How I Systematized Case Studies at My Agency (And Why You Should Too)
The Case Study Problem That's Killing Your Sales
Let me start with the hard truth: most agency owners I speak to have terrible case studies. I'm talking old, irrelevant, dusty case studies that do absolutely nothing to help with sales.
Sound familiar? Because this was exactly me in the early days of running my agency. I completely skipped systematizing this stuff, and it made making sales considerably harder than it needed to be.
Here's what I used to do (and what I bet you're doing too): Maybe every year, maybe even every year and a half, whenever I had time, I would take stock of some of the biggest wins we had and turn those into case studies. It was this big marketing exercise where we'd gather up all the data, put our heads down, and write these elaborate case studies.
But here's the thing: the fewer case studies you have, the less credibility you have. And the older they are, the more irrelevant they become. We're in a very dynamic industry, so up-to-date, current, relevant case studies are more important than ever.
Why Case Studies Are Actually Game-Changers
Case studies are a very powerful tool in the sales process and also for inbound traffic. They prove that the service you're offering actually works. But once we systematized them at my agency and started having relevant, current case studies, something amazing happened:
Prospects were starting to come to us already familiar with our case studies. They'd already read them before getting on a call. It was game on. We had authority and credibility established just by the fact that we had these case studies on the website.
The "Client Wins" System That Changed Everything
The internal system we built was very, very simple. Remember: complexity is the enemy of execution. We don't want this to be complex.
Here's what we did:
Step 1: Change Your Mindset
We stopped calling them "case studies" and started calling them "client wins." Why? Because when you ask somebody to submit information for a case study, they inflate it in their heads. They're thinking, "This has to be scientific. I need all sorts of data points and information."
That stuff is good, but we don't want those expectations to get in the way of actually getting the information we need.
Step 2: Make It a Core Job Expectation
When you're hired to work with us, one of the things we expect is that you'll submit client wins whenever you see them. This isn't optional. It's part of the job.
Step 3: Create a Simple Technical Setup
We set up a private Slack channel for managers and key team members. A Google form that the team had access to would automatically populate information to this Slack channel.
Very simple setup:
Google form for submissions
Automation to send submissions to Slack
Google Sheet database to track all wins over time
We could see the wins come in as they were submitted and talk about them amongst ourselves.
The Unexpected Benefits
This system didn't just help with case studies. It also:
Created visibility for leadership : We could see which team members were submitting wins and which weren't (hello, performance management insights)
Gave us ammunition for client relationships : We could give clients little high-fives like, "Hey, I saw that over the last three weeks, this KPI is up by this percentage"
Helped with sales calls : The person handling sales could reference wins off the cuff
Created link-worthy content : We could send prospects links to recent wins from similar clients
What to Include in Your Client Win Form
Here's exactly what we track (keep it simple):
Basic info: Name, position, department
Client details: Which client is this for?
The meat: What metric? What timeframe? Starting number? Current number?
Context: How does this align with the client's main goal?
Strategy: What did we implement to achieve this?
Framework: Any branded process we used?
Learning: What does this teach us?
That last point is crucial. We don't just want to wave our flag and say we're awesome. We want people learning from each win, including prospects and clients.
How We Turn Wins into Case Studies
Once you develop a discipline to enter these client wins onto the website (we did it once every month), you can:
Reference them in sales conversations
Send actual links to prospects
Say things like, "Here's a win we had with a brand very similar to yours last month"
Instead of relying on old, stale case studies, you have fresh, relevant stories that prospects can see themselves in. Kind of like the hero's journey, right?
Your Next Steps
This is a very simple system that you could implement within the next hour if you wanted to. Here's what to do:
Set up the tools: Create a Google form, set up the Slack automation, link to a Google Sheet
Update job expectations: Make submitting client wins a core expectation for all team members
Train your team: Review the system with everyone, make sure they have access
Develop the discipline: Commit to turning these wins into website content regularly
The Bottom Line
We went from extracting case studies from the team every six months to having a steady flow of small wins with full visibility. The person handling sales could reference these wins off the cuff. We had current, relevant content to share with prospects.
Trust me, once you implement this systematic approach, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it. It transforms case studies from an afterthought into a powerful, consistent sales tool that builds credibility and tells stories your prospects can see themselves in.
Now stop making excuses and go set this up. Your future self (and your sales numbers) will thank you.