The case study headache
October, 2025
Customer case studies are gold for marketing. But behind every polished, persuasive case study is a process that’s often painful.
Customer case studies are gold for marketing teams. They build credibility, showcase real-world success, and help prospects envision how your product or service could solve their problems. But behind every polished, persuasive case study lies a process that’s often far more painful than it should be.
Let’s be honest: producing a customer case study can be a headache. From chasing approvals to navigating internal politics, it’s rarely a smooth ride.
1. Getting the Customer Onboard
The first hurdle is getting the customer to agree. Even if they’re thrilled with your product, many hesitate to go public. Legal departments get involved. PR teams raise concerns. Suddenly, what seemed like a simple “yes” turns into a weeks-long negotiation. You might need to offer incentives, anonymize the story, or settle for vague quotes that dilute the impact.
2. Scheduling Interviews
Once you have the green light, the next challenge is scheduling interviews. Your contact is busy. Their team is busy. You’re busy. Finding a time that works for everyone can feel like solving a Rubik’s Cube blindfolded. And when you finally get on a call, there’s always the risk that the person doesn’t have the depth of insight you need—or worse, they weren’t even involved in the project.
3. Extracting a Compelling Story
Not every customer success story is inherently dramatic. Sometimes, the results are solid but not spectacular. Your job is to turn that into a narrative that’s engaging, authentic, and persuasive. That means asking the right questions, digging for metrics, and crafting a storyline that resonates. It’s part journalism, part salesmanship, and part diplomacy.
4. Navigating Internal Review Hell
Once the draft is ready, the internal review process begins. Marketing wants it punchier. Sales wants more emphasis on ROI. Legal wants to remove half the quotes. The customer wants to tone down the praise. What started as a crisp, compelling piece can quickly become a watered-down compromise. And every round of edits adds more time and complexity.
5. Approval Limbo
Even after everyone’s happy with the content, final approval can stall. The customer’s legal team might take weeks. Their leadership might want to weigh in. Meanwhile, your team is eager to publish, but you’re stuck in limbo. It’s not uncommon for case studies to sit unpublished for months—or get shelved entirely.
6. The Reward (Eventually)
Despite all the headaches, when a case study finally goes live, it’s worth it. It becomes a powerful tool for sales enablement, content marketing, and brand building. Prospects trust peer experiences more than polished pitches, and a well-crafted case study can tip the scales in your favour.
Final Thoughts
Producing a customer case study is rarely easy. It requires patience, persistence, and a healthy dose of diplomacy. But if you can navigate the obstacles, the payoff is real. Just don’t expect it to be quick—or painless.
Essential. Communications Matters: the antidote to the case study headache!
