions of ethical and unethical business behavior, and Starbucks commitment and response to shareholders.

Commitment to the Environment

The first way Starbucks has shown corporate social responsibility is through their commitment to the environment. In order to improve the environment, with a little push from the NGO, Starbucks first main goal was to provide more Fair Trade Coffee. What this means is that Starbucks will aim to only buy 100 percent responsibly grown and traded coffee. Not only does responsibly grown coffee help the environment, it benefits the farmers as well. Responsibly grown coffee means preserving energy and water at the farms. In turn, this costs more for the company overall, but the environmental improvements are worth it. Starbucks and the environment benefits from this decision because it helps continue to portray a clean image.

Commitment to Consumers

The second way Starbucks has shown corporate social responsibility is through their commitment to consumers. The best way to get the customers what they want is to understand their demographic groups. By doing research on Starbucks consumer demographics, they realized that people with disabilities are very important. The company is trying to turn stores into a more adequate environment for customers with disabilities. A few changes include: lowering counter height to improve easy of ordering for people in wheelchairs, adding at least one handicap accessible entrance, adding disability etiquette to employee handbooks, training employees to educate them on disabilities, and by joining the National Business Disability Council. By joining the National Business Disability Council, Starbucks gains access to resumes of people with disabilities.

Another way Starbucks has shown commitment to the consumers is by cutting costs and retaining loyal customers. For frequent, loyal customers, Starbucks decided to provide a loyalty card. Once a customer has obtained this card, they are given incentives and promotions for continuing to frequent their stores. Promotions include discounted drinks and free flavor shots to repeat visitors. Also, with the economy being at an all time low, Starbucks realized that cheaper prices were a necessity. By simplifying their business practices, they were able to provide lower prices for their customers. For example, they use only one recipe for banana bread, rather than eleven!

Also one big way to cut costs was outsourcing payroll and Human Resources administration . By creating a global platform for their administration system, Starbucks is able to provide more employees with benefits. Plus, they are able to spend more money on pleasing customers, rather than on a benefits system.

Commitment and Response to Shareholders

One way Starbucks has demonstrated their commitment and response to shareholder needs is by giving them large portions. By large portions, Starbucks is implying that they plan pay dividends equal to 35% or higher of net income to. For the shareholders, paying high dividends means certainty about the company’s financial well-being. Along with that, they plan to purchase 15 million more shares of stock, and hopefully this will attract investors who focus on stocks with good results.

In order to compete with McDonalds and keeping payout to their shareholders high, Starbucks needed a serious turnaround . They did decide to halt growth in North America but not in Japan. Shultz found that drinking coffee is becoming extremely popular for the Japanese. To show shareholders there is a silver lining, he announced they plan to open “thousands of stores” in Japan and Vietnamese markets.

Commitment to Employees

The first and biggest way Starbucks shows their commitment to employees is by just taking care of their workers. For example, they know how important health care, stock options, and compensation are to people in this economy. The Starbucks policy states that as long as you work 20 hours a week you get benefits and stock options. These benefits include health insurance and contributions to employee’s 401k plan. Starbucks doesn’t exclude part time workers, because they feel they are just as valuable as full time workers. Since Starbucks doesn’t have typical business hours like an office job, the part time workers help working the odd shifts.

Ethical/Unethical Business Behavior

The last way Starbucks demonstrates corporate social responsibility is through ethical behavior and the occasional unethical behavior. The first ethically positive thing Starbucks involves them self in is the NGO and Fair Trade coffee. Even though purchasing mostly Fair Trade coffee seriously affected their profits, Starbucks knew it was the right thing to do. They also knew that if they did it the right way, everyone would benefit, from farmers, to the environment, to their public image.

In the fall of 2010, Starbucks chose to team up with Jumpstart, a program that gives children a head start on their education. By donating to literacy organizations and volunteering with Jumpstart, Starbucks has made an impact on the children in America, in a very positive way.

As for Starbucks ethical behavior is a different story when forced into the media light. In 2008, a big media uproar arose due to them wanting to re-release their old logo for their 35th anniversary. The old coffee cup logo was basically a topless mermaid, which in Starbucks’ opinion is just a mythological creature, not a sex symbol. Media critics fought that someone needed to protect the creature’s modesty. Starbucks found this outrageous. In order to end the drama and please the critics, they chose to make the image more modest by lengthening her hair to cover her body and soften her facial expression. Rather than ignoring the media concerns, Starbucks met in the middle to celebrate their 35th anniversary.

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• Aligning Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility

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Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2019

In the 2019 top 40 list, cases centered around food dominated the top 10, with the 2016 Coffee case retaining the top spot.

According to the Yale School of Management Case Research and Development Team (SOM CRDT) 2019 top 40 list, cases centered around food dominated the top 10, with the 2016 Coffee case retaining the top spot, a case on Cadbury taking second, and a case about Shake Shack taking third. A 2018 case about the Volkswagen emissions scandal made the Top 40 this year, shooting up to number four. Cases about Aadhaar , India’s universal ID project, the Nathan Cummings Foundation’s move to all-impact investing , business efforts to bridge the divide between Israel and Palestine , and New Haven’s own 360 State Street development all joined the list this year. Other popular topics in the top 10 include the marketing of financial services, organizational structure, and entrepreneurship.

SOM CRDT compiled its third annual Top 40 list by combining data from publishers, Google Analytics, direct sales, and other measures of interest and adoption. Other year-end data for 2019 showed:

• Over 30K users from 161 countries viewed 133 “raw” cases online.
• Just over a third of raw case users were from the U.S.
• Customers purchased 127 different case titles from the online store.
• Twenty-five percent of this year’s cases in the top 40 featured women protagonists.
• Traffic to the SOM CRDT case directory increased by 30% over 2018, with almost 150K page views.
• Sixty percent of those who perused the SOM case directory were from outside the U.S.
• The top 40 cases were supervised by 33 different Yale SOM faculty members.

All cases listed here are available for purchase through our online store . 

The top 10 cases of 2019 included:

#1 - Coffee 2016

Faculty Supervision: Todd Cort

Coffee 2016 asks students to consider the coffee supply chain and generate ideas for what can be done to equalize returns across various stakeholders. The case draws a parallel between coffee and wine. Both beverages encourage connoisseurship, but only wine growers reap a premium for their efforts to ensure quality, while coffee farmers barely eke out an existence. The case describes the history of coffee production across the world, the rise of the “third wave” of coffee consumption in the developed world, the efforts of the Illy Company to help coffee growers, and the differences between “fair” trade and direct trade. Faculty have found the case provides a wide canvas to discuss supply chain issues, examine marketing practices, and encourage creative solutions to business problems.

#2 - Cadbury: An Ethical Company Struggles to Insure the Integrity of Its Supply Chain

Faculty Supervision: Ira Millstein

The case describes revelations that the production of cocoa in the Côte d’Ivoire involved child slave labor. These stories hit Cadbury especially hard. Cadbury's culture had been deeply rooted in the religious traditions of the company's founders, and the organization had paid close attention to the welfare of its workers and its sourcing practices. The US Congress was considering legislation that would allow chocolate grown on certified plantations to be labeled “slave labor free,” painting the rest of the industry in a bad light. Chocolate producers had asked for time to rectify the situation, but the extension they negotiated was running out. Students are asked whether Cadbury should join with the industry to lobby for more time?  What else could Cadbury do to ensure its supply chain was ethically managed?

#3 - Shake Shack IPO

Faculty Supervision: Jake Thomas and Geert Rouwenhorst

From an art project in a New York City park, Shake Shack developed a devoted fan base that greeted new Shake Shack locations with cheers and long lines. When Shake Shack went public on January 30, 2015, investors displayed a similar enthusiasm. Opening day investors bid up the $21 per share offering price by 118% to reach $45.90 at closing bell. By the end of May, investors were paying $92.86 per share. Students are asked if this price represented a realistic valuation of the enterprise and if not, what was Shake Shack truly worth? The case provides extensive information on Shake Shack’s marketing, competitors, operations and financials, allowing instructors to weave a wide variety of factors into a valuation of the company.

#4 - Volkswagen: Engineering a Disaster

Faculty Supervision: David Bach

In September 2015, Volkswagen admitted to installing defeat switches in their diesel cars to fool environmental regulators. The fraud could cost the company billions in fines and lost revenues, leaving all to wonder, "How could this have happened?" The case considers the company’s history and culture, as well as looking at how regulatory environments in Europe and the U.S. differed. What combination of these factors led to this wide-spread ethical disaster?

#5 - Netflix

Faculty Supervision: Arthur Swersey

The case describes how Netflix optimized the rental of DVDs by mail to become a major media company. In 2007, the company faced two challenges. The first was increased competition in the DVD-by-mail business. The second was challenges from various streaming services. For all its operational savvy, had Netflix’s time passed?

#6 - Ant Financial

Faculty Supervision: K. Sudhir in cooperation with Renmin University of China School of Business

In 2015, Ant Financial’s MYbank (an offshoot of Jack Ma’s Alibaba company) was looking to extend services to rural areas in China by providing small loans to farmers. Microloans have always been costly for financial institutions to offer to the unbanked (though important in development) but MYbank believed that fintech innovations such as using the internet to communicate with loan applicants and judge their creditworthiness would make the program sustainable. Students are asked whether MYbank could operate the program at scale? Would its big data and technical analysis provide an accurate measure of credit risk for loans to small customers? Could MYbank rely on its new credit-scoring system to reduce operating costs to make the program sustainable? What are the social costs of introducing credit scoring to China?

#7 - Mastercard

Faculty Supervision: Ravi Dhar, Vineet Kumar, and Amy Wrzesniewski

When Raja Rajamannar became Mastercard's CMO in 2013, the company had already created one of the most successful brand-building campaigns in history. Yet he decided to substantially change the marketing strategy – and transform his department. The case examines the premises behind “experience marketing” and considers the dynamics of a department where traditional marketers must work with new internet marketers who bring new skills and sensibilities.

#8 - Golden Agri Resources and Sustainability

Golden Agri, a major Indonesian palm oil producer and exporter, and Greenpeace reached an unprecedented agreement to limit deforestation in Indonesia in 2012. But would the agreement survive and increase sustainability standards in the palm oil industry?

#9 - AgBiome

Faculty Supervision: James Baron

Can a company grow while eschewing hierarchy in favor of commitment? From its founding, AgBiome has adopted a flat structure, where committees of employees make the key decisions. The case describes the structures and principles that make this agricultural R&D firm run. With a few successful innovations under its belt, can the company grow while maintaining its commitment model?

#10 - Bovard and Majid

Faculty Supervision: AJ Wasserstein

Lia Majid had spent nearly a year and a half searching for a business to acquire and thought she’d finally found a deal worth pursuing. She spent months negotiating with the firm’s sellers and believed she was on the verge of a purchase. However, at the last minute, her backers and mentors at the Search Fund Accelerator (SFA) wanted her to completely restructure the deal. Faced with their concerns, Majid had to decide whether to re-engage the target firm or move on to investigate other prospects.

Complete list of the 40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2019

W                     Case features a woman in a major leadership role

Click on the case title to learn more about the dilemma. A selection of our most popular cases are available for purchase via our online store .