Case Study Interview Template
Most case studies are 800 words of vague praise. This script produces case studies with specific numbers, specific quotes, and a structure that AI engines cite as authoritative.
Why this matters
- 1Case studies with specific numbers convert 3 to 5x better than ones with vague claims.
- 2AI engines cite case studies that have structured proof (numbers + named customer + named context).
- 3Most case study interviews don't extract the numbers because the interviewer doesn't ask for them.
- 4The 12-question script captures the proof, the story arc, and the quote in 45 minutes.
The template, step by step
- 01
Question 1-3: Set context
Q1: 'In one sentence, what does your team do?' Q2: 'What were you trying to accomplish when you started looking for a solution?' Q3: 'What was the cost of not solving this?' This sets up the stakes.
- 02
Question 4-5: The before
Q4: 'How were you handling this before our solution?' Q5: 'What were the specific symptoms of the old approach not working?' This is where quotes about 'spreadsheet hell' and '8 different tools' come from.
- 03
Question 6-7: The change
Q6: 'What made you decide to switch?' Q7: 'What was the rollout like? What surprised you?' Honest answers here give the case study credibility.
- 04
Question 8-10: The numbers
Q8: 'What's measurably different now versus before?' Q9: 'Can you put a number on any of those?' Q10: 'What about time saved per week or per person?' Don't accept 'a lot' or 'so much.' Push for specifics.
- 05
Question 11: The quote
Q11: 'If you had to recommend this to a peer, what would you say in one or two sentences?' This is the pull quote for the headline of the case study. Often the best content of the whole interview.
- 06
Question 12: The pushback
Q12: 'What didn't work? What would you change?' Asking for the negative produces a case study with credibility. Skipping this makes the case study read like an ad.
INTERVIEWEE: ____________
ROLE: ____________
COMPANY: ____________
CONTEXT (Q1-3)
Q1: What does your team do?
Q2: What were you trying to accomplish?
Q3: What was the cost of not solving this?
BEFORE (Q4-5)
Q4: How were you handling this before?
Q5: What were the specific symptoms?
CHANGE (Q6-7)
Q6: What made you decide to switch?
Q7: How was the rollout?
NUMBERS (Q8-10)
Q8: What's measurably different now vs before?
Q9: Can you put a number on any of those?
Q10: Time saved per week / per person?
QUOTE (Q11)
Q11: If recommending to a peer, what would you say?
PUSHBACK (Q12)
Q12: What didn't work? What would you change?
POST-INTERVIEW (your work)
- Pull 3 numbers worth citing
- Pull 1 quote worth headlining
- Pull 1 honest critique to include
- Write case study around the arc:
Stakes → Before → Change → Numbers → Quote (with the critique honestly mentioned)Common mistakes
- Accepting vague answers to numbers questions. 'We saved a lot of time' is useless. Push for specifics.
- Skipping the pushback question. The case study sounds fake without it.
- Writing the case study before interviewing. The interview reveals the actual story; the pre-written narrative usually misses the real angle.
- Burying the numbers in paragraph form. Pull them out as standalone stats with bold formatting.
- Not naming the company. Anonymous case studies underperform named ones by 30 to 50 percent on conversion.
Let PostWyse run this template on autopilot.
Wyse drafts every input, every personalization, every follow-up in your brand voice. You approve before anything goes live.
Questions
How long should the interview be?
45 minutes max. Anything longer loses the interviewee's energy and you stop getting good quotes. The 12 questions fit comfortably in 45 minutes with follow-ups.
Should I record the interview?
Yes, with permission. Recording lets you pull exact quotes and saves time on the write-up. PostWyse can transcribe and auto-draft the case study from the recording.
What if the customer can't share specific numbers?
Push for orders of magnitude or percentages instead of absolute numbers. 'We cut review time by roughly half' is better than 'a lot.' Get something specific even if it's not exact.
How long should the final case study be?
800-1,200 words for short case studies, 2,000-3,000 for the flagship ones. Include 3-5 standalone stats above the fold and a 1-2 paragraph TLDR for skimmers.
Can AI write the case study from the transcript?
Yes. PostWyse drafts case studies from transcripts using the arc template. Human editor reviews for tone and adds the final 10 percent of polish. Time per case study drops from 6-8 hours to 90 minutes.