Case study

Generate compelling B2B SaaS case studies that transform customer success data into persuasive proof points. Output structured narratives with quantified results, authentic quotes, and visual sections ready for web pages or PDF downloads.

---

Doctrine inherited (Step 7 — 0626 rollout)

Output complies with:

• output-tenets.md — the seven tenets
• output-simplicity.md — length caps, three-layer source placement, robot-tells ban
• marketing-psychology.md — JTBD framing, loss-aversion default
• Step 6 calibration: see [[feedback_execution_doctrine_refinements_step6]]

Refinements applied to this skill:

Code	Refinement	How it lands in case-study
R1	Source placement (three layers)	Published case study is end-customer-facing (website / PDF). No sources block. Customer quotes appear inline with named attribution (job title + company), but no [VERIFIED:...] tags. Source dataset (interviews, transcripts, metrics) lives in working doc for QA only.
R3	Product-update tone	Capability framing — "Customer ships X with Y" not "Customer is thrilled to announce." Even when the metric is huge.
R6	CTA hierarchy	Closing CTA names sign-up or trial as primary; "talk to sales" as fallback for enterprise. Never "read more on our blog" — case study IS the blog.
R8	Entity-name headings	Section headings repeat the customer name — "How [Customer] used [Product]," "Why [Customer] chose [Product]" — not pronoun headings ("How they used it").
R9	Action-oriented section names	"How [Customer] solved X" beats "About [Customer]." Outcome-led, not status-led.

---

Claude Code triggers

Invoke when user says:

• "Write a case study"
• "Create a customer story"
• "Case study for [customer]"
• "Customer success story"
• "Turn this into a case study"
• "Customer story from [data]"
• "Case study from interview"
• "Win story for [customer]"
• "Success story for [company]"
• "Reference customer content"

Do NOT invoke when:

• User wants testimonial quotes only → extract directly
• User wants sales deck slides → use sales-enablement
• User wants full campaign → use storytelling
• User wants video script → use demo-script

---

Input requirements

Required

Input	Description	Source
Customer name	Company being featured	User provides
Challenge/problem	What they struggled with before	Interview, win-loss, user provides
Solution	How they used the product	Interview, user provides
Results	Quantified outcomes	Customer data, interview

Optional (improve quality)

Input	How it helps
Customer interview transcript	Authentic quotes, story details
Win-loss analysis	Context on decision drivers
Usage data	Specific feature adoption metrics
Customer logo	Visual asset for header
Contact info (name, title)	Attribution for quotes
Industry/vertical	Vertical-specific framing
Timeline	Duration context (implemented in X weeks)

Validation

Before proceeding: customer name + industry known; ≥1 quantified result available; challenge clearly articulated; solution approach understood.

If inputs are missing: ask for customer name, primary challenge, and at least one measurable outcome. Offer to structure interview questions if no transcript — see the premium reference.

---

Process

The case study runs in 3 phases. Read the premium reference for the full step-by-step (4 extraction steps, 4 structure steps, 3 output steps, plus per-phase checkpoints and the process flowchart).

Phase summary:

1. Story extraction — transformation arc, quote library (3-5), metrics table, signature moment
2. Structure development — hero statement, section drafts, metrics callouts, pull quotes
3. Output generation — pick format (web / PDF / slide), apply template, generate derivatives

---

Case study structure

Standard sections

Section	Purpose	Length
Hero statement	Capture attention, summarize transformation	1 sentence
Metrics bar	Immediate proof of results	3 numbers
Company overview	Context on customer	2-3 sentences
The challenge	Problem + pain articulation	2-3 paragraphs
The solution	How they use the product	2-3 paragraphs
The results	Quantified outcomes + quotes	2-3 paragraphs
Closing CTA	Next step for reader	1 sentence

Metrics bar format

┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐
│ 3-5x │ │ 40-60 │ │ 20-40% │
│ More creator │ │ Hours saved │ │ Stronger │
│ content/month │ │ per month │ │ performance │
└─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘

Quote format

"When we got Archive, I didn't have to do those screenshots anymore."

— Kristen Klochko, Project Manager, Brand Relations & Ecommerce, POPFLEX

---

What good looks like — Archive + POPFLEX

Input:

Customer: POPFLEX
Industry: Retail/Activewear
Challenge: Manual UGC capture, spreadsheet tracking
Solution: Archive for automatic content capture
Results: 3-5x more content, 40-60 hours saved, Taylor Swift discovery

Expected hero statement:

POPFLEX was trapped in IG notifications and manual spreadsheets.
When they got Archive, they made it into a Taylor Swift song (just saying).

Why this works: specific pain (IG notifications, spreadsheets); memorable hook (Taylor Swift reference); conversational tone (parenthetical "just saying"); implies transformation without stating it.

Full worked example: examples/archive-popflex.md.

---

Anti-hallucination guardrails

1. Metrics from source only. Never invent numbers. Mark as [METRIC NEEDED] if not provided.
2. Quotes verbatim. Use exact customer words. Don't paraphrase into "better" quotes.
3. Mark unconfirmed details. Use [CONFIRM: detail] for anything requiring verification.
4. No invented story beats. The "signature moment" must come from customer data.
5. Attribution required. Every quote needs name, title, company.

---

Quality checklist (pre-delivery)

Content

• Hero statement under 25 words
• At least 3 quantified metrics
• At least 3 attributed quotes
• Challenge clearly articulated
• Solution tied to specific features
• Results include before/after comparison

Format

• All sections complete
• Metrics bar formatted
• Quotes properly attributed
• CTA included
• Derivatives generated (if requested)

---

Gotchas

• Invented metrics. Creates "3x improvement" or "50% reduction" without sourced data → every metric must come from the customer or be marked [UNAVAILABLE]. Never fabricate results.
• Generic challenge section. Opens with "Company X was struggling with..." instead of specific, named pain → the challenge must reference the actual problem as the customer described it, not a generic industry pain.
• Missing customer voice. Writes the entire case study in third person without direct quotes → at least 3-5 verbatim customer quotes are needed. These are the most credible parts.
• No clear "before" snapshot. Jumps straight to the solution without establishing the baseline state → the "before" picture makes the "after" results meaningful. Include specific metrics or processes that existed before.

---

Integration with other skills

Skill	Relationship	Usage
win-loss-analysis	Provides input	Customer insights for story
sales-enablement	Uses output	Case study slides for sales deck
landing-page-copy	Uses output	Social proof snippets
storytelling	Uses output	Customer videos in campaigns

---

MCP data integration

Level: 2 — PM Execution (customer-specific pulls)

Pulls fresh

Source	What to pull	Tool	When
Granola	Customer-specific call transcripts	search_meetings	Always (per-customer story)
Slack	Customer success threads	slack_search_public	Always (per-customer data)

Fallback (no MCP)

• User-provided customer interview transcripts
• Manual success metrics from customer
• Email threads or shared docs with customer quotes

---

Final ship gate

Run /premortem --output before ship. See /premortem skill for the 5 execution domains (will-it-resonate / will-it-convert / will-it-stay-on-brand / will-stakeholder-push-back / will-it-degrade-over-time) and output template.

Trivial-case escape: ## Premortem\nNo failure modes — trivial change satisfies the contract for genuinely trivial outputs.

---

Persuasion & stickiness pass

Output complies with persuasion-and-stickiness.md — Cialdini's 7 persuasion levers + Heath's SUCCESs. Deploy the 1-2 Cialdini levers that fit the reader's barrier (never all seven; every lever must be TRUE), run the SUCCESs diagnostic (Simple / Unexpected / Concrete / Credible / Emotional / Stories) over the near-final draft, then the rule's pre-ship gate.

---