Short answer
A good B2B case study template has six parts: a headline with the result, a short customer snapshot, the problem in the customer's words, why they chose you, what changed with before-and-after numbers and how each was measured, and a quote the customer approved. Build it from a 30 to 45 minute recorded interview, keep the story to 500 to 800 words and get written sign-off on the text, quotes and logo use.
- Lead with the customer's result and their numbers, not your product.
- Interview the person who lived with the problem, and record only with permission.
- Find out who must approve (often legal and communications) before you write.
- Show the before figure, the after figure and where each came from.
- FTC guidance: give context for results that aren't typical, and disclose any discount given for taking part.
On this page
This page is for founders, account executives, customer success managers and marketers at B2B companies who need a customer story they can use in sales conversations, proposals and on the website. It covers choosing the customer, asking them, the interview, the written format, the approval process and the rules on testimonials. If you need a sales document rather than a story, start with the sales one-pager template.
Why case studies are worth the effort
Buyers trust a peer's experience more than your claims, and marketers report the same. In the Content Marketing Institute's survey of 980 B2B marketers (fielded June to August 2024, published October 2024), 53% named case studies and customer stories among the content that produced their best results, second only to video at 58%.
The catch is the effort. A good case study needs a willing customer, a measurable result and an approval process that can take longer than the writing. So choose the customer carefully.
| Question | Good sign | Warning sign |
|---|---|---|
| Is the result measurable? | The customer tracks the number themselves | Only you have the figures |
| Will your prospects recognize themselves? | Same industry, size or problem as your target accounts | An outlier you rarely sell to |
| Is there a willing champion? | They've praised you unprompted | Only the buyer, not the user, is happy |
| Can they approve it? | Smaller company, or one that has published vendor stories before | A firm known to bar vendor endorsements |
| Is the story recent? | Results from the last 12 months | The champion has left |
The case study format
| Section | Length | What goes in | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline | One line | The customer, the result and the time it took | The results section |
| At a glance | 5 to 7 lines | Industry, size, location, what they used, three results | Interview and their data |
| The challenge | 100 to 150 words | The problem in their words, and what it cost them | Interview questions 1 to 4 |
| Why they chose you | 75 to 125 words | What they compared and why you won | Questions 5 to 7 |
| What changed | 100 to 200 words | The rollout, honestly, including what was hard | Questions 8 to 10 |
| The results | A table and 75 to 150 words | Before, after and how each was measured | Questions 11 to 13 and their reports |
| Quote | One to three sentences | The line that sums it up, approved by the speaker | The interview recording |
Keep the main story to 500 to 800 words. A prospect should get the point from the headline and the at-a-glance box alone.
Case study templates
Subject: Would you share how [project] went? Hi [first name], [The result they've seen, from their own figures, e.g. "Your receiving logs show 45 of 46 orders on time this year."] Would you be open to a short case study? It's a 40-minute recorded call with you, I write the draft, and nothing is published until you and your team approve every word. We'd use it on our website, in proposals and in conversations with [type of company]. If your company has a policy on vendor case studies, I'm happy to work within it, including a version without your name. Would [date and time] or [date and time] work for the call? [Your name]
Before the call: confirm you may record it and say how the recording will be used. THE CHALLENGE 1. What was happening at [company] before you started looking for help? 2. How did that show up day to day? Who felt it most? 3. What did it cost you, in time, money or customers? How do you know? 4. What made you act when you did, rather than six months earlier? THE DECISION 5. What else did you consider, including doing nothing? 6. What made you choose [your company]? What nearly stopped you? 7. Who else was involved in the decision? THE CHANGE 8. What did the first 90 days look like? What was harder than expected? 9. What did your team have to change? 10. If you did it again, what would you do differently? THE RESULTS 11. What has changed? Which numbers moved, from what to what? 12. Where do those numbers come from (system, report, period)? 13. What has changed that doesn't show up in a number? THE CLOSE 14. What would you tell a peer who's where you were a year ago? 15. Is there anything you'd rather we didn't mention?
HEADLINE: [Customer] [result with a number] in [time period] AT A GLANCE Customer: [name and website] Industry: [industry] Size: [employees] Location: [city, state] Used: [your product or service] Results: [result 1 with number] | [result 2] | [result 3] THE CHALLENGE [2 to 3 short paragraphs. The problem in their words, what it cost and why they acted now.] WHY THEY CHOSE [YOUR COMPANY] [What they compared, the deciding factor, and what nearly stopped them.] WHAT CHANGED [The rollout in plain terms, including one thing that was hard.] THE RESULTS | Measure | Before | After | Source | | [measure] | [figure] | [figure] | [their system and period] | "[Approved quote]" [Name], [title], [company] [Disclosure, if any: e.g. "[Customer] received a discount for taking part in this case study."]
[Customer], a [type of company] with [size], was [problem, with a number]. After [what they did with you], [result with a number] within [time]. "[Short approved quote]," says [name, title].
SLIDE 1: [Customer]: [problem in one line] - Who they are: [industry, size, location] - The problem: [the number that hurt] - Why it mattered: [the cost or risk] SLIDE 2: What we did - [Step 1] - [Step 2] - [What was hard and how it was handled] SLIDE 3: The results - [Measure]: [before] to [after] ([source]) - [Measure]: [before] to [after] ([source]) - "[Approved quote]", [name, title]
Subject: [Company] case study: draft for your approval by [date] Hi [first name], The draft is attached. Please check three things: 1. The figures: [list each number used and where it came from] 2. Your quotes: edit them freely, they should sound like you 3. Name and logo: may we use [company name and logo] on [website, proposals, sales decks, events]? If [legal / communications] needs to review it, could you forward it to them? We'll publish only after written approval. [Your name]
Running the interview
Interview the person who lived with the problem, usually the day-to-day user or their manager, not only the executive who signed. Send the questions a few days before so they can pull their numbers. On the call, ask for specifics and their source: when someone says "it's much faster", ask "from what to what, and where would I see that?" Let silences run; the best quotes often come after a pause.
Recording makes accurate quotes possible, but ask first. Federal law allows recording with one party's consent, while some states, including California, require all parties to agree to recording a confidential conversation. Say at the start that you're recording and how you'll use it.
The approval process
Approval usually takes longer than the writing. Plan it as a sequence with owners:
- Confirm who must approve. Ask your champion at the start whether legal, communications or procurement must sign off, and whether there's a policy on vendor case studies.
- Agree what's off limits. Prices, unit costs, other suppliers' names and security details are common exclusions.
- Interview and draft. Aim to send the draft within five business days, while the call is fresh.
- Customer review. The champion checks facts and quotes. Make their edits without argument.
- Their legal or communications review. Expect requests to remove figures or soften claims. A percentage often survives where a dollar amount doesn't.
- Written sign-off. Get approval in writing for the final text, the quotes, the logo and the channels, ideally with a release.
- Publish and tell them. Send the link, and diary a check in 12 months to update the numbers or retire the story.
A release doesn't need to be long. It should record the approved version and its date, where it can be used (website, proposals, sales decks, events, paid ads), how long, logo permission, how the customer can ask for it to be withdrawn, and any benefit they received for taking part.
The rules on testimonials
This is general information, not legal advice. In the US, the FTC's Endorsement Guides (16 CFR Part 255, revised in 2023) set out how the FTC applies its rules on deceptive advertising to testimonials. A published case study is a testimonial, so build it to their standard:
- Honest and real. Endorsements "must reflect the honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experience of the endorser", and the person must have been a genuine user when they gave it.
- No rewording that distorts. You can edit for length, but an endorsement "may not be presented out of context or reworded so as to distort" the endorser's experience. Get quote edits approved.
- Typical results. A testimonial about a key result is likely to be read as what others can expect. If you can't substantiate that, the Guides say to disclose the generally expected performance clearly. A line such as "results vary; across our customers the median improvement was X" does this, if you can back X.
- Disclose material connections. If the customer got a discount, free service or other benefit for taking part, and readers wouldn't expect it, disclose it clearly.
Worked example: a contract manufacturer's case study
Illustrative example. The companies, people and figures are fictional, to show the method.
The vendor: Larkspur Contract Manufacturing (larkspurcm.example), which molds plastic parts for consumer brands. The customer: Ostrander Home (ostranderhome.example), a kitchenware brand with 60 employees that moved its production to Larkspur a year ago. The champion: Mei, Ostrander's operations director.
In the interview, Mei gave figures from Ostrander's own receiving logs and returns data, comparing the last year with the previous supplier with the first year at Larkspur:
| Measure | Previous supplier | Larkspur, year one | How it was measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orders delivered on time | 36 of 46 (78%) | 45 of 46 (98%) | Ostrander receiving log |
| Defective units | 3,600 of 150,000 (2.4%) | 1,050 of 150,000 (0.7%) | Returns and inspection data |
| Lead time | 12 weeks | 8 weeks | Purchase order to dock |
The arithmetic: 3,600 minus 1,050 is 2,550 fewer defective units a year. At Ostrander's landed cost of $6.40 a unit, that's $16,320. Ostrander's legal team asked Larkspur to remove the unit cost, so the published version kept the units and percentages and dropped the dollar figure. That's a normal request; plan for it.
The approval ran from the interview on 2 September to publication on 7 October: draft in five business days, Mei's edits a week later, then legal review. The published version:
Ostrander Home cut defective units by 71% and gets 98% of orders on time
The challenge. "We planned the whole holiday season around late deliveries," says Mei, Ostrander's operations director. With its previous supplier, 10 of 46 orders arrived late and 2.4% of units failed inspection. Two late orders in November left Ostrander's best-selling line out of stock for three weeks.
Why they chose Larkspur. Ostrander compared three manufacturers. Larkspur's first-article inspection report and its offer to hold four weeks of safety stock decided it.
What changed. Retooling took longer than planned: the first production run slipped by ten days. Weekly calls and a shared order dashboard replaced email chasing.
The results. 45 of 46 orders on time, defective units down from 2.4% to 0.7% and lead time cut from 12 weeks to 8, all from Ostrander's own records.
"This year we planned the holidays around demand, not around our supplier," says Mei.
The 71% in the headline is (2.4 minus 0.7) divided by 2.4. Note what the story admits: a ten-day slip. One honest difficulty makes the rest believable.
Once it's published, use it with prospects who look like Ostrander. Describe the customer in Bebop (kitchenware and home goods brands with 30 to 150 employees that outsource molding) and it finds matching companies and contacts, with a playbook for each.
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing the story before the interview. You'll write your pitch with their logo on it.
- Results without a source. "Saved hours every week" persuades no one. "From 12 weeks to 8, per their purchase orders" does.
- Polishing quotes until they sound like marketing. Keep their words, and get every edit approved.
- Skipping the hard part. A story with no difficulty reads like an ad.
- Publishing before written approval. A verbal yes from your champion isn't approval from their company.
- Letting it go stale. Review each case study yearly; retire it if the customer leaves.
Checklist before you publish
- The headline states the result, with a number and a time period.
- Every figure has a source the customer recognizes.
- The problem is described in the customer's words.
- Quotes are word for word or approved edits.
- The customer approved the final text, quotes, logo and channels in writing.
- Any benefit for taking part is disclosed.
- A short version and a slide version are ready for proposals and decks.
Next step: put the short version to work in your next proposal with the sales proposal template, which has a place for a customer story next to the pricing.
Sources
- B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends: Outlook for 2025, Content Marketing Institute, 9 October 2024
- 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed 26 October 2026
- 16 CFR § 255.1, General considerations, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed 26 October 2026
- 16 CFR § 255.2, Consumer endorsements, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed 26 October 2026
- 16 CFR § 255.5, Disclosure of material connections, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed 26 October 2026
- 18 U.S. Code § 2511, Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, accessed 26 October 2026
- California Penal Code § 632, California Legislative Information, accessed 26 October 2026
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Last updated .
Questions people ask
What should a customer case study include?
A headline with the result, a short snapshot of the customer (industry, size, location, what they used), the problem in their words, why they chose you, what changed during the rollout, a results table with before and after figures and where each came from, and an approved quote. Add a disclosure if the customer received anything for taking part. Keep the main story to roughly 500 to 800 words.
What questions should you ask in a case study interview?
Ask about the situation before (what was happening, who felt it, what it cost), the decision (what else they considered, why they chose you, what nearly stopped them), the change (the first 90 days, what was hard) and the results (which numbers moved, from what to what, and where those numbers come from). Finish by asking what they'd tell a peer and what they'd rather you didn't mention.
How long should a B2B case study be?
Most work best at 500 to 800 words for the main story, plus an at-a-glance box and a results table. That's long enough to show the problem, the decision and the results with sources, and short enough to read in a few minutes. Make a one-paragraph version for proposals and emails and a three-slide version for sales decks from the same interview.
Do you need permission to publish a customer case study?
In practice, yes. Get written approval from the customer for the final text, every quote, the use of their name and logo, and the channels where you'll use it. Many companies require their legal or communications team to review vendor case studies, so ask about that at the start. A short release recording the approved version, permitted uses and how to withdraw it avoids disputes later.
How do you get customers to agree to a case study?
Ask a customer who has already seen a measurable result, and lead with that result in their own figures. Make it easy: one 40-minute call, you write the draft and nothing is published without their approval. Offer an anonymized version if their company restricts endorsements. If you offer a discount for taking part, the FTC's Endorsement Guides say to disclose that kind of connection clearly.