case study questions on marketing

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46 case study questions to build trust with your target audience

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

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

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

What is a case study?

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

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

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

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

What are the benefits of case studies?

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

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

Some of the significant benefits of case studies:

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

The methods of a case study

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

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

Identify a subject

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

Collect data

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

Analyze and interpret data

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

Write the case study

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

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

Publish the study

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

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

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

The categories of case study questions

Most of the case study questions fall into these categories.

Estimation questions

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

Business case study questions

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

Value proposition questions

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

Logic and reasoning questions

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

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

The best ways to perform a business case study interview

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

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

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

Ask open-ended questions

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

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

Keep records

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

How to format questions for your case study

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

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

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

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

What defines a solid case study question?

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

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

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

What makes a questionnaire perfect for a case study?

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

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

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

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

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

The most important case study interview questions

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

Begin with the background

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

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

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

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

Give a brief description of your company and its beginnings.

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

Who are your ideal clients?

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

Explain your position inside the organization.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Why was this particular problem a top priority?

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

How did this issue affect your business?

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

What other viable solutions have you attempted in the past?

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

How many people work in your company?

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

How long have you been operating your business?

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

Build your connection

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

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

You can include some questions like the following:

When have you signed up as a client of ours?

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

How did you discover our company?

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

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

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

Why did you pick our business over the main competitors?

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

How was the buying procedure for our service?

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

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

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

Allow your clients to explain your solutions

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

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

How did our product solve your problem?

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

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

Which aspects of the service you found most helpful?

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

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

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

What are the benefits of choosing our company over others?

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

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

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

If yes, how was our customer assistance?

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

How many employees in your company utilize our brand?

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

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

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

How did you feel about the configuration and implementation process?

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

Who was engaged in the execution of our product?

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

How did the rollout go?

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

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

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

Define the product's advantages

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

How did our service handle your particular problems?

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

What sort of measurable results did you observe?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fortify your relationship with the client

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

Ask them the case study questions listed below.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What feature of our company do you admire the most?

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

What makes you choose to work with us?

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

Talk about the future objectives of your client

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

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

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

What objectives do you have for the following three months? 

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

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

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

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

Are you looking to build more trust with your target audience? Let our industry-leading content writing agency help you craft the perfect case study questions to get the results you desire.

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

Summary/Overview

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

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

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

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

What is a marketing case study?

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

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

Some common key components of a marketing case study include:

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

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

Benefits of marketing case studies

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

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

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

Tips on how to write an effective marketing case study

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

Develop a clear and compelling headline

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

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

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

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

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

Write relatable content

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

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

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

Outline your strategies with corresponding statistics

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

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

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

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

Use multiple formats of representation

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

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

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

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

Get your case study in front of your intended audience

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

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

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

Marketing case study examples

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marketing case study template

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

Case Study Title

Date: [Date]

Client or Company Profile:

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

Introduction:

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

Analysis and Insights:

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

Conclusion:

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

Testimonials:

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

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

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20+ Best Case Study Questions for Customer Interviews

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

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

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

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

Prepare your case study questions in advance

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9 components your case studies need to include.

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

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

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

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

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

1 . Using yes/no questions

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

2 . Not pushing for numbers

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

3 . Not allowing the conversation to flow

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

4 . Not listening to your customer

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

Get help with your case studies

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

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

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

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The Ultimate Guide to Marketing Case Studies

Everything you need to know about creating effective marketing case studies that will help you convert more leads.

FREE DOWNLOAD: CASE STUDY TEMPLATES

Showcase success using compelling case studies.

Updated: 12/02/21

Published: 02/16/16

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and imagine you were considering purchasing a new product.

Would you be more inclined to:

A) Chat with a salesperson — while trying to block out the tiny voice in your head reminding you that they’re working on commission?

B) Review a case study about a customer who used that product to solve a problem similar to yours?

Probably option B, right? That’s because we put more trust in word-of-mouth marketing than we do salespeople.

The way people consume information has changed, and buyers have all the resources they need to make decisions about what to purchase. Companies can either continue marketing the old, less effective way … or they can embrace these changes and let their customers do the work for them through testimonials, reviews, word-of-mouth marketing, and marketing case studies.

Customers trust other customers — the companies that recognize this will benefit in the long run and grow better.

Plenty of companies have already proven how beneficial marketing case studies can be. They are the most popular form of self-promotional marketing used by marketing agency executives in the U.S. Additionally, 88% of surveyed B2B marketers say that customer case studies are considered to be their most impactful content marketing tactic.  

While chatting with a salesperson can be helpful, and even preferable for some, it’s clear that having marketing case studies on your website can be beneficial. Case studies answer potential customers’ questions, demonstrate success, build company-wide credibility, increase conversions , and most importantly, eliminate bias so your customer can make a confident decision to buy your product.

What Is a Marketing Case Study?

Marketing case studies analyze the ways that a customer uses a product or service. They describe a challenge the customer faced, the solutions they considered, and the results they experienced after their purchase. Strong case studies can compel others to buy a product.

Benefits of Case Studies

Converting Leads with Case Studies

Choosing a Case Study Format

Conducting a Case Study Interview

Benefits of Marketing Case Studies

The use of marketing case studies is beneficial to companies of all sizes and customers of all backgrounds. Well-crafted marketing case studies provide potential customers with engaging content that excites them to buy your product.

They Tell a Relatable Story

Case studies often involve an interview with a customer that has had success using your product. Before choosing a customer for an interview, consider who you’re targeting. Your case studies should appeal to your buyer persona .

When your target customer feels connected to your case studies, they will feel more confident in their purchase.

Consider this: You’re buying a new software for your team. You have a few possible options in mind, so you head to their respective websites to do your own research. The first two options sound good on paper (or rather, on screen), but you want a solution you can really trust. Something that is preferably not written by the company itself.

The third site you go to has a landing page that includes a few case studies. One of the case studies features an interview with an employee at a company similar to yours. You listen to that person describe challenges that they faced prior to getting the software — challenges that sound a lot like the ones you and your team currently face. The interviewee then talks about the ways that their software purchase resolved their pain points.

Wouldn’t the case study you found on the third website make you feel confident that the software could help your team, too?  

The key to creating relatable case studies is considering your buyer personas. That means considering demographics, company size, industry, etc. and selecting a person that the majority of your potential customers will feel a connection.

They Demonstrate Success

Take a look at HubSpot’s case study landing page . Check out the wide range of case studies listed. Notice how these case studies cover all types of industries, a wide variety of locations, different company sizes, and more.

If there are so many companies using HubSpot — to solve a vast array of challenges — then wouldn’t you assume HubSpot has a solid product that you could trust, too?

Case studies demonstrate success by showing potential customers that current customers — who once had challenges similar to their own — solved their pain points by making a purchase.

They Help Build Credibility

Credibility is what gives the people around you a reason to trust you.

For example, let’s say you’re looking at a product on Amazon , and you scroll down to the customer review section. You find that almost everyone has given the product a five-star rating or has written a positive comment about their experience. These comments and ratings build credibility for that product and brand.

Marketing case studies help your company build credibility. They also convince prospects to give your product a try when they see how many people already trust you, love your products, and believe in your mission.

They Help You Convert Leads

Case studies are a bottom-of-funnel strategy that will help you convert more leads . If a prospect is on the fence about your product, case studies are the marketing technique that will push them closer to that purchase decision.

For example, if a potential customer visits your website and they watch (or read) multiple case studies explaining the ways that customers have had success with your product, then they too may feel excited to become a customer.  

If that same prospect just left your competitor’s website where there were no case studies, your solution then becomes an easy sell … and your competitor becomes obsolete.

Marketing case studies retain value over long periods of time — meaning the same study has the potential to convert leads for years . Unless you have a revamp or a complete update of the product being referred to in your case study, it can remain on your website as long as you see fit.

Marketing Case Study Template

Now that we’ve reviewed the reasons why you should have case studies on your site, you might be wondering how to actually create a marketing case study.

First, it’s no secret that video content is more effective than written content. So, if you can create a video case study, do it. If not, be sure to include images throughout your written case study to break up the text and provide visual stimulation for readers.

Second, remember one size does not fit all when it comes to creating case studies. They vary in length, format, content, and style based on what experience you want to provide for your potential customers.

Keep this in mind as we go through the following example … some of the content here might work perfectly in your case study, and some might need to be modified.

If you need some guidance, check out HubSpot’s Case Study Creation Kit .

1. Choose Your Case Study Format

To determine which format you want to use for your case study, think about what type of content would be most beneficial for your buyer personas. You should consider what challenges your buyer personas might face, what types of industries they work in, their locations, and their business demographics.

Two commonly used marketing case study formats to consider include an exposé and a transcription.

An exposé is an interview technique that covers specific details about a topic, event, or individual. If you look back at the case studies on the HubSpot landing page , you’ll see the exposé format in action. The director, or author, is conducting the interview, leading conversation, and asking the interview subject questions about their interactions with HubSpot.

Tip: When you’re recording a video interview for your case study, make sure the interview subject repeats your question before providing an answer.

For example, if you ask them, “What challenge did our product help you overcome?” you don’t want them to simply say “organizational challenges.” The editing process will cut your voice out of the interview, and their response won’t make sense. Instead, make sure they answer all questions as a complete statement such as, “This product helped us overcome several organizational challenges.”

Transcription

This is a simpler case study format. It’s a transcription of an interview with your customer , meaning there is typically a significant amount of text for potential customers to read through.

Be sure to include the interview questions throughout this type of case study so readers know exactly what the interview subject is referring to. Lastly, feel free to pair your transcription with a series of images or even video to break up the text.

2. Conduct the Interview

The interview is the most important part of the case study … and quality matters. Strong interviews and videos take time . It’s not unusual to conduct a one to two-hour interview just to get a solid two minutes of video to use in your case study.

During the interview, you should ask your customers about their lives prior to purchasing your product, what it was like to acquire your product, and how their company’s future has changed because of their purchase.

If possible, record the interview. If not, be sure to use a transcription or audio recording device to ensure accurate quotes and statements throughout your case study.

Here are some sample questions for you to consider:

Ask about the customer’s life prior to your product.

• Who are you? What is your title? What does your company do?
• What challenges were you experiencing that made you realize you needed a solution?
• Why was finding a solution to this challenge important?

Ask what it was like finding and purchasing your product.

Capture general commentary — information that anyone could understand — from your interview subject in this section so potential customers can relate no matter their background or experience.

• How did you find our product? What was your experience like while purchasing our product?
• Ask about your customer’s criteria during their search for a solution. What was crucial versus what was nice to have?
• What were the results that came from using our product? How did our product solve your challenge?
• Ask for numerical results and hard data. Get proof of these from your interview subject (or even your own company if you have records).
• What were you able to start doing as a result of our product working for you? What are the intangible results of our product?

Ask about the impact that the product has had on your customer’s life.

• How did our product change your view of your company’s future?
• What are you excited about moving forward?
• What would your future be like without our product?

After conducting your interview, it’s time to actually put your case study together.

Edit your interview down to the most important, relevant information for potential customers to learn about your product. Cut that hour-long video interview down to a minute or two of the best clips.

If your interview is going to become a written case study, include the very best quotes. Make it easy to read by separating your information with the help of headers, bulleted lists, images , and bold or italicized text.

3. Incorporate Your Case Study in Your Marketing and Sales Processes

Determine how to best use the case study in your marketing and sales processes. Here are a few ideas:

Create a case study library.

By creating a case study library on a landing page — similar to the HubSpot landing page or this page by Fractl — you provide your potential customers with an easy way to learn about your products and company as a whole.

Source : Fractl

A case study library or landing page will prevent potential customers and leads from having to dig around on your website for any product information they’re searching for. If this information is not easily accessible, they could lose interest, become frustrated, leave your website, or even find an alternative solution on a competitor’s site.

Case study landing pages and libraries also help build credibility, look official, and typically bring in a lot of traffic — both through people searching for your company’s website and organic search.

According to Fractl , their case study landing page is the second most-visited page on their entire website. Additionally, it is their fourth most-visited page through organic search. Lastly, they’ve seen a huge boost in converting visitors to leads since the creation of their case study landing page — half of Fractl’s leads view at least one of their case studies.  

Surround your case studies with social proof.

If so many people are saying it’s true, then it must be true — this is how companies use the theory of social proof to their advantage.

Social proof theories say that people let the actions, behaviors, and beliefs of those around them impact their own. For example, some theories say most people would answer “yes” to the question: “If all of your friends jumped off of a bridge, would you?”

Social proof — or in this case, your friends all jumping off of the bridge — influences people to make decisions based on the expectations and behaviors of the people around them, even if their decision would be different if they were alone.

Companies use social proof in the form of customer reviews, logo walls (that is, the logos of companies that have purchased their products), or long-form videos. Social proof acts as a supplement to the information in a case study.

By showing potential customers how your products have changed the lives of other individuals, teams, and companies, prospects are more likely to buy into your claims and believe your product could help them, too.

Add product overviews to the case study section on your site.

If you’re editing down your case study interview and realize your interviewee said something vague or made a comment that a potential customer may not necessarily understand, you can add a product overview or reference guide next to that case study.

For example, imagine HubSpot is conducting a case study interview and an interview subject goes into detail about the specific functions of Workflows . A potential customer may not know much about HubSpot’s Workflows, so a detailed discussion about their features may not be relatable and could even raise some questions.

By including an overview or description of Workflows next to the case study where the product was mentioned, HubSpot can provide clarity for the viewer. You will also avoid making potential customers feel confused or uninterested.

Keep your sales team in the loop.

Once your case study is complete, you should notify your sales team so they can use them when reaching out to potential customers. They will be able to incorporate this information into their sales enablement kits — which include the technologies, processes, and content that allows them to sell efficiently and effectively.

By learning about the ways that real customers are using and benefiting from the products they are selling, sales teams can share relatable stories with potential customers and leads. These will help build trust and, most importantly, increase sales.

To help your sales team narrow the vast amount of information that typically comes from an in-depth case study, provide them with key takeaways that they can share with potential customers and leads. These key takeaways should include information about the interviewee’s background, title, and experience level and details about their company’s size, industry, and potential annual revenue.

This data will allow the sales team to tailor the information they share with potential customers and leads, organize it for future conversations, and make more efficient and impactful sales.

4. Determine How Many More Case Studies You Need

As I mentioned, every company is different and every product they sell is unique. Not every company will need the same number of case studies on their website to have an impact. To determine the right number of case studies for your company, think about the following tips.

Cover all of your bases.

A good rule of thumb is to have at least one to three case studies for each of your buyer personas.

To do this, cover a range of industries and types of companies, and interview people of different backgrounds, titles, demographics, and experience levels. You should make sure there is something for everyone who visits your website.

If your company targets customers all over the world and has offices located around the globe, this is especially important to consider. Think about what works for your buyer personas, your company’s location, and your goals when deciding how many case studies you need.

Sometimes, less is more.

Having an extensive list of case studies sounds like something everyone should have … right?

Not always. Think about it this way — if your company is on the smaller side and is relatively new, there’s a chance you haven’t given your customers much time with your products yet. There is also a chance that you don’t yet have a wide range of customers.

If your company then takes the time to create dozens of case studies, potential customers may feel you are being inauthentic and even unconvincing. It may also be a waste of resources that you can’t quite afford as a new business.

To be effective, try to make every one of your case studies relatable and helpful for your personas. Cover multiple use cases in each of your case studies when possible. You’ll not only simplify your own life, but you also keep your case study library clean and impactful.

Case studies are powerful marketing tools. They tell your potential customers relatable stories, demonstrate your company’s success, and help you build credibility. Case studies will help you reach your audience in a way that no sales pitch, email, newsletter, or advertisement will.

Plus, if your company made such a positive impact on a customer that they want to share their experience with others, why not broadcast that story?

Now it’s time to start creating content that matters to your potential customers and converts more leads.

Don't forget to share this post!

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

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14 Best Case Study Questions to Ask Your Top Customers

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

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

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

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

How to Structure Your Case Study Questions

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

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

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

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

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

Questions About Their Brand 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. An industry-relevant question 

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

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

Questions About Their Challenge & Pain Points 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Questions About How They Discovered You 

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

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

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

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

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

7. How did you find out about our brand? 

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

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

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

Questions About How They Used The Product or Service 

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

These are the case study questions to ask: 

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

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

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

Ask about the products and services the team used. 

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

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

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

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

11. How was your experience? 

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

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

Questions About Their Results 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

14. Is there anything else we should know? 

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

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

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

Final Thoughts 

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

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

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What Is a Case Study in Marketing and How to Build One (Examples)

A marketing case study allows you to illustrate and explain how you achieved enormous success in a specific situation.

For instance, last year, Jacob McMillen wrote about how Pronto used Crazy Egg to increase leads by 24 percent .

That’s a big number.

It’s not a full case study , but it demonstrates the goal of a marketing case study. You want to shock your audience, then explain exactly how you achieved your results — preferably with proof.

You might have read lots of case studies over the years without realizing your business could benefit from them. Lots of entrepreneurs are put off by the hard work and long hours required to build a marketing case study.

However, think about how many leads you might convert by proving your track record, establishing trust, and attracting traffic through SEO .

Let’s look at how marketing case studies can impact your business, discuss how to write one, and check out a few examples.

What Is a Case Study in Marketing?

A case study in marketing is a document or web page that includes several basic parts:

• Description of the subject : Explain your customer’s or client’s history and pain points.
• Subject’s goal : Identify your customer’s or client’s goal for the project so readers understand what to expect.
• Hypothesis for strategy : Tell your audience what you expected to happen after you implemented your strategy for the customer or client.
• Implementation of strategy : Take the reader through the step-by-step process you used to help your customer or client.
• Results of strategy : Deliver the results in as much detail as possible, preferably with a quote from the client or customer.
• Concluding findings : Explain what this case study has taught your specifically and how it can help other people.

You don’t have to include every category, but the more detail you add, the more effective your marketing case study becomes.

Most of the time, you’re conducting a case study for your own business. You want to show the world how your product or service has helped a customer in a huge way.

For that reason, it helps to know you’ll perform a case study from the beginning. In other words, try not to reverse-engineer a case study from a great result. Instead, track your arrangement with your customer throughout the process.

The Importance of Creating Case Studies to Convert Leads into Customers

Think of a marketing case study as a lure. It’s a way to dangle amazing results in front of your leads so they’ll decide to convert .

Imagine that you’re a customer who’s trying to decide between two businesses, each of which offers time management software. One company has a marketing case study that illustrates how it helped a customer save four hours per week. The other company has no case study.

Which company would you trust most?

You can use that consumer logic to inform your business decisions. Thinking like a customer can help you achieve new insights into marketing.

Creating a marketing case study gives you an edge that your competitors might have. It can also help your leads make more informed decisions.

Too many businesses copy their competitors or other businesses. Instead, you should spend time being more creative and innovative. Below is a video by Neil Patel that illustrates why you need to quit copying digital marketing strategies.

If you’re bold enough to be different, you can convert more leads. A marketing case study gives you that opportunity because nobody else can duplicate it.

Why is it so important to build trust?

Anybody can throw testimonials on their site by Ron R. and Jennifer K. Anyone can also make them up.

Trust is tenuous in the digital marketing world. If you can’t create it, you likely won’t convert leads into customers.

Think about all the companies that have experienced data hacks. Their stocks plummeted, consumer sentiment turned ugly, and profits dwindled. That’s because consumers lost trust.

Similarly, any company can make bold claims about its products or services. Consumers have become numb to superlative-littered copy and hyped-up videos. They want to see evidence.

If you can prove that your product or service delivers powerful results, you’ll gain your leads’ trust.

Marketing case studies show how you tackled a problem and overcame it on behalf of your customer or client. It’s that simple. The more detail you give, the more authority you create for your company — and the more your leads will trust your expertise.

4 Case Study Examples

Before we tell you how to build a case study, let’s look at a few examples to get you warmed up. Each of these marketing case studies illustrates the power behind the medium.

They’ll also show you how different case studies can look depending on design, detail, results, and goals.

The Shopify case study by HubSpot demonstrates how a narrative can be woven from a company’s journey. When Loren Padelford became head of sales, he immediately identified weak spots in Shopify’s sales cycle, so he decided to adopt HubSpot.

This case study highlights the ways in which Shopify used HubSpot’s email plugin to save time and improve communication flow. There’s a quote from Padelford in the case study, which can add even more impact in terms of building trust among leads.

Here, we have a fairly vague result. The company — specifically Padelford — claims to have achieved great success with HubSpot’s tools, but there aren’t any concrete numbers to back that up.

There’s nothing wrong with this approach, though, as long as your customer or client can offer a raving quote.

Ecommerce marketing case studies can become extremely valuable. In this case, Bit.ly used a more traditional template for a marketing case study. The PDF document includes several sections that take you through the process of how Vissla improved its omnichannel marketing with Bit.ly.

The results were that Vissla was able to visualize and centralize data in one place. They gained greater control over their social media marketing, which resulted in faster and better improvements in the content they shared.

There’s also a quote from Vissla’s media marketing manager, Keegan Fong: “Bitly Campaigns offers us a whole new way to look at our marketing channels. By giving us an easy-to-use dashboard that instantly displays the results of our multichannel promotions, we can see what kinds of content work on what channel, which channels we should be investing in the most, and what we need to do to optimize our content.” [ For Social: @vissla ]

3. Viperchill

There’s a great marketing case study from Viperchill that you’ll want to check out. It’s a quick, fun read that explains how the author created a squeeze page that generated more than 700 leads and results in a conversion rate of 64 percent.

Notice that he used hard numbers. Sometimes, it’s impossible to boil results down to a figure or percentage, but if you can, do so. People comprehend real numbers faster than lengthy text explanations.

4. MarketingSherpa

This MarketingSherpa case study is super detailed and describes the process by which MarketingSherpa helped a natural foods company boost revenue by 18 percent with a site redesign. You see the entire project from start to finish.

You’ll notice that there are lots of visuals. Since this marketing case study focused on design, visuals were imperative. Let your business and its niche guide the way in which you construct your case study.

How to Create a Case Study Marketing Strategy That Converts

Now that you’ve looked through a few case studies, how do you create a marketing case study of your own?

It starts with a case study marketing strategy that’s designed to convert leads. You don’t want to choose just any project. It should be geared toward other businesses or customers who might benefit from your business.

Let’s take it step by step.

1. Choose a success story that is closely related to your potential customer

You might notice that many companies publish numerous marketing case studies. There’s a reason for that.

Each case study targets a different segment of the company’s target audience. Let’s say that you sell shoes, purses, and hats. A case study about shoes won’t interest someone who’s shopping for hats.

You can either choose a project that has already concluded or one that is starting or underway. It’s always best to start at the beginning, but if you’re anxious, you can take the reverse-engineering route.

Decide which segment of your target audience you want to appeal to first. Next, select a case study subject closely related to that segment. You want your marketing case study to resonate with the leads you most want to convert.

2. Identify the key points of the case study and use storytelling

Decide what parts of the case study you want to highlight. These details will likely appear in the marketing case study’s headline as well as throughout the rest of the text.

For instance, if you helped a customer boost revenue by 200 percent, that’s a highly relevant detail. You’ll want to spotlight it in the headline and several times in the content so you keep it fresh in readers’ minds.

You might have several key points. Think about the struggles your customer was facing before you stepped in, how you approached the solution, and why alternatives weren’t working. When you can provide numbers, do so.

Once you’ve identified those key points, start weaving them into a narrative. Make it exciting! Add sensory details, frustration points, and colorful anecdotes.

A marketing case study shouldn’t sound dry. It needs to engage the reader so he or she keeps going until the end.

If possible, intersperse the copy with images. Make them relevant and easy to see on the screen. Let the images help supplement the story you’ve woven.

3. Highlight the great results

As mentioned above, results are paramount. If you can express them in numeric form, so much the better.

Consider creating a custom graphic to serve as the featured image on your post. That way, people can share the image on social. Add the amazing result to the text on the image to entice people to click.

The point here is to capture attention. If people are willing to pay attention to you, then you’ve won the first part of the battle. As long as you maintain that attention, you have a good chance of converting the lead.

4. Explore different types of design

Design can prove fundamental to a marketing case study’s success. If you’re publishing it as a blog post, break it up with H2s, H3s, and H4s to guide the reader through the story. Add images and leading lines to keep the visitor engaged.

Remember that color matters. Consider using colors for text and images that correlate with your customers’ color scheme or with your own site’s palette.

5. Ask for feedback! What does your potential customer want to learn?

Don’t let the conversation stop at the end of your marketing case study. Open up the forum for more insights.

Invite readers to ask you direct questions about your business, products, services, or methods. Not only that, but respond to those comments. Take each one as a gift.

These comments might tell you what type of case study you should create next or allow you to cement a conversion by answering objections or questions.

Marketing case studies can improve your conversion rate , but you have to put in the time and effort. Yes, a polished case study requires work, but if you can secure sales from its publication, why wouldn’t you give it your full attention?

Remember that trust matters when it comes to converting leads into customers . If you don’t have trust, you’ll lose your leads to your competitors.

A great marketing case study demonstrates your track record. It builds a case for leads to use your products or services over someone else’s.

What are you waiting for? Start creating your first marketing case study now.

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Hacking the Case Interview

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

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

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

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

What is a Marketing Case Interview?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The 7 Steps to Solve Any Marketing Case Interview

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

1. Understand the case background information

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

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

2. Ask clarifying questions

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

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

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

3. Summarize the information and verify the objective

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

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

4. Develop a framework

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

5. Kick off the case

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

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

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

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

6. Answer quantitative and qualitative questions

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

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

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

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

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

7. Deliver a recommendation

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

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

Structure your recommendation in the following way:

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

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

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

Marketing Case Interview Framework

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Collaborators

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

Competitors

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

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

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

Segmentation

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

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

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

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

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

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

Positioning

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Marketing Case Interview Examples

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

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

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

Therefore, your framework could look like the following:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Therefore, your framework could look like the following:  

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

More marketing case interview examples and practice

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

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

Recommended Marketing Case Interview Resources

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

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

Land Multiple Consulting Offers

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

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Essential Case Study Questions to Ask Your Best Customers

Benchmark Team

February 23, 2023 6 min read

Picture this: a customer is looking to replace their  email marketing software . As they evaluate different options, they look for products with features that suit their needs and preferences. Most importantly, they want proof that your product works.

You can tell the story yourself, but the problem is  that 9 out of 10 customers won’t trust what you say about your brand . Instead, they want to hear from other customers who have used your product and reaped the benefits. This is where case studies come in handy. 

A case study gives skeptical customers evidence backed by data, numbers, and analysis. It’s an impactful direct endorsement from satisfied customers that tells others, “come buy this product: it enables me to achieve these results and will work for your business, too.” 

Where to Use Case Studies

Case studies are an important part of your  content marketing strategy . Here are a few places you can feature your case studies to drive social proof and conversions:

• Your website:  92% of potential customers look for social proof  before making a purchase. Adding excerpts of your case studies on key web pages and on focused landing pages will improve conversions.
• Nurture emails: If you have a case study about a feature or product a customer is looking to buy, send a targeted, nurture series featuring the case study. 
• Sales and marketing team: When the customer is in the consideration stage, you can send them targeted case studies. Sales and marketing teams should also learn to use case studies at the right moments in the buyer’s journey.
• Newsletters: Case studies are a great resource for your newsletter series, whether you’re looking to build new relationships or strengthen existing ones. 
• Marketing videos: Making video case studies or testimonials helps potential customers see what your product can achieve from a third-party perspective and may convince them to buy. Actually,  2 out of 3 customers claim they’d make a purchase  after watching a testimonial video. 
• Blog posts: You could also use quotes from case studies to add credibility to information in your blog posts and articles. 

Identifying the Right Customers for Case Studies

Not all customer stories lend themselves well to case studies. For a case study to really woo your customers, it has to be authentic, believable, and captivating. 

When picking candidates for case studies, consider the following:

• Company size: The size of the company that suits your case study comes down to what you want to achieve. If you want to add more SMBs to your customer base, then write a case study about a small business; and vice versa. 
• The challenge: Evaluate your target audience and pinpoint the problem you want to solve. Then, identify the specific product feature that solves that problem. Lastly, search through your customer base and pick a customer that had a similar problem and used the same feature to solve it. Chances are, if you use that customer as a case study, the story will resonate with the target audience. 
• The results: Remember, for the case study to have a significant impact, it has to showcase cold, hard data. For this reason, pick a customer with solid numbers to back up their anecdotal results. Gather direct quotes, as well, to spice up the case study and improve narrative flow. You’re telling a story, after all, so make it exciting!
• Other things to consider include: pick a customer you’ve recently worked with, and ideally, one requiring minimal layers of approval. This way, your proposal to feature them in your case studies will get approval in time — and you won’t have to delay for months while you wait for legal to provide their stamp of approval.

Fundamental Case Study Questions to Ask in Your Interview

Asking your customers the right questions can make or break your case study. The questions you ask will vary depending on your industry and the angle of your case study, but here are some essential ones to start with:

• How did you find out about us?
• When did you start working with us?
• What was the beginning of the engagement with our company like?
• What problems were you looking to solve?
• Did you evaluate our competitors or other solutions to your problem?
• What made you decide to go with us?
• How did our product/solution solve your problem?
• Did you need any help using our product/solution, and how did you get help?
• What are some of the main benefits of using our product/solution?
• What are the three biggest things you love about our company? 
• What would you say to other people considering us?

1: What’s Your Background?

Getting your customer’s backstory is a great way to set the stage and tone for your case study. It might even help steer your case study down a path you hadn’t considered before.  Better yet, these personal stories engage potential buyers, helping them to relate to your customer base.

2: How did you find out about us?

3: when did you start working with us, 4: what was the beginning of the engagement with our company like, 5: what problem were you trying to solve.

Every buyer is working to address a problem. Your case study should focus on one problem, so ask what problem the user was trying to solve. This question will give the reader (and you)  insight into how people perceive and use your product.

6: How Was The Problem Affecting You?

Most buying decisions are based on emotions  rather than logic. Expand this question by asking how the problem was affecting impacting the customer’s bottom line, what difficulties it was causing and how it made the person feel. Ask open-ended questions and try to elicit emotional responses as much as possible.

7: What Possible Solutions Did You Consider?

There are always multiple ways to solve any problem. Those who read your case study will trust the testimonial more if they can see that the customer considered other solutions. Buyers always start with a list of options and then narrow down the list until they find the perfect fit.

8: Why Did You Choose Our Product or Service?

Case study readers will be interested in the decision-making process previous buyers have gone through. If they identify with the process, they are more likely to buy the same product.

9: What Would Have Happened If You Had NOT Made The Purchase?

Asking this question reiterates the original problem. Hopefully it’s the same one the reader is trying to solve. It emphasizes the consequences of postponing a purchase and increases the likelihood of the reader making the decision you want him or her to make.

10: What Risks Did You Consider?

Every decision has risks. If you ignore them they won’t go away, so you need to address each risk to reassure your prospective customer. This helps the reader to overcome their natural aversion to taking risks. Risk analysis has two main components; how likely it is, and how severe are the possible consequences.

You can reduce perceived risk by including a ludicrous over-the-top warranty that offers much more than the standard money-back guarantee everyone offers.

11: What Reservations Did You Have?

This is similar to risk analysis and gives you another way to find why people might not be buying from you. If one person has reservations, other buyers might have similar feelings and need to confront them before making a decision to purchase.

12: Did you need any help using our product/solution, and how did you get help?

Provide potential customers with a taste of what it’s like working with your company. Do you have 24/7 support? Personalized account management? Give your  customer service and support  a chance to shine.

13: What are some of the main benefits of using our product/solution?

14: what measurable benefits have you seen.

This question gives your case study respondent an opportunity to address the value in your product and to spell out exactly how it solved their problem. It is more convincing as the final question because readers can see the feedback is credible. Praise is more effective when it’s given after a detailed risk analysis and consideration of alternatives.

15: What are the three biggest things you love about our company? 

16: what would you say to other people considering us, bonus: can you provide creative assets.

Be sure to ask your customer for a headshot, company logo and other brand elements you can add to their case study to make it feel even more personal and authentic to your audience.

You know what you need and how your study needs to be structured. If you simply ask someone to give you feedback on a purchase, what you get is unstructured and rambling praise that lacks credibility. Structuring responses will save the respondents time and gives you something much more valuable.

Your best customers value your partnership and want to help you succeed. They will more than likely be happy to take part in a case study. All you need to do is to ask.

by Benchmark Team

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Marketing Results

22 Marketing Case Study Examples (With Template)

February 17, 2016 by Will Swayne

Prospects who aren’t ready to buy – or who are “sitting on the fence” – tend to be resistant to even well-crafted marketing messages.  But a bunch of well aimed marketing case studies can often tip the scales in your favour.

“Sell benefits, not features” is good advice, but benefit-rich copy can actually deter prospects who haven’t reached the decision stage yet.

And too many benefits in the absence of marketing proof elements  can ring hollow in today’s increasingly sceptical marketplace.

We published our first marketing case study back in 2005 and I quickly realised the power of case studies as a versatile and effective marketing tactic.

Why are marketing case studies so effective?

Here are three reasons:

• Case studies show, they don’t tell. Telling you I can get you more qualified leads is one thing. Showing you how a similar company to yours got 145% more leads with 24% lower marketing costs is another.
• Prospects are typically curious to understand how others have achieved the results they desire. They will eagerly devour a well-constructed case study.
• Case studies are also a great tool for closing fence-sitting prospects. For many years I’ve asked prospects why they chose to work with us, and the most common response seems to be, “I was impressed by your case studies” , or “I saw you helped someone in my industry so I figure you can help us too” .

Now let’s look at how to structure and effectively promote a case study, and then some marketing case study examples for you to replicate.

Our Recommended Case Study Template

Here’s the case study structure we’ve adopted which has proven effective:

• Start with a major headline that summarises the key result achieved: e.g. “Investment Property Strategist Triples Leads In 6 Months” . This gets the prospect excited about reading on.
• Then introduce the background . In other words, the “Before” scenario.Don’t bore the reader with too many details about the history of the client. But DO provide an insight into the “trigger” that led to them seeking your assistance. e.g. “The client noticed smaller competitors starting to appear ahead of them on Google”. And,   DO talk about the negative effects of the “Before” state. E.g. “New customer acquisition that had previously been growing by 10% every quarter had flatlined for the last 12 months.”
• Now talk about the solution . Here’s where you explain what you did to achieve the outcomes. I like to list different services or solutions in the form of bullet points. Also, include significant details and facts and figures to add “richness” to the story. Where possible, demonstrate with images, screenshots or other proof elements. Emphasise anything you did differently to the standard approach, or anything that highlights your point-of-difference benefits.
• Now talk about your results . Results are the crux of any good case study.I like to go with a number of punchy bullet points, populated with specific numbers. E.g . “Lead volume up 75%… New customer volume from online sources up 145%… 1,540 more organic search engine visitors per month.”
• Include a testimonial from the client. What was their reaction to your work? The “Before-During-After” approach is a good structure for testimonials. A strong testimonial adds texture and credibility to the data in your core case study.
• End with a call-to-action . This can be relatively low-key. For example, “Contact us to explore how you can enjoy similar breakthrough results.”

You can see more examples of different implementations of this concept on our online marketing case studies page.

How To Promote Your Case Study

A case study that never gets read won’t help you.

Here are some of our favourite promotional methods:

• Optimise each case study for search engines . A good start is using a <title> tag on your case study pages in the format: “<INDUSTRY> <SERVICE> case study”. For example, “Accountant online marketing case study” or “Car sales lead generation case study” .   This will tend to rank you well for anyone searching for case studies about your industry.
• Send case studies to your email subscribers . These emails achieve high engagement both as broadcasts, and as “drip emails” within an automation sequence .
• Create a print booklet of case studies to send to prospects and clients via snail mail or distribute at trade shows.
• Case studies make great social media updates and can be recycled every few months using different headlines.

22 Marketing Case Study Examples

1. fuji xerox australia business equipment, tripled leads for 60% less marketing spend.

In 90 days, we doubled web lead flow with lower marketing costs.

Read the full case study here.

Paul Strahl , National e-Business Manager

2. Surf Live Saving Foundation

Surf lottery grows online revenue 47%.

Marketing Results delivered tangible business improvements, including 47% higher revenue from digital, year-on-year.

Yin Tang , Surf Live Saving Foundation

3. ABC Reading Eggs

Integrated search and conversion management for abc reading eggs.

Marketing Results have been instrumental in profitably expanding our ad spend, while removing waste.

Matthew Sandblom , Managing Director ABC Reading Eggs

4. MAP Home Loans

From 70 hour weeks to 40 hour weeks with 100% annual growth.

I now make twice as much money, have less stress and fewer hours.

Craig Vaunghan , Principal MAP Home Loans

5. Inkjet Wholesale

Online advertising roi doubles – in just three months.

We couldn’t be happier – conversion rates are up, costs are down, ROI has doubled.

Glenn Taylor , National Marketing Manager Inkjet Wholesale

6. Breaking Into Wall Street

Info-marketing business achieves 300% revenue growth with 7-figure profits.

Marketing Results provided the marketing support to grow my annual revenue 300%+. They don’t just advise – they implement.

Brian DeChesare , Founder Breaking Into Wall Street

7. LatestBuy

Brw fast 100 online retailer latestbuy.com.au boosts sales by 45.3%.

Revenue had flatlined… Now it is up by 45%, with over 80% of that due to conversion rate optimisation.

Shaun Campbell , Co-Owner LatestBuy.com.au

8. directSMS

More traffic, less cost, lead volume doubles.

More than doubled the number of qualified enquiries via our website for the same ad spend.

Ramez Zaki , Co-Founder directSMS

9. Business Coach and Author, Pure Bookkeeping

Successful marketing automation and 100.95% year on year growth.

50%+ of business comes directly through online channels and none of this would have happened without Marketing Results.

Peter Cook , Business Coach & Author Pure Bookkeeping

10. Positive Training Solutions

Higher rankings plus more, higher-quality leads.

Marketing Results excels in strategic and online marketing.

James Grima , Managing Director Positive Training Solutions

11. Geelong’s Gym

From 5-6 leads a month to 60-70. 10x increase.

We’ve gone from 5 – 6 leads per month to 60 – 70!

Gerard Spriet , Owner Geelong’s Gym

12. Super Finance – SMSF Property

A new pipeline delivering a steady flow of web leads.

Outstanding quality of web generated leads!

Yannick Ieko , Director Super Finance

13. College For Adult Learning – Training Organisation

300%+ more sales with 60% lower cost per sale.

I expect at least another 60% more leads and 80-90% more revenue by continuing to work with Marketing Results.

Rob Golding , Director College For Adult Learning

14. The Gourmet Guardian – Food Safety Programs

4 times more leads and a 269% revenue increase.

Your AdWords strategies have quadrupled leads, almost tripled revenue and reduced my dependence on contract work to zero.

Gavin Buckett , Managing Director The Gourmet Guardian

15. Quick Coach – Life Coaching Courses

More qualified sales plus a facebook roi of 1285%.

The results have been fantastic… I have had over 500 potential students opt in via Google wanting to change their lives and those of their clients.

Glen Murdoch , Founder & CEO Quick Coach

16. Investment House – Property Development

Clients lined up for everything we can find.

We have clients lined up for everything we can find.

Colin Ferguson , Managing Director Investment House

17. Cosmetic Surgery Lead Generation

257% increase in qualified lead volume.

In less than a year, our enquiry volume increased by over 257% while increasing the quality and conversion rate of those leads.

Dee Tozer , Managing Director Medici Clinics

18. All Suburbs Catering

61% roi gain in less than 5 months….

20% more enquiries for 34% less cost – a compounded gain of 61% in only 5 months.

Jeff Veale , Managing Director All Suburbs Catering

19. Trilogy Funding

549 qualified sales leads in 3 months.

549 qualified sales leads in 3 months.

Ed Nixon , Principal Trilogy Funding

20. Customized Stickers

Online revenue rockets by 800%.

With Marketing Result on our side, our website revenue has increased by over 800% in only 18 months.

Anthony Khoury , Managing Director Customized Stickers

21. Technoledge

Engaging ceos of ideal target companies.

We’re routinely seeing CEOs of Australian hi techs with turnover of $5 million to $50 million (our target audience) opting in and proceeding to self-qualify before they contact us for a meeting. This is what digital marketing is supposed to do.

Tracey James , Director Technoledge

22. First Aid Training

Specialist first aid training company doubles revenue in 6 months.

We’ve streamlined customer acquisition, increased customer lifetime value, and doubled our revenue in 6 months!

Dave Hundt , Director Kids First Aid

I encourage you to put these tips into action and see how they work for you.

What other ways have you used case studies effectively in your business?

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5 keys to crafting a killer marketing case study

Count me among the content creators who entered this line of work out of a strong affinity for storytelling. While it’s not exactly the same thing as plotting out a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas or editing dialogue for a heady psychological thriller, writing a marketing case study still entails plenty of drama and suspense. Even better, it can be a highly effective component of your overall marketing plan.

What is a marketing case study and why is it important?

Simply put, a marketing case study is a story that helps your prospective clients understand, from the beginning to the end and in a tangible way, how you helped a current or previous client accomplish their goals. It’s a crucial tool for helping sales reps demonstrate to their leads how your company can produce real results.

As part of your larger content marketing strategy, it helps middle-of-funnel and bottom-of-funnel leads to connect your products and services with real-world outcomes. If you’re able to highlight some of your better-known customers in the process, a marketing case study can also bolster your brand.

What separates a good case study from a great case study?

A good case study gets its point across, but a great case study does so with style.

Keep in mind, that doesn’t mean it always has to be flashy or highly visual, though aesthetically pleasing design can be a big bonus.

Here, by style, we mean that the case study:

• Features specific details and inspiring outcomes that enhance a strong narrative.
• Communicates in a way that is relevant to its intended audience.
• Presents the potential customer with a clear opportunity for further engagement.

As part of a holistic marketing strategy, a great case study is also an instrumental asset for ongoing, targeted campaigns.

How do you create a compelling case study?

The principal ingredients for a compelling case study aren’t that different from other forms of content marketing.

Great case studies require you to:

• Conduct thoughtful research.
• Sculpt raw intel into a captivating story.
• Frame the content in a way that’s certain to generate interest.

For further detail, we can break this process down into the five key steps necessary for producing a first-rate marketing case study.

1. Know the product or service and its place in the market

Here’s a typical scenario. You get an email from the Vice President of Sales. She’s overjoyed about a recent customer success story, and she wants to know if you can create a case study based on it.

What’s the first thing you do?

Our recommendation is to make sure you have a firm grasp of everything about the product or service that the case study will highlight. Well, technically, the first thing you should probably do is respond to that email. And when you do, don’t forget to ask for clarification if it isn’t clear what product will be central to your marketing case study.

To brush up on the product, service or offering, take a closer look at materials like:

• Existing sales sheets and landing pages.
• Related social media posts or email campaigns.
• Internal product documents.

Keep in mind how this case study will play into ongoing marketing campaigns and efforts. Also, take a moment to examine how the type of customer you’re about to profile will map up with strategies for targeting specific personas.

2. Line up an interview with the client’s resident brand champion

A strong case study often involves the enthusiastic participation of individuals from the client company who are responsible for managing the vendor partnership. If you can schedule some time to talk to this person, you’ll benefit for two reasons:

• You’ll hear the story from their angle, which can add color, texture and truly valuable proof points.
• You’ll benefit from their infectious gratitude for the product. Too often, content creators have to rely on a set of well-crafted pitches instead of seeing the real-world impact of their products.

That said, sometimes this step is easier said than done. Why?

First of all, your clients may be busy. See if you can reach them at off-peak times or when they have some more flexibility in their schedule

Secondly, nondisclosure agreements are the norm in some industries. Customer contacts can be wary about answering questions, even if they know the company’s name and logo won’t be used. Try to reassure these clients from the beginning by showing them examples of other case studies you’ve done.

No matter what difficulties you encounter, there are always strategies you can follow to ask for reviews, testimonials and other support for your marketing case study. Some of our tried-and-true techniques include:

• Automating as much of the process as possible: Work with the sales or products teams to build feedback into the customer acquisition and retention processes.
• Focus on top customers: Emphasize high-profile clients that will bring greater brand awareness to your company or highly engaged partners who are eager to sing your praises.
• Emphasize the cross-promotional aspect of marketing case studies: Some companies need a reminder that this could be further exposure for their brand and additional content they could share in their own campaigns.

3. Gather details and comb through the data

Interviewing client contacts for a marketing case study is an art unto itself. Even the most excited and energetic sources will need some prompting and guidance in order to give you the material you need.

As such, we find that it’s helpful to start the conversation with a basic structure for your case study content in mind. A rough outline should look something like this:

• Background information about the client.
• A problem that the client experienced. Keep in mind, some people will need reassurance that the case study won’t paint the organization in a negative light.
• An exploration of how your product or service helped address the problem.
• Results from the implementation of this new solution.
• A description of how the client will proceed forward with this new experience under their belts.

Remember to listen carefully and remain flexible, but focused, during the interview. Put your reporter’s hat on to ask leading questions based on new information. At the same time, if your subject is particularly chatty, you may occasionally need to pull the interview back to its intended purpose.

While you’re taking notes, be sure to highlight any particularly noteworthy or emotional lines as they come up. This can be a real timesaver when you’re looking for pull quotes later.

In addition to the interview, ask for project documentation that can help you understand the scope of the client’s problem and the impact of the support provided by your company. Oftentimes, clients will have metrics that they’re eager to share. After all, they’ve probably already reported these results to internal stakeholders. Even if that’s not the case, ask for any relevant recent reports or raw data you could explore for some brag-worthy numbers.

4. Find the story

Not everybody is an expert storyteller. Some people are prone to add in irrelevant details, deliver information out of order or even to leave out important context. There’s a good chance that you’ll have to rearrange some of the information you learned during your client call. You may also have to conduct additional research or excise some out-of-place meanderings.

Internal subject matter experts can also help you refine the narrative arc for your marketing case study. They’ll clue you into the strategies they use for selling this service and supporting its implementation. Plus, they’ll be able to share their insights about questions that prospective clients might ask.

Make sure that the client is at the center of the story, but don’t be shy about highlighting the contributions of your own organization.

5. Highlight proof points

The story comes first, but proof points can transform your marketing case study from a possible puff piece into an exhilarating example for your target audience.

Whatever claims you make in the text, you should be able to back them up with evidence. At the same time, the proof points you do use should align with the bigger picture.

Obviously, facts, figures and statistics make for some of the most compelling kinds of evidence. However, sometimes the data isn’t in yet. In other scenarios, the qualitative advantages that have been gained are more important than percentages or points on a line graph.

In these situations, quotations and brief customer testimonials can provide additional support for the claims you’ve made.

But how do you handle quotes? Here are a few guidelines to follow:

• Where possible, use a direct quote that is original, interesting and engaging. Think about claims that would only be credible if they came straight from the speaker.
• You may have leeway to finesse the speaker’s language. Resist the temptation to wordsmith their speech except in cases that are truly confusing. Informal expressions can add a touch of authenticity.
• Some situations may require you to write the quote and then have it approved by the person to whom it will be attributed. Try to capture the nuances of their perspective as best you can, and never run the quote without getting a final confirmation.

What are some great case study examples to model after?

B2B and B2C marketing case studies come in all shapes and sizes. Here are a few recent examples that embody all of the strategies we’ve outlined above. If you’re looking for a compelling case study to model your own content after, check out these models.

‘How PayPal empowers people and businesses in a global marketplace’

This PayPal case study profiles how the company uses services from Google Cloud to support more than 300 million customers who use 100 different currencies.

It’s structured as a landing page that’s well designed and easy to navigate based on the storyline. It also highlights some impressive and relevant proof points right off the bat.

The text and graphical elements are also augmented by a video in which the customer’s voice takes center stage.

At the heart of this story is the notion that finding a reliable digital partner can help your company scale. As such, PayPal is a great aspirational client example, and its story speaks to the hopes that many prospective customers will have about their own business.

We also appreciate how easy Google makes it for potential clients to find additional examples and to take the next step by reaching out to a sales rep.

‘Disney+ Brand Launch’

It’s hard to think of a recent product launch that received more hype than the highly influential debut of streaming service Disney+. Behind the hype were companies like Midnight Oil, a California-based creative agency.

In this marketing case study for Disney+ , the firm pairs succinct text with high-quality pictures that display Midnight Oil branding collateral in action.

In this instance, the company was able to leverage the sky-high visibility of its brand partner to help tell the story. Everybody already knows that the launch of Disney+ was a rousing success, so the creative agency gets to focus a little more on highlighting its own contributions.

And showing is always better than telling. Still, the company makes sure that you don’t forget the 10 million subscribers the client achieved on its first day.

If you want to grow revenue by expanding your potential subscriber base using targeted branding efforts, Midnight Oil makes a compelling case that the agency can help.

‘Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Messages Their Way To Success’

Who says that digital marketing case studies can’t shred?

For our last case study example, we’re going to shine the spotlight on HubSpot’s righteous work with a venerable Cleveland institution.

This in-depth landing page frontloads a quick summary of the premise and some eye-catching stats.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame used HubSpot’s integration with Facebook Messenger to develop a strategy that allowed the museum to connect better with its fans.

A slickly produced video with lots of custom footage sheds light on how the Rock Hall’s content leader found a way to bring out the best from both automation and one-to-one connections.

This case study succeeds because it has an exciting hook, an interesting story and some real results.

How do you distribute case studies? Where do they work best?

How to distribute your case study depends on the audience you’re trying to reach, the story you need to share and the role that this case study plays in your overall marketing strategy.

Take a lesson from the marketing case study examples above. You need to be where your fans are. If your potential customer is on social media, make sure your content is shareable, and consider using a Facebook ad to promote your brand.

But let’s back up one more step.

As our examples illustrate, your marketing case study doesn’t just have to exist as one kind of asset. A custom landing page is a great place to start, but you can spin out content for video and other channels, too. Case studies can be delivered to prospects individually, distributed over social media or shared as part of an email drip campaign. Optimizing your case study landing page for search will help organic traffic find your content, too.

Where marketing efforts meet solid storytelling

It should be clear by now that marketing case studies are more than just a mishmash of numbers, quotes and splashy illustrations. They can take many different forms, but regardless of the media in which they’re found, they’re about creating a story around customer relationships. At the end of the day, aren’t stories what we live for?

Michael O'Neill

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Mike O'Neill is a writer, editor and content manager in Chicago. When he's not keeping a close eye on Brafton's editorial content, he's auditioning to narrate the next Ken Burns documentary. All buzzwords are his own.

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Marketing Analytics Case Study Guide for 2024

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

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

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

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

What is Marketing Analytics?

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

Marketing analytics has numerous applications for businesses, including:

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

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

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

Marketing Analytics Case Study Question: Example Answer

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

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

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

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

Example Solution:

First, start with some clarifying questions like:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Reviewing Funnel Metrics

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

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

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

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

2. Considering Multi-Channel Attribution

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Next steps

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

Marketing Analytics Case Study: Video Guide

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

Additional Marketing Analytics Case Study Questions

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

More Marketing Analytics Interview Resources

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

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5 Powerful Content Marketing Case Study Interview Questions

October 31, 2018

By Mallory Fetchu

Case studies are vital content marketing tools because they tell a compelling customer story and provide the same authority as white paper marketing , but in a format short enough to capture most prospects’ attention.

The first step to an effective case study is research. Conducting a case study interview with your customer will ensure you have accurate, detailed information, which will be the basis of your final piece of content. To unlock the most important kernels of information during a case study interview, try adding these five key case study interview questions to your list:

1. What challenges or needs did you (the customer) face in your industry that led you to look for a solution like ours?

This question can help to identify the problems the customer faced that drove them to look for a new solution. Finding out why a customer was dissatisfied with their prior solution will help to build a compelling “before and after” narrative for the case study. A good follow-up question is to ask about the requirements and features the customer was looking for in a new solution.

2. Describe your selection process and what criteria you were looking for. How did you go about searching for a solution?

It’s helpful to know how the relationship came about. Did the customer send out RFPs? Did they evaluate ten potential solutions before choosing yours? What were some must-have items they needed in order to go with your solution? Asking how they found your company will also be a good indicator of how future prospects can find you and how your ideal customer prefers to look for solutions. This will not only help to build your case study, but can also help to build upon the platform in which they found your company.

3. Why did you choose our company over the competition?

Was it something the sales team said? Something they read on the website? Word-of-mouth? A case study writer can transform this kind of information to make the company look like the top competitor in its market. Asking what the customer found most attractive about your company’s solution will get the customer to state their goals, or what pressure points they wanted to address with your company’s solution.

4. What results have you seen since implementing our product/solution? What business processes does this solution enhance, and how much does it reduce the cost and time to complete these particular processes?

This question will help you or your writer determine exactly how the solution is being used by the customer and which areas of the business it affects most. The second part of this question, asking about time and cost, will hopefully generate some qualitative results, or benefits, such as increased productivity, lower costs, and less opportunity costs. These answers will add a deeper storyline to the case study beyond the hard-number results, such as return on investment or gross revenue.

5. What would you tell others who might be considering our product? Would you recommend this company’s solution to your peers?

According to the Marketing Science Institute , customers who are acquired through word-of-mouth have higher margin and lower churn rates than other acquisition channels. If you have a solid strategy, this can be a profitable platform for your business. Knowing how your best customers would describe your product and if they would recommend it to their peers will give you insight into what you’re doing right and what you can improve upon. It will also help provide a response that’s aligned with the reader’s needs, which will help the reader relate to the study on a more personal level.

Case studies built on targeted interview questions like the examples above will result in a more valuable content marketing asset. Asking good questions is the key. Come prepared, let your customer tell their story from their perspective, and watch those leads turn hot with your brand new case study.

This blog was originally published November 2011 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.

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

Case Study Questions Template

About the author

Mallory Fetchu was formerly a Marketing Consultant at SmartBug with several years of experience creating and executing a full marketing strategy for a B2B packaging company. She is thrilled to take her knowledge of inbound marketing and help companies succeed online! Read more articles by Mallory Fetchu .

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. what are market sizing questions.

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

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

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

1.1 Why do companies ask market sizing questions?

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

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

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

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

2. 21 market sizing questions and solutions

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

2.1 Medium-level questions

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

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

We always recommend using a  4-step framework.

Step 1: Ask clarification questions

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

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

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

Step 2: Map out your calculations

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

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

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

Step 3. Round numbers and calculate

Calculation step 1: Estimate the population of NYC .

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

Estimate: 8 million

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

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

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

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

Estimate: 5 t-shirts per year.

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

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

Estimate: 3 t-shirts per year.

Calculation step 4. Adjust estimates for age group differences.

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

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

Clearly, the average of 5 and 3 =  4.

4 x 8 million = 32 million.

Step 4. Sense check your results

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

You can give the interviewer your final answer:

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

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

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

2.1.3 Estimate the market size for sofas in the UK

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

2.1.4 More medium-level questions

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

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

2.2 Hard questions

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

2.2.1  Calculate the market size for weddings in the UK

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Step 3: Round numbers and calculate

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

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

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

20-40 years- 17m

40-60 years - 17m

60-80+ years - 17m

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

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

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

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

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

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

90k x 4 = 360k

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

90k x 2 = 180k

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

22k x 750k =   16.5 billion

Step four: Sense-check your results

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

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

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

You confirm to the interviewer your estimate:

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

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

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

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

2.2.3 Estimate how many women in the USA play golf

(alternative answer: here )

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

2.2.4 Calculate the adult disposable diaper market in the USA

2.2.5 More hard questions

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

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

3. How to prepare for market sizing questions

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

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

3.1 Learn a framework

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

3.2 Memorise some basic data

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

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

3.3 Practise on your own

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

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

3.4 Practise with experts

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

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

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

Further reading: Best interview coaching services 2023