100 Best Case Study Questions for Your Next Customer Spotlight

Brittany Fuller

Published: November 29, 2022

Case studies and testimonials are helpful to have in your arsenal. But to build an effective library, you need to ask the right case study questions. You also need to know how to write a case study .

marketing team coming up with case study questions

Case studies are customers' stories that your sales team can use to share relevant content with prospects . Not only that, but case studies help you earn a prospect's trust, show them what life would be like as your customer, and validate that your product or service works for your clients.

Before you start building your library of case studies, check out our list of 100 case study questions to ask your clients. With this helpful guide, you'll have the know-how to build your narrative using the " Problem-Agitate-Solve " Method.

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What makes a good case study questionnaire?

The ultimate list of case study questions, how to ask your customer for a case study, creating an effective case study.

Certain key elements make up a good case study questionnaire.

A questionnaire should never feel like an interrogation. Instead, aim to structure your case study questions like a conversation. Some of the essential things that your questionnaire should cover include:

  • The problem faced by the client before choosing your organization.
  • Why they chose your company.
  • How your product solved the problem clients faced.
  • The measurable results of the service provided.
  • Data and metrics that prove the success of your service or product, if possible.

You can adapt these considerations based on how your customers use your product and the specific answers or quotes that you want to receive.

What makes a good case study question?

A good case study question delivers a powerful message to leads in the decision stage of your prospective buyer's journey.

Since your client has agreed to participate in a case study, they're likely enthusiastic about the service you provide. Thus, a good case study question hands the reins over to the client and opens a conversation.

Try asking open-ended questions to encourage your client to talk about the excellent service or product you provide.

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Categories for the Best Case Study Questions

  • Case study questions about the customer's business
  • Case study questions about the environment before the purchase
  • Case study questions about the decision process
  • Case study questions about the customer's business case
  • Case study questions about the buying team and internal advocates
  • Case study questions about customer success
  • Case study questions about product feedback
  • Case study questions about willingness to make referrals
  • Case study question to prompt quote-worthy feedback
  • Case study questions about the customers' future goals

client case study interview questions

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  • Data-Driven Case Study Template
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Case Study Interview Questions About the Customer's Business

Knowing the customer's business is an excellent way of setting the tone for a case study.

Use these questions to get some background information about the company and its business goals. This information can be used to introduce the business at the beginning of the case study — plus, future prospects might resonate with their stories and become leads for you.

  • Would you give me a quick overview of [company]? This is an opportunity for the client to describe their business in their own words. You'll get useful background information and it's an easy prompt to get the client talking.
  • Can you describe your role? This will give you a better idea of the responsibilities they are subject to.
  • How do your role and team fit into the company and its goals? Knowing how the team functions to achieve company goals will help you formulate how your solution involves all stakeholders.
  • How long has your company been in business? Getting this information will help the reader gauge if pain points are specific to a startup or new company vs. a veteran company.
  • How many employees do you have? Another great descriptor for readers to have. They can compare the featured company size with their own.
  • Is your company revenue available? If so, what is it? This will give your readers background information on the featured company's gross sales.
  • Who is your target customer? Knowing who the target audience is will help you provide a better overview of their market for your case study readers.
  • How does our product help your team or company achieve its objectives? This is one of the most important questions because it is the basis of the case study. Get specifics on how your product provided a solution for your client. You want to be able to say "X company implemented our solution and achieved Y. "
  • How are our companies aligned (mission, strategy, culture, etc.)? If any attributes of your company's mission or culture appealed to the client, call it out.

How many people are on your team? What are their roles? This will help describe key players within the organization and their impact on the implementation of your solution.

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Case Study Interview Questions About the Environment Before the Purchase

A good case study is designed to build trust. Ask clients to describe the tools and processes they used before your product or service. These kinds of case study questions will highlight the business' need they had to fulfill and appeal to future clients.

  • What was your team's process prior to using our product? This will give the reader a baseline to compare the results for your company's product.
  • Were there any costs associated with the process prior to using our product? Was it more expensive? Was it worth the cost? How did the product affect the client's bottom line? This will be a useful metric to disclose if your company saved the client money or was more cost-efficient.
  • What were the major pain points of your process prior to using our product? Describe these obstacles in detail. You want the reader to get as much information on the problem as possible as it sets up the reasoning for why your company's solution was implemented.
  • Did our product replace a similar tool or is this the first time your team is using a product like this? Were they using a similar product? If so, having this information may give readers a reason to choose your brand over the competition.
  • What other challenges were you and your team experiencing prior to using our product? The more details you can give readers regarding the client's struggles, the better. You want to paint a full picture of the challenges the client faced and how your company resolved them.
  • Were there any concerns about how your customers would be impacted by using our product? Getting answers to this question will illustrate to readers the client's concerns about switching to your service. Your readers may have similar concerns and reading how your client worked through this process will be helpful.
  • Why didn't you buy our product or a similar product earlier? Have the client describe any hesitations they had using your product. Their concerns may be relatable to potential leads.
  • Were there any "dealbreakers" involved in your decision to become a customer? Describing how your company was able to provide a solution that worked within those parameters demonstrates how accommodating your brand is and how you put the customer first. It's also great to illustrate any unique challenges the client had. This better explains their situation to the reader.
  • Did you have to make any changes you weren't anticipating once you became a customer? Readers of your case study can learn how switching to your product came with some unexpected changes (good or bad) and how they navigated them. If you helped your client with troubleshooting, ask them to explain that here.

How has your perception of the product changed since you've become a customer? Get the interviewee to describe how your product changed how they do business. This includes how your product accomplished what they previously thought was impossible.

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Case Study Interview Questions About the Decision Process

Readers of the case study will be interested in which factors influenced the decision-making process for the client. If they can relate to that process, there's a bigger chance they'll buy your product.

The answers to these questions will help potential customers through their decision-making process.

  • How did you hear about our product? If the client chose to work with you based on a recommendation or another positive case study, include that. It will demonstrate that you are a trusted brand with an established reputation for delivering results.
  • How long had you been looking for a solution to this problem? This will add to the reader's understanding of how these particular challenges impacted the company before choosing your product.
  • Were you comparing alternative solutions? Which ones? This will demonstrate to readers that the client explored other options before choosing your company.
  • Would you describe a few of the reasons you decided to buy our product? Ask the interviewee to describe why they chose your product over the competition and any benefits your company offered that made you stand out.
  • What were the criteria you used when deciding to buy our product? This will give readers more background insight into the factors that impacted their decision-making process.
  • Were there any high-level initiatives or goals that prompted the decision to buy? For example, was this decision motivated by a company-wide vision? Prompt your clients to discuss what lead to the decision to work with you and how you're the obvious choice.
  • What was the buying process like? Did you notice anything exceptional or any points of friction? This is an opportunity for the client to comment on how seamless and easy you make the buying process. Get them to describe what went well from start to finish.
  • How would you have changed the buying process, if at all? This is an opportunity for you to fine-tune your process to accommodate future buyers.
  • Who on your team was involved in the buying process? This will give readers more background on the key players involved from executives to project managers. With this information, readers can see who they may potentially need to involve in the decision-making process on their teams.

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Case Study Interview Questions About the Customer's Business Case

Your case study questions should ask about your product or solution's impact on the customer's employees, teams, metrics, and goals. These questions allow the client to praise the value of your service and tell others exactly what benefits they derived from it.

When readers review your product or service's impact on the client, it enforces the belief that the case study is credible.

  • How long have you been using our product? This will help readers gauge how long it took to see results and your overall satisfaction with the product or service.
  • How many different people at your company use our product? This will help readers gauge how they can adapt the product to their teams if similar in size.
  • Are there multiple departments or teams using our product? This will demonstrate how great of an impact your product has made across departments.
  • How do you and your team currently use the product? What types of goals or tasks are you using the product to accomplish? Get specifics on how the product actively helps the client achieve their goals.
  • If other teams or departments are using our product, do you know how they're using it? With this information, leads can picture how they can use your product across their teams and how it may improve their workflow and metrics.
  • What was the most obvious advantage you felt our product offered during the sales process? The interviewee should explain the benefits they've gained from using your product or service. This is important for convincing other leads you are better than the competition.
  • Were there any other advantages you discovered after using the product more regularly? Your interviewee may have experienced some additional benefits from using your product. Have them describe in detail what these advantages are and how they've helped the company improve.
  • Are there any metrics or KPIs you track with our product? What are they? The more numbers and data the client can provide, the better.
  • Were you tracking any metrics prior to using our product? What were they? This will allow readers to get a clear, before-and-after comparison of using your product.
  • How has our product impacted your core metrics? This is an opportunity for your clients to drive home how your product assisted them in hitting their metrics and goals.

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Case Study Interview Questions About the Buying Team and Internal Advocates

See if there are any individuals at the customer's company who are advocates for your product.

  • Are there any additional team members you consider to be advocates for our product? For example, does anyone stick out as a "power user" or product expert on your team? You may want to interview and include these power users in your case study as well. Consider asking them for tips on using your service or product.
  • Is there anyone else on your team you think we should talk to? Again, the more people can share their experience using your product, the better.
  • Are there any team members who you think might not be the biggest fans of our product or who might need more training? Providing extra support to those struggling with your product may improve their user experience and turn into an opportunity to not only learn about their obstacles but turn them into a product fan
  • Would you share some details about how your team implemented our product? Get as much information as possible about the rollout. Hopefully, they'll gush about how seamless the process was.
  • Who from your company was involved in implementing our product? This will give readers more insight into who needs to be involved for a successful rollout of their own.
  • Were there any internal risks or additional costs involved with implementing our product? If so, how did you address them? This will give insight into the client's process and rollout and this case study question will likely provide tips on what potential leads should be on the lookout for.
  • Is there a training process in place for your team's use of our product? If so, what does it look like? If your company provided support and training to the client, have them describe that experience.
  • About how long does it take a new team member to get up to speed with our product? This will help leads determine how much time it will take to onboard an employee to your using your product. If a new user can quickly get started seamlessly, it bodes well for you.
  • What was your main concern about rolling this product out to your company? Describing their challenges in detail will provide readers with useful insight.

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Case Study Interview Questions About Customer Success

Has the customer found success with your product? Ask these questions to learn more.

  • By using our product can you measure any reduced costs? If it has, you'll want to emphasize those savings in your case study.
  • By using our product can you measure any improvements in productivity or time savings? Any metrics or specific stories your interviewee can provide will help demonstrate the value of your product.
  • By using our product can you measure any increases in revenue or growth? Again, say it with numbers and data whenever possible.
  • Are you likely to recommend our product to a friend or colleague? Recommendations from existing customers are some of the best marketing you can get.
  • How has our product impacted your success? Your team's success? Getting the interviewee to describe how your product played an integral role in solving their challenges will show leads that they can also have success using your product.
  • In the beginning, you had XYZ concerns; how do you feel about them now? Let them explain how working with your company eliminated those concerns.
  • I noticed your team is currently doing XYZ with our product. Tell me more about how that helps your business. Illustrate to your readers how current customers are using your product to solve additional challenges. It will convey how versatile your product is.
  • Have you thought about using our product for a new use case with your team or at your company? The more examples of use cases the client can provide, the better.
  • How do you measure the value our product provides? Have the interviewee illustrate what metrics they use to gauge the product's success and how. Data is helpful, but you should go beyond the numbers. Maybe your product improved company morale and how teams work together.

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Case Study Interview Questions About Product Feedback

Ask the customer if they'd recommend your product to others. A strong recommendation will help potential clients be more open to purchasing your product.

  • How do other companies in this industry solve the problems you had before you purchased our product? This will give you insight into how other companies may be functioning without your product and how you can assist them.
  • Have you ever talked about our product to any of your clients or peers? What did you say? This can provide you with more leads and a chance to get a referral.
  • Why would you recommend our product to a friend or client? Be sure they pinpoint which features they would highlight in a recommendation.
  • Can you think of any use cases your customers might have for our product? Similar industries may have similar issues that need solutions. Your interviewee may be able to provide a use case you haven't come up with.
  • What is your advice for other teams or companies who are tackling problems similar to those you had before you purchased our product? This is another opportunity for your client to talk up your product or service.
  • Do you know someone in X industry who has similar problems to the ones you had prior to using our product? The client can make an introduction so you can interview them about their experience as well.
  • I noticed you work with Company Y. Do you know if they are having any pain points with these processes? This will help you learn how your product has impacted your client's customers and gain insight into what can be improved.
  • Does your company participate in any partner or referral programs? Having a strong referral program will help you increase leads and improve customer retention.
  • Can I send you a referral kit as a thank-you for making a referral and give you the tools to refer someone to us? This is a great strategy to request a referral while rewarding your existing customers.
  • Are you interested in working with us to produce additional marketing content? The more opportunities you can showcase happy customers, the better.

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Case Study Interview Questions About Willingness to Make Referrals

  • How likely are you to recommend our product to a friend or client? Ideally, they would definitely refer your product to someone they know.
  • Can you think of any use cases your customers might have for our product? Again, your interviewee is a great source for more leads. Similar industries may have similar issues that need solutions. They may be able to provide a use case you haven't come up with.
  • I noticed you work with Company Y; do you know if they are having any pain points with these processes? This will help you learn how your product has impacted your client's customers and gain insight into what can be improved.

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Case Study Interview Questions to Prompt Quote-Worthy Feedback

Enhance your case study with quotable soundbites from the customer. By asking these questions, prospects have more insight into other clients and their success with your product — which helps build trust.

  • How would you describe your process in one sentence prior to using our product? Ideally, this sentence would quickly and descriptively sum up the most prominent pain point or challenge with the previous process.
  • What is your advice to others who might be considering our product? Readers can learn from your customer's experience.
  • What would your team's workflow or process be like without our product? This will drive home the value your product provides and how essential it is to their business.
  • Do you think the investment in our product was worthwhile? Why? Have your customer make the case for the value you provide.
  • What would you say if we told you our product would soon be unavailable? What would this mean to you? Again, this illustrates how integral your product is to their business.
  • How would you describe our product if you were explaining it to a friend? Your customers can often distill the value of your product to their friends better than you can.
  • What do you love about your job? Your company? This gives the reader more background on your customer and their industry.
  • What was the worst part of your process before you started using our product? Ideally, they'd reiterate how your product helped solve this challenge.
  • What do you love about our product? Another great way to get the customer's opinion about what makes your product worth it.
  • Why do you do business with us? Hopefully, your interviewee will share how wonderful your business relationship is.

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Case Study Interview Questions About the Customers' Future Goals

Ask the customer about their goals, challenges, and plans for the future. This will provide insight into how a business can grow with your product.

  • What are the biggest challenges on the horizon for your industry? Chances are potential leads within the same industry will have similar challenges.
  • What are your goals for the next three months? Knowing their short-term goals will enable your company to get some quick wins for the client.
  • How would you like to use our product to meet those challenges and goals? This will help potential leads understand that your product can help their business as they scale and grow.
  • Is there anything we can do to help you and your team meet your goals? If you haven't covered it already, this will allow your interviewee to express how you can better assist them.
  • Do you think you will buy more, less, or about the same amount of our product next year? This can help you gauge how your product is used and why.
  • What are the growth plans for your company this year? Your team? This will help you gain insight into how your product can help them achieve future goals.
  • How can we help you meet your long-term goals? Getting specifics on the needs of your clients will help you create a unique solution designed for their needs.
  • What is the long-term impact of using our product? Get their feedback on how your product has created a lasting impact.
  • Are there any initiatives that you personally would like to achieve that our product or team can help with? Again, you want to continue to provide products that help your customers excel.
  • What will you need from us in the future? This will help you anticipate the customer's business needs.
  • Is there anything we can do to improve our product or process for working together in the future? The more feedback you can get about what is and isn't working, the better.

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Before you can start putting together your case study, you need to ask your customer's permission.

If you have a customer who's seen success with your product, reach out to them. Use this template to get started:

Thank you & quick request

Hi [customer name],

Thanks again for your business — working with you to [solve X, launch Y, take advantage of Z opportunity] has been extremely rewarding, and I'm looking forward to more collaboration in the future.

[Name of your company] is building a library of case studies to include on our site. We're looking for successful companies using [product] to solve interesting challenges, and your team immediately came to mind. Are you open to [customer company name] being featured?

It should be a lightweight process — [I, a product marketer] will ask you roughly [10, 15, 20] questions via email or phone about your experience and results. This case study will include a blurb about your company and a link to your homepage (which hopefully will make your SEO team happy!)

In any case, thank you again for the chance to work with you, and I hope you have a great week.

[Your name]

client case study interview questions

If one of your customers has recently passed along some praise (to you, their account manager, your boss; on an online forum; to another potential customer; etc.), then send them a version of this email:

Hey [customer name],

Thanks for the great feedback — I'm really glad to hear [product] is working well for you and that [customer company name] is getting the results you're looking for.

My team is actually in the process of building out our library of case studies, and I'd love to include your story. Happy to provide more details if you're potentially interested.

Either way, thank you again, and I look forward to getting more updates on your progress.

client case study interview questions

You can also find potential case study customers by usage or product data. For instance, maybe you see a company you sold to 10 months ago just bought eight more seats or upgraded to a new tier. Clearly, they're happy with the solution. Try this template:

I saw you just [invested in our X product; added Y more users; achieved Z product milestone]. Congratulations! I'd love to share your story using [product] with the world -- I think it's a great example of how our product + a dedicated team and a good strategy can achieve awesome results.

Are you open to being featured? If so, I'll send along more details.

client case study interview questions

Case Study Benefits

  • Case studies are a form of customer advocacy.
  • Case studies provide a joint-promotion opportunity.
  • Case studies are easily sharable.
  • Case studies build rapport with your customers.
  • Case studies are less opinionated than customer reviews.

1. Case studies are a form of customer advocacy.

If you haven't noticed, customers aren't always quick to trust a brand's advertisements and sales strategies.

With every other brand claiming to be the best in the business, it's hard to sort exaggeration from reality.

This is the most important reason why case studies are effective. They are testimonials from your customers of your service. If someone is considering your business, a case study is a much more convincing piece of marketing or sales material than traditional advertising.

2. Case studies provide a joint-promotion opportunity.

Your business isn't the only one that benefits from a case study. Customers participating in case studies benefit, too.

Think about it. Case studies are free advertisements for your customers, not to mention the SEO factor, too. While they're not promoting their products or services, they're still getting the word out about their business. And, the case study highlights how successful their business is — showing interested leads that they're on the up and up.

3. Case studies are easily sharable.

No matter your role on the sales team, case studies are great to have on hand. You can easily share them with leads, prospects, and clients.

Whether you embed them on your website or save them as a PDF, you can simply send a link to share your case study with others. They can share that link with their peers and colleagues, and so on.

Case studies can also be useful during a sales pitch. In sales, timing is everything. If a customer is explaining a problem that was solved and discussed in your case study, you can quickly find the document and share it with them.

4. Case studies build rapport with your customers.

While case studies are very useful, they do require some back and forth with your customers to obtain the exact feedback you're looking for.

Even though time is involved, the good news is this builds rapport with your most loyal customers. You get to know them on a personal level, and they'll become more than just your most valuable clients.

And, the better the rapport you have with them, the more likely they'll be to recommend your business, products, or services to others.

5. Case studies are less opinionated than customer reviews.

Data is the difference between a case study and a review. Customer reviews are typically based on the customer's opinion of your brand. While they might write a glowing review, it's completely subjective and there's rarely empirical evidence supporting their claim.

Case studies, on the other hand, are more data-driven. While they'll still talk about how great your brand is, they support this claim with quantitative data that's relevant to the reader. It's hard to argue with data.

An effective case study must be genuine and credible. Your case study should explain why certain customers are the right fit for your business and how your company can help meet their specific needs. That way, someone in a similar situation can use your case study as a testimonial for why they should choose your business.

Use the case study questions above to create an ideal customer case study questionnaire. By asking your customers the right questions, you can obtain valuable feedback that can be shared with potential leads and convert them into loyal customers.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in June 2021 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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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 .

Prepare your case study questions ahead of time

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.

Case study interview methods from worst to best

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.

4 case study interview mistakes to avoid

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.

Download our case study interview cheat sheet

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.

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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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14 Best Case Study Questions to Ask Your Top Customers

Illustration Of Case Study Questions

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. 

Case Study Questions About Branding

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.

Case Study Questions About Challenge And Pain Points

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. 

Case Study Questions About How They Discovered Your Product

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? 

Case Study Questions About How They Used Your Product Or Service

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. 

Case Study Questions About Their Results

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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10 Best Case Study Interview Questions to Ask

Ask these 10 interview questions to get valuable case study insights.

client case study interview questions

When you’re striving to improve your product, brand, or marketing, conducting case study interviews with your customers can provide invaluable insight into your business. Yes, customer case studies can provide content that your sales and marketing teams can use in order to attract additional attention from prospective clients. But they can also give you fresh insight into your business’s strengths and weaknesses so you can identify opportunities for growth, particularly if you ask the right case study interview questions.

If you’ve never done a case study before, you may be struggling to wrap your head around how to approach this process—how do you write case study interview questions that are productive and impactful? Read on to learn what you need to know in order to conduct a great case study interview, even if it’s your first time.

What is a case study?

One of the most difficult tasks of a business is proving to potential customers that you really can do all you say you can, so that they feel confident in signing on to work with you. One of the best ways to go about showcasing your professional skillset and attracting new business is through case studies—in particular, by interviewing former or existing customers in order to simultaneously conduct market research and generate marketing materials.

The kind of customer interviews conducted for the purpose of business case studies can be tricky to execute. You want to learn about what went great in your collaboration, while also soliciting feedback that could help steer the improvements you foster within your own company. How do you do both of these things at once?

Plainly put, it’s no small feat. There are many challenges in conducting these kinds of interviews with customers, including:

  • Limited staff resources: Your staff members are busy people—finding time for them to plan, structure, and conduct these types of case study interviews can be tricky .
  • Difficulty scheduling time with willing customers: Your customers are equally busy individuals—and it’s even harder to sell a customer on carving out their time for work like this than for your own staff members.

While there are certainly hurdles involved in getting this information collected, the effort can really be worth it in the end. The insight customers are able to share with you as a business owner is priceless—and the fact that these case studies can also become impactful marketing tools is an added bonus. But in order to make things easier on yourself and more efficient, preparing carefully constructed, highly targeted case study interview questions is essential.

How to write the best case study questions

How do you actually write a case study interview question that’s sure to get at the heart of a customer’s most honest feedback, while also serving as a testimonial your marketing staff can use to generate new interest in your business? It’s a tricky task to take on, but not an impossible one. Here are some things to keep in mind as you set out to establish a set of case study interview questions that work well for your company.

First, you want to structure your case study interview like a conversation—while you’re looking for thorough information, you don’t want your customer to feel like they’re involved in an interrogation. The fact that they’re willing to participate in the interview is a sign that they valued your product, service, or collaboration. They’re doing you a favor by supplying this information for your company, so you want to capture the essential information in as few questions as possible—but you also want to ensure the questions you ask are succinct, friendly, and flow naturally from one to another.

Strive for open-ended questions that give customers the opportunity to expand on the parts of their experience that they remember most fondly. While you’re looking for specific information, you also want your customer to feel they have room to share what they found important about working with you.

To give you a sense of what kinds of questions you should include in your survey, here are the top 10 best case study interview questions to ask in 2023:

  • What problems were you facing before you chose to work with us?
  • Out of the many businesses available to help, what made you choose ours?
  • How long have you been using our product/resource/service?
  • How many people on your team are involved with our product/resource/service?
  • How has our product/resource/service helped to improve your initial problem?
  • Can you provide a measurable example of how the problem has improved?
  • What concerns did you have about our product/resource/service initially? How do you feel about those concerns today?
  • Have any new concerns or issues arisen since you started using our product/resource/service? How could we improve, if so?
  • What features or developments could make our product/resource/service even more useful or beneficial for your company?
  • Would you recommend our product/resource/service to a trusted peer in your industry? Why or why not?

When approaching a case study, you should always start with a genuine desire to hear feedback from your customers and provide improvements to their issues wherever possible. Spend sufficient time carefully defining your goal, crafting a collection of succinct questions that help you get to the information you need quickly, and preparing appropriately to execute the interview. While your customers are eager to share their positive experiences with you, it’s important to respect everyone’s time along the way.

If you’re looking for a way to circumvent some of the hurdles that come along with differences in time zones or geography in this kind of work, consider a tool like Voiceform. By asking case study interview questions through Voiceform, you can interview a number of customers simultaneously, allowing them to engage the questions at a time that is most convenient to them. Plus, you’ll have access to insights that will make market research and creating marketing materials easier than ever. When you’re ready to begin, start your trial with Voiceform or book a demo !

We make collecting, sharing and analyzing data a breeze

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Top 21 Client Interview Questions to Ask for Best Insights

client case study interview questions

Bill Gates once said , “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.”

Wait, what?

Did he just say the most unhappy ?

What about the others? The ones you write home about — the happiest ones.

Well, they add to your learning curve, too.

Provided you know what they’re actually thinking!

That’s why you’ve got some homework to do. You’ve got to know which questions to ask clients.

If you’ve been wracking your brain to find new ways to reach and connect with your target audience , interviewing your clients during the offboarding process can give you great ideas and insight.

But Juliana, how do you conduct an effective client success interview with the right questions that get clients to spill the beans?!

Well, I’m glad you asked. This is how we do it with these top 21 questions to ask clients.

client case study interview questions

Why conduct a client success interview anyway?

Your agency must understand the customer’s needs and expectations with your offerings. Otherwise, it’s like spelunking without a flashlight. Asking clients questions on the front and backend of a job well done gives your team the info they need to be successful.

But I don’t have time to sit and chat with every single customer and potential client!

That’s true. Asking every single client that comes through your digital door a battery of questions isn’t very scalable, is it?

But if you reach out to customers for a success interview at specific times in the buyer’s journey, your team can get much-needed insight into what clients are feeling and thinking when in the thick of the experience.

Customer feedback is actual, real data you can act on to further optimize and scale your business.

Asking clients the right questions at specific points in their journey will reveal new opportunities you can capitalize on. Answers to client interview questions can also uncover some not-so-good things happening with your brand that needs fixing.

Scheduling a Client Success Interview

The first step in the process is to schedule the initial client interview. I know, right? Who would have thunk it?

While this might seem like a no-brainer, there’s a right way and a wrong way to scheduling a client success interview.

Imitation is the highest form of flattery. Feel free to borrow our process and flatter us.

We reach out to interviewees a week or two in advance before the date we have in mind for the meeting. All we do is send a simple email asking their availability for a 25-minute (tops!) client interview.

Tips for wording your email:

  • Get straight to the point — Tell them precisely why you’re reaching out. Personalize it a bit, so it doesn’t come off as standard boilerplate or, worse — spam.
  • Be respectful of their time — Be upfront with how much time you’re asking for — 25 minutes max.
  • Thank them twice — Thank them for doing business with you (or considering it if they’re pre-buying) and for giving you some of their time for the interview.

Remember to always be genuine in the email, keep it short, and forgo any pushy language.

While it’s true that the answers you get from them will be a goldmine of data and help you further optimize your business, they’re really doing you a massive favor here.

During the client interview, I ask them a battery of pre-selected questions designed to elicit a detailed response that helps set us up for future success.

But let me disclose these are not my questions. These have been passed down from generation to generation of marketers like a fable, and the source has been washed by the sands of time.

So, before we jump to the questions, here are a couple of tips from the pros on questions to ask clients:

Pro Tip : These are time-tested questions that have helped me receive some of the best responses ever. Altering them isn’t recommended. At all.

SuperPro Tip : Keep asking “why” to get to the heart of the matter. Go ahead. Unleash your inner five-year-old!

These top 18 questions to ask clients are broken down into different categories, depending on where the client is in the buying process.

So go right ahead and copy these. I promise to be flattered.

Potential Client Interview Questions to Ask

I don’t know what questions to ask clients because i don’t know if i can even help their business yet.

If you’re not sure if you can actually help improve their business, ask your potential clients these critical questions to understand their goals, expectations, plans, and objectives.

Set yourself up for success during the onboarding process !

  • Before we started working together, what were you trying to do? What were the challenges you had? What were you trying to accomplish? Why? What were you frustrated by? What problems did we help you solve in your business? Why?
  • What did you want? How do we improve your business? Why? They need your help and are here because they would like to work with you. Try to understand their business ideas and vision so that you can help them better.
  • What are your expectations? Keep track of client’s expectations . As scope and expectations change, so should the contract?
  • What was your fear? What were you concerned about? What was your fear if you didn’t get what you wanted?
  • How did the other people involved in the decision all feel about this? What did they want? What were they frustrated by? What did they fear?
  • What is your overall budget and projected starting date of the project? Knowing both pieces of information allows you to develop an accurate estimate that matches not just on price but also helps you accurately prioritize projects.
  • What are your expectations on having good customer service?

Don’t over-commit just to win the client’s business.

Quality matters, and not every client is the right one for you. Have some self-respect and quit chasing all the dollars!

Questions to ask potential clients: Understanding the pre-buying process

Use these questions for understanding where your potential client is currently in the pre-buying process and if you can meet them there. These questions are beneficial when conducting a sales call.

Prospective client questions to ask during the pre-buying process:

  • What was most important to you when you were making a decision?
  • What factors didn’t matter as much?
  • Who was involved in the decision-making process ? Who made the final decision or signed the contract? What was their title? It’s critical to figure out if you’re speaking to and dealing with the right decision-makers and understand the entire process for a business or project.
  • Who else did you look at? What other companies did you talk to? What other ways did you look at solving this problem?
  • Why did you decide to go with us versus other companies or alternatives?

There are two vital answers you need before you agree to work with a potential client:

  • Is there an actual need for your offering?
  • If so, is this person a good fit for your business?

You need both if you want to forge a long-term business relationship with the client and get referrals.

Client Questions to Ask for Understanding the After-Sale Process

When you clinch the sale, asking clients questions about why they chose your specific company and why they like your brand can give your marketing team a lot of valuable insight.

Ask these questions after the sale:

  • What do you like about us?
  • How could we improve? Any feedback?
  • If you were to describe what we do to another company, what would you say?
  • Is there anything else you want to add or how we can be helpful?
  • Based on what you know about us , can you think of anyone else whom it might make sense for me to talk to?

To make the process simpler, I open a Google doc on my screen before I start the client interview and copy and paste the questions listed above.

I take as many notes as I can to fully capture the feeling the customer has for my brand.

Offboarding client interview questions and critical insights

Scheduling an exit interview with your clients helps get the much-needed brand clarity to drive more customers to your offerings.

An exit interview also gives you the perfect opportunity to uncover any gaps in your processes and where you can improve your offerings.

Conducting an offboarding client success interview also enables you to figure out what your target audience genuinely wants — not what the industry says they do.

So, if you’re keen on capitalizing on consumer decisions and behavioral studies , begin the charity at home by interviewing your clients during the offboarding process.

  • Schedule your exit interview. Use the question “why” to dig for those nuggets of insight.
  • Ask questions that uncover your client’s pre-buying processes, like why they chose your company over a competitor and who was the ultimate decision-maker.
  • Uncover your client’s after-sale thoughts. Find out what they enjoyed about working with your company and what they didn’t.
  • Use the end of the interview as an opportunity to ask for referrals.

Oh, and always remember to thank them before starting the client interviews and again while wrapping up.

After all, they’re doing you a favor.

So, be sure to treat it like one.

Questions to ask clients: Be proactive and take action

You won’t know if you don’t ask.

Conduct a client interview during specific points in the buyer’s journey to get valuable insight into where your customer’s heads are at.

  • Send a short and sweet email that gets straight to the point.
  • Remember to thank the client in the email, during, and after the interview.
  • Keep the interviews short (15 to 25 minutes) and respect the client’s time.
  • Simplify the process. Pick your questions beforehand and have a Google doc open during the interview.

Bottomline? It’s on you to find out precisely what your client needs , how you can serve them, and why they’ve chosen you over a competitor.

Asking clients the right questions during specific points in the customer journey will help you optimize your business for growth.

Are you falling through the cracks and gaps in your client process ? That’s a bummer. There’s a better way to live.

Schedule a free session with us today, and let’s talk about how we can fill in those gaps and get your agency running smoothly!

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Featured image for the article How to Conduct a Case Study Interview [VIDEO]

How to Conduct a Client Interview for a Case Study [VIDEO]

Julian lumpkin.

client case study interview questions

  • April 14, 2022
  • Creating Case Studies

In this 4-minute video, Julian Lumpkin, CEO of SuccessKit, describes how to conduct a client interview for a Case Study. As Julian guides you through the call from start to finish, you’ll learn what key questions to ask your client during the Case Study interview. Clients’ answers to these questions will ensure you have a wealth of important information to start writing your Case Study.

In this video…

  • Recognize why it’s so important to set client expectations at the start of the call
  • Identify the purpose and the three key parts of any Case Study
  • Realize how to set your client at ease during the Case Study interview
  • Discover how to conduct a client interview for a Case Study by asking crucial, probing questions to fully understand the problem, solution, and results
  • Review example questions and follow-ups that make for a powerful Case Study
  • Learn what to do if a client doesn’t have specific metrics in regard to the results
“Explain to them that the goal of the Case Study is to show a simple, compelling story of how you’ve helped them change and what it means for their company.” Julian Lumpkin, SuccessKit

Read the article version of this video here.

client case study interview questions

Julian has focused his career on B2B sales and sales management, specifically bringing new technologies to market. After years as an elite sales rep, he began leading teams, specifically focused on coaching sales reps on how to be direct, credible, and respected throughout the sales process. Julian conceived of and designed SuccessKit when running an 18 person sales-team at Axial, a b2b startup, as a way to help sales reps have better conversations by utilizing customer success examples and other content more effectively.

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What people are saying

client case study interview questions

Milo Sindell President, Skyline G

“If you’re looking for Case Studies, this is a really nice little organization to partner with. Our experience, frankly, has been excellent.”

client case study interview questions

Franklyn Peart Co-Founder, CentreStack

“We’re already recommending SuccessKit to our customers.”

client case study interview questions

John Morgan Director of Marketing, Elemental Machines

“The SuccessKit team has been great. We can tell them, ‘ABC Company had this problem,’ and they will document our solution.”

client case study interview questions

Don Mennig CEO, Evolve IP

“Julian and his team have done an excellent job for us. Definitely recommend working with them for Case Studies. ”

client case study interview questions

David Bohram Director of Marketing, Tax Guard

“I didn’t think it’d be successful to outsource Case Studies, but Julian and his team made it so easy.”

client case study interview questions

Erin Wathen Director of Branding and Events, Assure

“I really appreciate how SuccessKit takes the reins and produces such great results, allowing us to focus on what we need to do to grow the business.”

client case study interview questions

Damon Baker CEO, Lean Focus

“SuccessKit’s Case Studies give us a distinct advantage over our competition when prospects are comparing service providers.”

client case study interview questions

Chris Connor Sales Manager, SwervePay

“We’ve really appreciated the work that Julian and his team have done for us.  Very happy with the results.”

client case study interview questions

Shawn O’Daniels CEO, CSN

“SuccessKit figured out how to show the world what we do for our clients. I am blown away by the Case Study .”

client case study interview questions

James Dirksen CEO, DeepSurface Security

“This is just about the best Case Study I’ve ever seen.”

client case study interview questions

Christopher Levy CEO, BuyDRM

“The Case Study SuccessKit created for us was elite.”

client case study interview questions

Kendall Kunz CEO, Forms On Fire

“SuccessKit made it easy for clients to see what other clients see, and it’s led to more sales.”

client case study interview questions

Phil Curtolo Vice President of Sales, Software Consulting Services

“SuccessKit takes the pain and suffering out of creating quality Case Studies.”

client case study interview questions

Luke Anemone CEO, COMMANDO

“Working with SuccessKit has been pivotal in growing our client base and giving potential advertisers really good content about what we can do.”

client case study interview questions

Linze Kay Lucas Business Analyst and SEO Consultant, Stellium SEO

“I cannot speak highly enough about my experience working with SuccessKit. They were completely respectful of my client’s time and needs, as well as my own.”

client case study interview questions

Joanie Berkery Marketing Director, Adapex

“SuccessKit really helped us build the framework and presentation for our Case Study.”

client case study interview questions

Troy Stein VP, Customer Advocacy, TechSmith

“Quality results. Authentic storytelling and quotes. Easy to work with. I’m signing up for more.”

client case study interview questions

Julie Matheney Associate Director of Digital Marketing, Feathr

“I highly recommend the SuccessKit team to anyone who’s looking to produce Case Studies.”

client case study interview questions

Robin Smith Founder and President, ASK-CRM

“We are definitely recommending SuccessKit to the peers that we work with and our existing clients.”

client case study interview questions

Ace Rosenstein President, Bravo Business Media

“I recommend SuccessKit due to the efficiency and the extreme price to value.”

client case study interview questions

Ari Haas Founder, Dijy

“The SuccessKit team knows what they’re doing. It’s easy to work with them, the end result is a beautiful product, and all parties involved feel super comfortable.”

client case study interview questions

Sidney Rogers Marketing Manager, Groove Technology Solutions

“The SuccessKit team is very professional, and they ensure that they take care of everything in a timely manner.”

client case study interview questions

Ashlyn Burgett Director of Marketing, Dedicated IT

“The SuccessKit team makes the Case Study process painless, and they have the expertise to create high-quality content that is invaluable to sales and marketing teams.”

client case study interview questions

Carly Brightwell Head of Marketing, North Labs

“If you need Case Studies for your business, we highly recommend SuccessKit. We recieved exactly want we asked for!”

client case study interview questions

Luke Komiskey Founder and Managing Director, DataDrive

“I love working with the SuccessKit team because they make it really easy for me to focus on my business while they produce Case Studies that drive our brand forward.”

Have a question? Reach out to us directly.

Quick Tip: How to Structure a Case Study Interview With Your Client

How should you structure a case study interview to get the best quotes, testimonials and results.

At Case Study Buddy, we know that hands down, an  interview is the best way to get  juicy details out of your client for a case study is an interview.

It can mean the difference between a bland, boring project snapshot and a compelling story that your leads can relate to. But how do you structure them to make sure you get what you need?

We’ve already shared the three most powerful questions you can ask a happy customer – and in the future, I’ll share a detailed guide to every part of a client interview.

But in this quick piece, I’ll lay out Case Study Buddy’s tested-and-proven approach to structuring interviews.

Introducing the “B/D/A” Format

“B/D/A” stands for Before, During, After – a structured line of questioning that walks through your client’s experience from the moment they realized they had a problem all the way through to the present day.

A few reasons this is so powerful:

  • It helps you capture the entire story, with quotes about the customers’ past solutions, decision-making process, early experiences and results.
  • It follows the exact same structure of any good case study (Problem/Solution/Results)

Here’s how to make it work…

1. Start With Icebreakers

Open the call with some simple, easy questions to get your interviewee talking about the thing they know the most about: themselves.

Ask things like…

  • Tell me a little bit about your role!
  • In your own words, what does your company do?
  • What do you love most about your job?

Be careful not to chit-chat for TOO long, as you’re on their time and you want to respect that.

2. Ask “Before” Questions

“Before” questions are all about pain and the journey to solve it.

In this section, get your interviewee talking about the moment they realized there was a problem and all the things they did to try and solve it.

Some questions you can ask include…

  • What was going on in your business when you sought out (solution) ?
  • How bad was that problem, really?
  • What else did you try to solve the problem?
  • What didn’t you like about those solutions?
  • How did you discover (solution)?

2. Move on to “During” Questions

At this point, start asking about the process of solving the problem.

  • What were your first impressions of _____?
  • What made you confident that (solution) was right for you?
  • How long did it take to start seeing results?
  • Was there anyone you had to convince that you’d made the right decision?

This part of the story is great for picking up the differentiators and elements of your offer that tipped the scales in your favor.

3. Finish with the “After” Questions

This section is all about results: What they were, and what they meant to the customer.

Some of the questions we like to use here include…

  • What has been the biggest difference in your business?
  • What can you do now that you couldn’t before?
  • What has that meant for your business?
  • Is there a way to quantify that impact?

4. Get permission to follow up.

You’re going to need the client’s final sign-off before the study goes live – but asking for permission to follow up also leaves the door open to ask more questions if you find there are still gaps in your story.

And that’s all there is to it!

It’s not about rattling off a script, but guiding the conversation. If a client gets off-course, that’s fine, but always try to circle back and make sure you own the flow of the conversation and get the details you’re after.

Happy interviewing!

(Psssst – Would you rather someone else took care of this all for you? That’s what we’re in the business of. Drop us a line!)

Joel Klettke

Joel founded Case Study Buddy to bring companies an end-to-end partner in tackling the challenges of case studies and testimonials. He's passionate about seeing B2B companies systematize, scale, and reap the rewards of customer success stories.

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how-to-write-a-case-study-interview

How to Conduct a B2B Case Study Interview (+ sample questions)

You’ve decided to write a Business-to-Business (B2B) case study, and you have the ideal client in mind. Maybe, you’ve even reached out to a contact at the company and she’s agreed to talk with you. Time will be limited so you need to be prepared. You want to conduct an engaging B2B case study interview, capture the company’s story, and ultimately create to a valuable content asset.

You’re feeling pretty swell until…

Your mind starts to run that subtle doubt ritual. You don’t have any experience doing these interviews. What if you’re not good at them? What if you can’t get your contact talking? What if it’s a big waste of time?

If you’re a marketing and sales professional, who’s just getting started with case studies, don’t sweat it. The first couple interviews can be unsettling. Recognize that the stress you’re feeling is positive. It’s how all of us feel when learning a new skill: clumsy and uncomfortable.

Remind yourself to keep a relaxed perspective. This isn’t a job interview. It’s a conversation with someone your company has helped. You contact is going to be excited to share, and you’re going to be enthusiastic to hear the company’s perspective about the experience.

Obviously, the more times you conduct these interviews, the better you’ll get.

In this article, we share a framework to make the interview less painful, more fun, and to help you nail it right out of the gate.

Table of Contents

The importance of b2b case studies, pick a fan, not just a client, preparing to conduct a case study interview, marketing case study interview questions, how do you conduct a case study interview, sales case study interview best practices, how do you write a b2b case study, let’s get interviewing.

client case study interview questions

Companies selling B2B products and services should make developing case studies a core component of their overall content strategy. If you invest in this process, you’ll be creating a valuable set marketing and sales assets that pay long-term dividends over time. But why?

Here are some reasons:

When prospective customers are considering your product or service, they’re trying to figure out if you can solve their problems, and what that process might look like. They’re very interested in knowing if you’ve helped other individuals or companies who “are just like them.”

Case studies are excellent research tools because they demonstrate what problems you solve, and how you bring those solutions into existence.

Case studies are the top content type for buyers , with 78% accessing this format type when researching purchases in the past 12 months (vs. 72% in 2016) 2017 Content Preferences Survey – Demand Gen Report
Business buyers want content featuring your customer–their peers–who share experiences, pain points, and success stories. Buyers say industry or peer case studies are the most valuable type of content when exploring and making buying decisions. Forrester Blog

If a prospect visits your company’s website and he gets the feeling your product can deliver, the next thing he wants to know is, “What would the experience be like if I did buy? Can I get some assurance that when the product has been launched, I’ll be better off, my problem will be solved, and I’ll feel satisfied with the experience?”

Case studies walk prospective customers through a start-to-finish buying journey. This has a powerful and influencing effect on motivating them to take the next steps with your firm.

In the B2B setting, events help generate the most leads, while case studies help convert and accelerate the most leads. Marketing Charts, 2018

Let’s also not forget that most people really enjoy a great story!

Case study - pick a fan

The case study interview process starts by selecting a company and a contact who will participate. We recommend scheduling a meeting with different members of your own team, to brainstorm a list of clients who’ve really succeeded with your solution, and who rave about your company.

Ask your teammates

The following departments should be able to contribute:

  • Sales and Marketing : These teams usually have a list of references who might be interested.
  • Implementation, Technical Support, or Training : Reach out internally to any employees who work directly with clients. Ask them to suggest customers who they’ve gone above-and-beyond for, or who speak highly of their experiences with your firm
  • Client Community or User Group : If you offer an online forum where your customers share information and feedback with each other, this is a great place to find client advocates.

One of your long-term goals should be to build a library of case studies about clients who:

  • Represent different industries
  • Overcame different problems
  • Achieved measurable results.

Consider your target prospects

Also, when choosing a case study client, keep your target prospects in mind. What story do you want to communicate to them? What problems do you want them to recognize, that you can solve?

As an example, let’s say your sales team is routinely hearing from prospects that they spend hours performing certain manual, repetitive tasks. If you’ve helped a client solve similar problems, that organization is an ideal case study candidate.

Another prime candidate would be any company that your team helped, that converted from a competitor’s solution, or is well known in your industry.

When’s the best time to ask a client?

The time to ask clients to participate in a case study is after they’ve realized beneficial results from working with you. Don’t be hesitant about reaching out; many clients will be interested and will like the attention.

Your contact at the company doesn’t have to be the CEO, CFO or other executive. Any person who has direct knowledge and experience with your product or service is worth interviewing. They may not realize it at first but case studies present a unique way for line staff to share their accomplishments up the totem pole with their management.

If you need to sweeten the pot, consider offering an incentive:

  • Discount on a future service or product
  • Company swag

Reach out to your Client

Call the contact on the phone. If you don’t reach the person, leave a message and send a follow up e-mail with your request.

If you don’t hear anything, don’t worry. People are busy. Reach back at least once a month until you get a “yes” or a “no.”

Sample e-mail invitation

Here’s a sample e-mail invitation:

Hi [Contact Name]-

We are interested in writing a case study about your experiences with our company related to the [project]. I was wondering if you’d be willing to participate?

Our plan is to conduct a short (30-45 mins.) phone interview and ask you some questions. We’ll write up a document and send it to you for review and approval.

You can make any changes you see fit, and we won’t release the case study until you’ve signed off.

If this is of interest, would you have some time in the next 1-2 weeks? Please let me know a date and time that’s convenient.

Thanks for considering,

[Your name]

How to conduct a case study interview

Every success story requires you to establish context for the reader. Before conducting the interview, make sure you have a solid understanding of the company and your contact’s background.

Company background

Learning the following information will help you introduce the company to your readers:

  • Headquarters and other locations they operate from
  • Years in business
  • # of employees, customers, installations, etc.
  • Annual revenues
  • The firm’s target customer.

Contact background

Learning about your interviewee and her position within the company is helpful:

  • Title or position
  • # of years with the company
  • What roles and responsibilities does the person have?

Schedule an internal pow-wow

Prior to the interview, check in with members of your own team who have direct experience with the customer. Be sure to discuss:

  • What initial problems they were facing?
  • What product or service did they purchase?
  • How did your company help the client?
  • Are there any outstanding support issues? NOTE : You would hate to go into an interview without knowing that the client was experiencing problems with your firm. If there are any existing situations, be prepared to deal with them head-on.

How to conduct a B2B case study interview

Now that you’ve done your prep work, it’s time to plan the interview and script a list of questions. Use these questions as a guide to support you during the call. Write more questions than you think you’ll need, but don’t feel like you have to use all of them.

As your contact responds during the interview, use her responses to ask secondary questions that take the discussion even deeper.

Most case study interviews will be conducted on the phone. We recommend recording the call and getting permission from your contact to do so.

If you’re calling from a landline, consider using a recording app on your cell phone to capture the call. If you’re calling from a cell phone, consider using an application on your computer. For example, there’s an Android app and a Windows 10 program called “Voice Recorder” that works well. Be sure to test the quality of the recording process prior to the interview.

1. Shake hands “virtually” and introduce yourself

To grease the conversation skids, recap the purpose of the call and confirm the amount of time your contact can talk (30-45 mins. is preferable).

Use a timer to track the call length so you’re respectful of your contact’s time. This will also allow you to reorder your questions in the event time runs short.

Start with the basics:

  • Where is your company located?
  • How many employees work at your company?
  • How long have you been in business?
  • Can you provide a quick overview of what your company is trying to accomplish?
  • What is your position and title?
  • How long have you worked for your company?
  • What do you like best about your job?

2. Client’s initial situation

  • Describe the situation at your company before engaging with us?
  • When did you realize you had to take some action?
  • What solutions did you try?
  • Why did those solutions fall short?

3. What problems and challenges was the client experiencing?

B2B case study challenges

  • Describe problems or challenges your company was facing?
  • How serious were the problems?
  • How did those problems impact your business?

4. What solutions did you provide the client?

  • What products/services did the client buy? Why?
  • How did those solutions solve the client’s problems?
  • Did the customer purchase any ancillary products or services such as training, customizations, etc.?

5. How did the implementation go?

  • What level of work effort was required by your team?
  • Were there any hiccups or situations that you wished you would have known about going into the project?
  • If training was part of the project, how did it go?

6. What results were achieved?

  • When did you start seeing improvements?
  • What were those improvements?
  • How has our solution helped your organization?
  • Any success measures, statistics, or specific numbers you can share?

7. Why did you choose our company?

  • How did you first hear about our company/product?
  • What process did you go through to make a purchase?
  • Who was involved in the purchase decision?
  • What made our product standout?
  • If they issued an RFP, how did our product match up to competitors?
  • Were any parts of the buying process problematic?

8. Were there any surprises along the way?

  • Did anything unexpected happen during the engagement?
  • What suggestions would you give to others considering a solution like ours?
  • What did your team like best about working with us?
  • What are 2-3 reasons your company might recommend our solution/company? Why?

9. How can we improve?

Case study interviews provide an excellent opportunity to solicit honest feedback. Whatever your client shares, be a friendly sport. Don’t react negatively and don’t try to justify a reason for the problems they describe.

If you’ve ever been to a restaurant where a waitress or waiter asks you, “Is everything great?” You’ve experienced a fake request for feedback. While this half-baked tactic appears to be a standard part of restaurant customer service training, it doesn’t work.

If you ask for feedback, have thick skin and be prepared to listen intently.

  • We’re always looking to improve. Are there features/functions you wish our product offered?
  • Are there any parts of our solution you wished worked differently or better?
  • Is there anything we could have done differently that would have made the overall experience of working with us better?

If you wind up using the contact’s feedback to make a change in your company’s products or processes, be sure to circle back and let the person know. This is a surefire way to demonstrate that your company actually listens to clients and then follows up with action. Everyone appreciates that characteristic!

10. Download this B2B Case Study Questionnaire (PDF)

To support your case study interview process, here’s a downloadable Case Study Questionnaire ( PDF ) that you can tailor for your business.

client case study interview questions

A case study is most effective when it tells your customer’s story. Make your client the hero. You simply offer a supporting role.

Here are a few interview best practices:

  • Be a curious and attentive listener
  • Ask open-ended questions
  • Ask for clarification if you don’t understand a response
  • If you don’t feel the client understood one of your questions, ask it again later in the interview
  • Rephrasing a question in a slightly different way can sometimes lead to a better answer
  • Silence after you ask a question is ok. Give your contact time to formulate their responses
  • Listen for memorable testimonials and quotes
  • When you ask for measurable data or objective stats, provide an example
  • Try to wrap-up your interview with a few minutes to spare so you can ask your contact if he has anything important to add
  • At the end of the interview, thank your contact and get her mailing address. Be sure to send a hand-written thank you card. It’s thoughtful and sets you apart from other vendors.

To learn how to write a compelling B2B case study, check out this post .

You may have started this article wondering whether or not you could conduct a productive and engaging case study interview. Hopefully, after reviewing the steps above, you feel more informed and confident. The interview process is fun and rewarding, and you can master this skill.

Now keep your momentum going. Meet with your team, select a few client candidates, and reach out. Challenge yourself to schedule an interview within the next 2-4 weeks. Prep for your call and get your contact on the phone.

When you’ve completed the interview, start the writing process immediately. Push yourself to complete a written document in a few days. With some focused effort, you’ll be well on your way to creating a series of valuable content assets.

B2B Software Case Study Writing Services

If you need help conducting a case study interview and/or writing a B2B customer success story, let’s talk .

Other Resources

Here are some other useful articles for conducing a B2B case study interview and writing a finished document:

Questions to Ask for a B2B Case Study

Nailing the B2B Case Study Interview

Creating a Great B2B Customer Case Study: 16 Tips for Marketing + Sales Enablement

Scale your content creation with Strategically AI | Talk to us

client case study interview questions

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

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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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Capgemini Case Interview: Our Complete Guide to Acing It

  • Last Updated March, 2022

Preparing for any consulting interview is tough. If you’ve got a Capgemini case interview coming up, we want to help you make the most of this opportunity. You’ll want to understand how to ace a case interview, what behavioral/fit questions to expect, and how to prepare your answers.

But don’t worry. We can help.

In this article, we’ll discuss:

  • Capgemini’s culture & values.
  • The Capgemini interview process.
  • The Capgemini case interview.
  • The Capgemini behavioral interview.
  • Our 5 tips on passing the Capgemini case interview.

Let’s get started!

Capgemini's Culture & Values

Capgemini's Behavioral Interview

The Capgemini Consulting Interview Process

Our 5 tips on passing the capgemini interview process, the capgemini case interview, capgemini’s culture & values.

To ace the Capgemini interview, it’s important to know the company you’re interviewing with. This is especially true for the behavioral interview.

Company background

Capgemini was founded in 1967 by Serge Kampf in France to provide IT consulting services. It grew over the years and through over 40 acquisitions into a conglomerate providing a suite of consulting services across IT, organization, and strategy in more than 50 countries. It’s a diverse organization with more than 325,000 team members and revenues of €18 billion in 2021.

Capgemini offers a broad spectrum of services to help organizations leverage technology. Key services include business process outsourcing, digital transformation, technology modernization, cybersecurity, and cloud services. It works across industries, with manufacturing and energy compromising most of its clients.

It also complements its offerings with Capgemini Invent (its strategy, data science, and design arm), Capgemini Engineering (works with product manufacturers to embed technology into their products), and Sogeti (implements technology solutions that help organizations work faster and more collaboratively).

Company culture

Capgemini consultants typically come from technical backgrounds and get the opportunity to diversify their experience with exposure to business problems. It can be a great place to start a career given the size and history of the firm.

Capgemini believes in a diverse and inclusive workplace. It is committed to:

  • Closing the gender gap in tech by instituting a goal of having women make up 40% of the workforce.
  • Fighting racism such as by signing the Race at Work C
  • Integrating people with disabilities by employing an above industry-average percentage of employees who identify as disabled.
  • Building an LGBT-friendly
  • Developing inclusive leaders by having managers attend unconscious bias training.

Here are some examples of what Capgemini employees say about company culture on Glassdoor.com:

  • “Good work environment”
  • “Love the company’s work culture”
  • “Plenty of opportunity to grow”
  • “Great benefits, Lots of learning opportunities, Supporting Managers”
  • “Diverse and inclusive; Paid training in client management”
  • “Flexible, decent pay, great people”

Nail the case & fit interview with strategies from former MBB Interviewers that have helped 89.6% of our clients pass the case interview.

What is the interview process?

  Like many consulting firms, the Capgemini interview process varies but you can expect something that looks like the following:

  • Screening: Submitting an application and possibly doing an online assessment test.
  • First round interviews: A call with a recruiter to understand your background and cultural fit (you can expect to answer questions like, “Why Capgemini?”)
  • Second round interviews: Two or more interviews with senior consultants and managers to go through a case and understand cultural fit.

  What should I expect in one-on-one interviews with consultants?

  • Interviews are typically 30-45 minute video calls or held in person.
  • You’ll need to be prepared to explain your background and interest in Capgemini.
  • You’ll need to be ready to go through the Capgemini case (technical and business case).

What the Capgemini Case Interview Looks Like

The case will typically involve a real client situation where you’ll have to answer technical and/or business questions. You’ll go through the case interview with an experienced consultant who will lead you through the situation and questions to be solved. You can expect to work through a technical and/or business framework. Depending on the role, you may be expected to code (e.g., Java). 

Best Approach to Cracking the Capgemini Case Interview

My Consulting Offer recommends a 4-step approach to cracking case interview questions.

1. The Opening: Understand the question

The most important part of case interview success is having a clear understanding of the client’s situation. The problem will typically be framed as a question (e.g., how to turn around declining sales). The best approach to understanding what is required is to take notes and re-iterate the problem in your own words to the interviewer. Feel free to ask follow-up questions to solidify your understanding.

2. Structure: Plan your approach to solving the problem

Ask for time to think through key aspects of the problem. Putting in the effort to consider important aspects of the problem now will serve you as you work through the case. You can use common frameworks (e.g., 4Ps or growth/share matrix) but most importantly, you want to be comprehensive in your thinking.

For example, you can breakdown a declining sales problem into the following 4 components:

  • Price (can we increase prices?)
  • Volume (can we produce or distribute more?)
  • Products (can we make new high-demand products?)
  • Geographies (can we expand into new high-growth markets?)

For more information on business frameworks you might want to become familiar with during your case study preparation, see Case Interview Frameworks .

3. Analysis: Dig into the details and develop a hypothesis

The best interviewees are always proactive in thinking about an answer. After you share your framework with the interviewer, take the next step by articulating what should be prioritized to get closer to the answer. You may also be directed by the interviewer on what to analyze first. Then drill down on each of your buckets to better understand the client’s problem and potential solutions.

4. Conclusion: Articulate a recommendation

After collecting the facts and conducting analysis on the issue, spend the time to think through your recommendation. The best recommendations are:

  • Clear and actionable
  • Supported by facts while acknowledging risks
  • Delivered with conviction

You can also check Our Ultimate Guide to Case Interview Prep for further details on preparing for consulting case interviews.

Check out this article for tips on acing technical interviews with consulting firms .

Capgemini Case Interview Examples

  • US bank The bank has recently acquired one of its competitors. As it integrates the operations of the 2 organizations, it has found that the combined companies have above-market technology costs. They want you to identify the causes and develop a solution.
  • Automaker The CIO of the automaker has hired you to conduct a benchmarking study on how well they are making technology investments to improve business processes. How would you go about solving the problem?
  • Telecommunication company The CEO of a telecom operator has hired you to identify the causes of and solutions for rising customer acquisition costs (20% CAGR). What is the best approach to solving the problem?
  • Global chemical manufacturer The CEO of the company is worried about a decline in profits despite an increase in the market share of its main product (preservatives). How would you go about supporting the company?

Capgemini’s Behavioral Interview

What to expect in capgemini behavioral interviews.

Most candidates pay little attention to the behavioral section as they prepare for the interview. In many cases, presenting yourself in a professional way and having clarity on why you want the job will make the difference. During the Capgemini interview process, you can expect common behavioral questions to help the interviewer understand your motivations, experiences, and how well you work with others. Here are a few examples:

  • Tell me about yourself.
  • Why are you interested in Capgemini?
  • Tell me about a work conflict you had and how you resolved it.
  • Tell me about a time you worked on a team and led others.
  • What is your proudest achievement?
  • Tell me about a failure and how you recovered from it.
  • What are your strengths?
  • What are your weaknesses?
  • Tell me about a time you dealt with a challenging co-worker.

Make sure you check out our article on Consulting Behavioral Interview Questions for further details.  

How to Prepare for the Capgemini Behavioral Interview

  • Write down structured answers for common questions.
  • Use the A STAR( E) (situation, tension, action, and results) structure for telling your stories.
  • Rehearse your answers with someone experienced.
  • Record yourself using tools such as L oom and look for ways to improve your body language.
  • Research your interviewer so you have an idea of what questions to expect and can ask them specific questions about their Capgemini experience.
  • Avoid memorizing your story. It will sound robotic.
  • Believe that the interviewer wants you to succeed.

1. Prepare for the Case Interview

Practice makes perfect. There is no specific number of cases you need to solve to pass the interview. Focus on how comfortable you are at solving the case. Make sure you practice with someone at the same level or more experienced, so you can get the feedback you need to improve. You can check out Our Ultimate Guide to Case Interview Prep for further details on preparing for case interviews.

2. Get all the Aspects Right

Whenever you get consistent case interview feedback (e.g., you need to work on structuring the problem), make sure you focus on how to improve that aspect of the interview. You want to get to the interview day with all the required skills in good shape. The key skills that interviewers typically test for are strong problem-solving, structured communication, mental math, and chart analysis.

3. Involve the Interviewer

Remember that you are not solving the case alone. Do your best to engage the interviewer. Walk them through your thought process and verbalize your math. This way they’ll understand you better and find ways to help you.

4. Have a Clear Story for Common Behavioral Questions

Prepare your story on what interests you in a consulting career with Capgemini. For example, saying something such as: “Through my academic experience studying computer science, I realized that I thrive on solving new and diverse technical problems and learned that consulting at Capgemini can be the best place to apply my interests and skills.”

5. Enjoy Yourself

Show enthusiasm throughout the process. It will help you be at ease with yourself and others. Keep in mind that people are taking time out of their day to speak with you. They want you to succeed as much as you do.

  – – – – –

In this article, we’ve covered:

  • Background on Capgemini.
  • What to expect from Capgemini interviews.
  • 5 Tips for passing the interview.

Still have questions?

If you have more questions about the Capgemini case interview, leave them in the comments below. One of My Consulting Offer’s case coaches will answer them.

Other people prepping for the Capgemini consulting interview found the following pages helpful:

  • Our Ultimate Guide to Case Interview Prep .
  • Case Interview Examples.
  • Behavioral Interviews .

Help with Case Study Interview Prep

Thanks for turning to My Consulting Offer for advice on Capgemini case interviews. My Consulting Offer has helped almost 85% of the people we’ve worked with to get a job in management consulting. We want you to be successful in your consulting interviews too. For example, here is how Arjun was able to get his offer from Bain.          

© My CONSULTING Offer

3 Top Strategies to Master the Case Interview in Under a Week

We are sharing our powerful strategies to pass the case interview even if you have no business background, zero casing experience, or only have a week to prepare.

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23 Case Study Questions Every Marketer Should Ask

Template: 23 Case Study Questions Every Marketer Should Ask

December 16, 2022

By Joe Gillespie

Case studies offer one of the most powerful types of content in the inbound marketer’s toolbox.

When done right—with descriptive storytelling and a powerful visual presentation—a case study can deliver a clinching message to leads in the decision stage of the buyer’s journey . Prospects who already know they need a solution to their problems read the case study and see how your company has helped others, which nudges them closer to becoming customers.

That said, case studies are a different animal from other inbound marketing content, such as blogs , e-books, pillar pages, and infographics. Most content in the awareness and consideration stages of the buyer’s journey doesn’t self-promote much but, instead, simply gives the reader information. The decision stage, however, is a chance to persuade leads that your solution is their best option. 

Shifting gears usually isn’t much of a problem for marketers, but switching to the case study format can be. The process is more journalistic—you conduct interviews, gather information, and weave a narrative—and that can be daunting for someone more accustomed to blogging than article writing.

Don’t stress out: Case studies aren’t difficult if you take your time, are diligent about gathering information and writing the content, and ask the right questions. And we can help with the questions! Below are 23 to ask when conducting the interviews.

Case Study Questions to Ask Your Project Manager

Usually, you will interview someone at your company—maybe a project manager, salesperson, client manager, customer liaison, or other colleague who deals with customers—who worked with the client you are profiling for the case study. 

Often, this interview will occur first and give you a good launching point for subsequent interviews with the customer’s representatives. You might already know the answers, but ask these questions anyway. You may get a deeper explanation from your interview subject and something quotable you can use in the case study.

(Note: I’m using product , solution , and service interchangeably throughout these case study questions; simply use the term that best applies to your company during the actual interviews.)

  • What initial challenges did you encounter with the client that could be overcome with our product? This question is good to establish what problem the customer was experiencing and how your organization was poised to help.
  • What process did you follow during implementation? Again, this may be obvious to you but is worth hearing from the PM. A little bit of process info in your case study can go a long way toward showing leads how you, step by step, can help solve their problem.
  • What roadblocks for implementation did you help the client overcome? Highlighting how you assisted shows that no matter how messy a customer’s status with its previous solution is, you are positioned to overcome the hurdles that get in the way.
  • How have we helped the client since implementation/introduction? Some customers are good to go after your solution is implemented, but others rely on additional support—be sure to find out what that support entails.
  • What kind of success did the client enjoy with our product? Results, results, results!
  • Did we go above and beyond with our service? If the answer to this is no, that’s OK, and perhaps you don’t want to set unreasonable expectations—even if you did go above and beyond—with the case study, which is also fine. That said, showing how you went the extra mile or were unusually innovative stands out to readers looking for a company that will take care of its customers.

Template: 23 Case Study Questions Every Marketer Should Ask

Case Study Questions to Ask the Client

If a client has agreed to be the subject of a case study, they obviously are happy with the service you provided. Take advantage of this enthusiasm by asking open-ended questions and letting your interviewee gush about your organization and your solution.

Some of the case study questions listed here may seem redundant to the ones you asked internally, but ask them anyway. You want both perspectives, and often, the best quotes you hear and use will be from the client.

  • Can you give a brief description of your company? If you aren’t familiar with the client, ask for some basic background. Yes, you usually can find such information online, but this is a good icebreaker to get the interviewee talking.
  • How did you first hear about our service? If the client learned about you via other case studies or articles in outside publications or websites—or they simply knew about you by reputation or word of mouth—you definitely want to include that in the case study. For the reader, this info strengthens your industry presence and thought leadership. This question is also a good lead-in to learn about how the deal between the client and your company was finalized.
  • What challenges/problems necessitated a change? Listen carefully to the answer to this question. Ideally, the challenges and problems the client was facing are exactly what your organization’s product addresses.
  • What trends in your industry drove the need to use our product?
  • What were you looking for in a solution?
  • What made our solution stand out over others that you researched? Ideally, you want the interviewee to say how great your product is. This and other questions lead them to be your greatest advocate.
  • What feature of our product was most appealing?
  • How did you implement/introduce our solution? The rollout, and the steps taken to get to that point, can make or break the success of the solution. Ideally, the client will say the process was seamless and that your product and team were the reasons for such ease.
  • How did our team help with implementation?
  • What was the initial reaction to our product? In other words, how did the client’s users and customers accept and utilize the solution?
  • How has our solution helped since implementation? Dig into the success realized by your product. This is important because it provides the basis of the case study: “X Company Used Our Solution and Achieved X Hundred Percent Growth.”
  • Has this solution saved money and/or increased productivity?
  • Can you share any metrics/KPIs that show the success you have enjoyed with our service? The more hard numbers, the better.
  • What have you been most impressed with? Here’s another chance for the client to gush.
  • What surprised you about us? Hopefully, the customer will share the positive unexpected—things that make you stand out amid the competition.
  • What plans do you have to use our solution in the future? After initial success, many companies expand the use of a product, either to more people or additional applications. This info is also important to include in the case study because it shows that the client is not only sticking with your product but also using it to foster more growth and productivity.
  • Is there anything else we should know? If you’ve been thorough, the answer to this is likely no, but the question still offers a chance for the interviewee to conclude.

A case study is a wonderful inbound marketing opportunity for your organization. Ask these questions, and use the answers to write a case study that helps your product and your company shine in the eyes of leads.

This blog was originally published on 2017 and has been updated since. 

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About the author

Joe Gillespie is Director of Inbound Copy for SmartBug Media. He graduated from Marquette University with a B.A. in journalism and, before coming to SmartBug, was a two-decade veteran of the newspaper industry. Read more articles by Joe Gillespie .

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More From Forbes

6 astute intake questions to ask potential clients.

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New York native and nomad by choice—Emily is a marketing & PR pro, now the founder of the award-winning R Public Relations , New York.

As an agency owner, one of my most significant challenges has been onboarding clients who are a great culture fit for my business. I’ve gone through so much trial and error in my search for amazing clients who love and appreciate our work as much as we love and appreciate them.

I’ve noticed that intake calls provide an excellent opportunity to test the viability of client partnerships. I’ve honed my questions over the years, and now I only ask a handful, but I believe the answers hold the key to whether or not the relationship will work.

Asking The Right Questions

Like in a traditional job interview, anyone can answer generic questions with finesse. It’s critical to ask questions that probe below the surface to determine whether a potential client is a good fit for your firm. Skip the softball questions and spend your valuable time asking only the ones that matter.

The right questions—those that force the client to think about their answers, what they want from the relationship and how they’ll treat your team if things don’t go according to plan—can save you pain in the long run. Ask questions that reveal the potential client’s authentic company culture, approach toward employee relations and ability to successfully collaborate with an external team.

300 Billion Perfect Storm Bitcoin Price Crash Under 60 000 Suddenly Accelerates As Ethereum XRP And Crypto Brace For Shock Fed Flip

The top 10 richest people in the world (may 2024), toyota s suv lineup is new and refreshed which one is right for you, spotting client/agency misalignment.

As a business owner, you’ve probably spent ample time refining your brand’s mission, vision and values. That’s all well and good, but if your clients don’t align with your brand values, you won’t be able to live them out successfully. Your employees and your customers will feel the disconnect.

Look for “friction” in your existing or past client relationships. Which relationships feel more demanding than they should? Which ones do you have to spin your wheels on to get just an inch of traction? Those might indicate that you are not the best agency fit for your client, and vice versa. Try to notice patterns.

6 Great Intake Questions To Ask Potential Clients

In preparation for your next client intro session, plan to ask the following questions. Pay close attention to your potential client’s answers. Asking the right questions can ensure alignment up front, leading to longer-lasting, more fruitful relationships.

1. How do you define success in your industry? How would you define success when evaluating the functions we’d perform on your behalf?

A client-agency relationship can only work with clear goals, expectations and success indicators. This question is effective in two ways: It forces the client to consider what they want to glean from the relationship and exposes whether or not the client has defined these expectations internally. This question may also reveal impossible expectations that your agency cannot achieve, giving you a chance to leave the project before it begins.

2. What has worked well when you've collaborated with agencies in the past, and what hasn’t?

Understanding why the potential client’s past agency relationships expired is essential. Perhaps the old agency wasn’t delivering the expected results or the culture fit wasn’t quite right. Knowing what went wrong in the past can prevent specific issues in the future. However, this question may also expose the potential client’s inability to communicate effectively, trouble meeting deadlines or another problem that switching agencies cannot resolve.

3. Which of our core values does your business align with the most?

Client-agency relationships are a two-way street. Both parties need to be committed to the same goals and be willing to put in the work. Clear, quick communication, goal alignment and mutual respect are necessary. That’s why it’s just as important that the client does their research on your agency as it is that you do your research on their company. The client must demonstrate that they are serious about the partnership and that how they’ll treat your team aligns with your agency’s values.

If your potential client can’t answer this question, consider following up with them about it in a week. If they still don’t have an answer, I suggest walking away. The ability to follow up on action items is an integral part of a successful agency-client relationship.

4. What is your team currently doing to stand out from your competitors?

No matter what your agency specializes in, you need to understand your clients' value propositions as they see them to grow their business successfully. It’s vital that your clients feel confident outlining their business’s differentiators. If they don’t have any, ask what projects are in the works that may launch in the next six months.

5. Why are you hiring an agency instead of internal employees?

Many great reasons exist for selecting an agency relationship over an in-house hire. From competitive pricing to specialized expertise, agencies are adept at getting the job done well and fast. However, this question is still worth asking, especially if the potential client is new to agency relationships. Clients who do not have a solid grasp on working with agencies may need some education regarding scopes of work, billing and scheduling norms to ensure seamless collaboration without compromising your team’s boundaries.

6. What does failure mean to you?

No campaign goes precisely according to plan, so every client should expect some iteration. This question requires your potential client to consider what they can take away from failure. Even without the desired outcome, are they comfortable using failed campaigns as learning opportunities or jumping-off points for future ideas? Or does failure signal the loss of a job or budget? It’s essential to get clear on this in advance.

Armed with these six questions, you’ll likely onboard more aligned, committed and enthusiastic clients than ever before. Remember: don’t be afraid to walk away if the answers don’t feel right. When we started sifting out bad client relationships upfront, I found that my team’s happiness, work-life balance and quality of deliverables noticeably improved. Our client relationships now last longer and are more lucrative than before. Agency ownership isn’t easy, but onboarding the right clients is an excellent place to start.

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Emily Reynolds Bergh

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Case Study: Systems Implementation and NetSuite for Agribusiness

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Client Background

A nursery in the fruit crop industry, offering a variety of products, with over 600 acres and 300,000 square feet of production facilities.

The Situation

The client’s current ERP system was outdated and not meeting their needs. It did not support a remote work environment, which left their technicians and the production team unable to enter data when out in the field. The production process required significant manual data entry, leading to errors and delays in getting the data.

Finally, their ERP system did not integrate with their other systems, which inhibited real-time data for decision making.

The Solution & Results

After understanding the client’s goals for their new ERP system, Moss Adams performed a demo of NetSuite’s features and explained the benefits of switching to a cloud-based solution. Once NetSuite was selected, we designed and implemented a custom solution, including features to autocalculate sales royalties, which involved multiple entities and tier levels, and automated their customer deposit process. This eliminated the very laborious and intensive manual calculation processes for the client.

Overall, the client gained the following from their new NetSuite implementation:

  • Improved profit margins
  • Reduced hours spent on manual processes
  • Improved efficiency across all departments

Moss Adams continues to provide ongoing support for their systems to keep up with the growth of their business.

We’re Here to Help

For more information on systems assessment and selection or implementation to fit your industry and business needs, please contact your Moss Adams professional.

Additional Resources

  • NetSuite Implementation Services
  • Enterprise Systems Technology Services
  • Agribusiness Practice

About NetSuite

From fast-growing startups to global enterprises, NetSuite powers businesses across a variety of industries. NetSuite provides cloud financials, customer relationship management (CRM), e-commerce, human capital management (HCM), and professional services automation management for all organizations from fast-growing midsize companies to large global organizations. Additionally, each component of NetSuite is modular, enabling it to be deployed and integrated with existing investments as required.

With more than 36,000 customers running NetSuite worldwide and dependent territories, some of the world's most innovative organizations trust NetSuite and take their financial and operational processes to the cloud.

Assurance, tax, and consulting offered through Moss Adams LLP. ISO/IEC 27001 services offered through Cadence Assurance LLC, a Moss Adams company. Wealth management offered through Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC. Services from India provided by Moss Adams (India) LLP.

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  1. 100 Case Study Interview Questions [Updated for 2020]

    Case Study Interview Questions About the Customer's Business Case Your case study questions should ask about your product or solution's impact on the customer's employees, teams, metrics, and goals. These questions allow the client to praise the value of your service and tell others exactly what benefits they derived from it.

  2. 60 Case Study Questions for Customer and Client Interviews

    Wrap Up the Interview and Include Referral Questions. At the end of your marketing case study interview, ask some general questions about customer satisfaction and relationship management. You can use these to conclude the case study. This section of the interview is also likely to generate some potential customer quotes you can use in your ...

  3. Case Study Questions for Customer Interviews: 25 Best to Ask

    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 ...

  4. Case Study Interview Questions and Answers

    Case Study Interview Prompts Examples. Our client is a European-based speaker manufacturing company that is seeking further growth. The client is considering entering the US market but has some reservations and would like you to analyze whether it's a good idea. Our client is a light bulb manufacturer that is based in Brazil.

  5. Essential Customer Interview Questions for Engaging Case Studies

    Determining What Questions to Ask in a Case Study Interview. Crafting the right questions for a case study interview is an art that requires careful consideration. Key areas to cover include the client's problem before using your solution, their decision-making process, the implementation, and the results.

  6. How to Conduct a High-Value Case Study Interview (And 4 ...

    Make sure to avoid the following mistakes: Using a single form that's emailed to case study subjects. Whenever possible, back-and-forth conversations can typically yield much more dynamic case studies. While some clients may firmly want to stick to email, try to opt for zoom calls or at least several emails if you can.

  7. How to Prep for a Case Study Interview

    Take Notes. In addition to what you usually bring to a job interview, make sure you bring a notepad and pen or pencil to a case study interview. Taking notes will help you better understand the questions and formulate your answers. It also gives you a place to calculate numbers and figures if you need to.

  8. All-Inclusive Guide to Case Study Interviews + Examples

    During a case study interview you have a limited amount of time to come up with a logical solution for the case study questions. The best case study interview prep is to first learn about the process of a case interview. A case study framework usually looks like this: The interviewer will brief you about a business-related scenario.

  9. 14 Best Case Study Questions to Ask Your Top Customers

    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. These are the case study questions to ask: 12. What end results did you get after using our product? Ask for the results your clients achieved.

  10. 10 Best Case Study Interview Questions to Ask in 2023

    Ask these 10 interview questions to get valuable case study insights. When you're striving to improve your product, brand, or marketing, conducting case study interviews with your customers can provide invaluable insight into your business. Yes, customer case studies can provide content that your sales and marketing teams can use in order to ...

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    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 ...

  12. 8 Interview Questions to Make Better Case Studies

    1. "Tell me About Your Business and What You Do.". This question is intended to get your client to explain the details of their business and their industry. This not only gives the start of the case study much-needed contextual information, but also helps your interviewee relax with a question they can easily answer.

  13. Top 21 Client Interview Questions to Ask for Best Insights

    Questions to ask clients: Be proactive and take action. You won't know if you don't ask. Conduct a client interview during specific points in the buyer's journey to get valuable insight into where your customer's heads are at. Send a short and sweet email that gets straight to the point. Remember to thank the client in the email, during ...

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    In this 4-minute video, Julian Lumpkin, CEO of SuccessKit, describes how to conduct a client interview for a Case Study. As Julian guides you through the call from start to finish, you'll learn what key questions to ask your client during the Case Study interview. Clients' answers to these questions will ensure you have a wealth of ...

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    It helps you capture the entire story, with quotes about the customers' past solutions, decision-making process, early experiences and results. Here's how to make it work…. 1. Start With Icebreakers. Open the call with some simple, easy questions to get your interviewee talking about the thing they know the most about: themselves. Ask ...

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