--- name: case-study-writer description: "Use when turning a customer success into a B2B case study, customer story or proof snippet. Plans the interview, structures the story around the customer's situation, decision and measurable outcome, handles anonymization and approval, and produces a full case study plus short versions for sales decks, emails and web pages." license: MIT metadata: title: "Case Study Writer" category: "content-copy" author: "esther" summary: "Turn a customer success into a credible case study with a clear before, decision and after, plus short versions for sales and web." tags: "case study, customer story, social proof, testimonials, content" version: "1.0" updated: "2026-10-19" --- # Case Study Writer This skill produces customer stories that prospects believe. A good case study is about the customer, not the vendor: their situation, why they decided to change, how it went, and what is measurably different now. It also produces the shorter formats that sales teams actually use day to day. ## When to use - A customer has achieved a result worth sharing. - Sales needs proof for a specific segment, use case or objection. - Interview notes or a call recording exist but no story has been written. - An existing case study reads like a press release and nobody uses it. ## What you need Ask for these first. If no interview has happened, start with the interview guide in step 1. 1. **Customer context:** industry, size, region, the team involved, and the roles of the people interviewed. 2. **Interview material:** notes, transcript or answers to the interview questions. 3. **Results:** metrics with a baseline and a time frame, plus qualitative outcomes. 4. **Permission level:** named with logo, named without logo, or anonymized ("a 400-person logistics company"). 5. **Target reader:** the persona and segment this story should persuade. 6. **Use cases:** website, sales deck, outbound emails, proposals, social posts. ## Process 1. **Run or plan the interview.** If needed, provide a guide that covers: - Before: what was happening, what it cost them, what they had tried. - Trigger: why they decided to act at that moment. - Evaluation: options considered, concerns, why they chose this solution. - Implementation: how it went, surprises, effort required. - Results: what changed, with numbers and a time frame; what colleagues noticed. - Advice: what they would tell a peer considering the same move. Ask for specific moments and quotes, not general satisfaction. 2. **Find the story spine.** Identify the single most compelling change, ideally tied to a business outcome (revenue, cost, time, risk). Everything in the story should support it. 3. **Validate the numbers.** Each metric needs a baseline, a result and a period ("from 6 weeks to 9 days over two quarters"). Mark any number that is an estimate. Avoid attributing all improvement to the product if other factors were involved; honest attribution increases credibility. 4. **Choose the structure.** A dependable outline: headline with the outcome, summary box (customer, challenge, solution, results), the situation, the decision, the implementation, the results, a closing quote, and what is next for the customer. 5. **Write in the customer's voice where possible.** Use direct quotes for the emotional and evaluative parts. Keep vendor descriptions short and focused on what the customer used, not a feature tour. 6. **Handle objections inside the story.** If the target reader worries about implementation effort or switching risk, show how this customer handled it. 7. **De-identify properly when required.** Replace names with descriptive labels, generalize or remove distinctive details (exact location, unique product names, specific dates, unusual figures), and assess how easily a knowledgeable reader such as a competitor or industry insider could still recognize the customer from the combination. De-identification lowers that risk but cannot guarantee it, so the customer approves the final anonymized version explicitly, just as they would a named one. 8. **Create derivative formats.** One-paragraph summary, a three-line proof snippet for emails, a slide (challenge, solution, results, quote), and two social post angles. 9. **Prepare for approval.** List the quotes and numbers the customer must approve, and flag anything sensitive. ## Output format ``` Headline: [outcome-focused, specific] At a glance - Customer: [name or anonymized description] - Challenge: [one line] - Solution: [one line] - Results: [2-3 bullet metrics with time frame] The situation [paragraph(s)] The decision [paragraph(s), why now, options considered] Making it work [paragraph(s), implementation and how risks were handled] The results [paragraph(s) with metrics and quotes] "[closing quote]" [Name or role, company or description] Short formats - Summary paragraph: ... - Email proof snippet (3 lines): ... - Slide: Challenge / Solution / Results / Quote - Social angles: 1) ... 2) ... For customer approval: [list of quotes and figures] ``` ## Quality checklist - The customer is the protagonist; vendor description is brief. - Every metric has a baseline, result and time frame, or is labeled as an estimate. - At least two direct quotes, attributed appropriately for the permission level. - The "why now" and alternatives considered are included. - Anonymized stories have had distinctive details generalized, their re-identification risk is assessed, and the customer has approved the final text. - Short formats are consistent with the full story. - Approval items are listed. ## Common mistakes - **Vendor as hero.** Stories that spend most words on product features read as ads and are less persuasive. - **Results without context.** "Increased efficiency by 50 percent" means little without a baseline, a measure and a time frame. - **Smoothing over difficulty.** A story with no challenges feels fabricated. A brief, honest hurdle builds trust. - **Generic quotes.** "They are a great partner" proves nothing. Ask for quotes about specific changes. - **Weak anonymization.** Removing the name but keeping a unique combination of city, size and niche identifies the customer anyway. - **Only the long version.** Most proof is used in emails, slides and calls. Without short formats, the case study sits unused. ## Example prompts - "Here's the transcript of our call with a customer. Write a case study and email snippets." - "Create an interview guide for a customer who cut onboarding time by half." - "Anonymize this case study so the customer can't be identified, but keep it credible." - "Turn this case study into a sales slide and two LinkedIn posts." - "Our case studies read like press releases. Rewrite this one around the customer's story."