How to produce case studies that buyers believe, and stay clear of the rules on testimonials.
Written for Agencies, firms and vendors whose best work is undocumented and whose proof page is ignored.
The bottleneck
Most case study pages are discounted on sight because the numbers carry no baseline, no date range and no source. A buyer has seen a hundred pages claiming large percentage gains and has learned that an unattributed number means nothing.
The second problem is timing. Nobody records a baseline at the start, so at the end there is no honest way to state what changed. The story gets written without numbers or with soft ones, and both undermine the page.
The FTC’s Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule prohibits creating or disseminating fake or false testimonials and requires disclosure of material connections, with penalties up to $53,088 per violation. It applies to any business marketing to US consumers, including firms operating from outside the US.Federal Trade Commission, 16 CFR Part 465, in force since 21 October 2024.
Why it happens, five levels down
- The proof page does not influence buyers.Why? The numbers are not believable.
- Numbers lack baselines and sources.Why? Nobody recorded a baseline at the start.
- Baselines are not captured at kickoff.Why? Measurement is set up once work is underway.
- Measurement is treated as reporting, not scoping.Why? It is owned by delivery rather than by the sale.
- Nobody agrees the metric before the work starts.Root cause. Agree it in the proposal and every case study writes itself.
The diagnostic
Run this before planning any work. It tells you whether this is your constraint or whether something else is.
- Take one published case study. For each number, can you name the system, the baseline and the window? If not, it is not publishable.
- Check whether any client has given written approval for what you published.
- Confirm no testimonial on your site was written by anyone connected to your business.
- Check whether your last five engagements recorded a baseline at kickoff.
- Ask the delivery team what the interesting part of the last project was. That is usually the story.
- Check whether case studies are used in sales at all. If not, find out why.
The build sequence
| Stage | Work | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Agree the metric, source and baseline in the proposal, before work starts. | At sale |
| Capture | Record the baseline in week one with a dated screenshot or export. | Week 1 of delivery |
| Interview | Debrief the delivery team at close. Ask what was surprising. | At close |
| Write | Problem, diagnosis, decisions, outcome. Proof panel with source and window. | At close |
| Approve | Written client sign-off on content, naming and any quote. | Before publication |
| Repurpose | Web page, one-page PDF, social post, sales email, proposal proof point. | After approval |
KPI watchlist
| Metric | Source | Read it as |
|---|---|---|
| Case studies published per quarter | Content log | Whether the system runs |
| Percentage of engagements with a recorded baseline | Project records | Whether the input exists |
| Use in sales conversations | Sales team feedback | Whether they are any good |
| Opportunities influenced | CRM | The point of the exercise |
Record a baseline and a date range for each before any work begins. Reconstructing a baseline afterwards is usually impossible.
Four ways this goes wrong
- Writing the case study after the engagement ends with no baseline. It cannot be fixed later.
- Publishing numbers with no source or window.
- Any invented or unapproved testimonial. The exposure is real and the credibility cost is worse.
- Describing an anonymised client so specifically that they are identifiable without consent.
Agree the metric before the work starts
Every credible case study is decided at the proposal stage, not at the end.
