3 examples of landing page case studies that inspire trust

A case study is a key part of any B2B sales process, which is why I've put together a list of landing pages for you to draw inspiration from.

These landing pages demonstrate useful techniques that can take your conversion rate to the next level.

Case studies aren't the same as "normal" landing pages, but they have a similar purpose: to convince website visitors that you are the right person/company for the job. And there's nothing more convincing in marketing than somebody finding success with your product.

A good case study takes the reader through a journey; from painful realization of a big problem that lies ahead all the way to overcoming the hurdle.

In the midst of all of that "chaos" is where your product or service comes in, so here are a few ways to help you tell the right stories.

A Few Ways To Write Your Case Study

Case studies don't necessarily have to live on a landing page to be effective, they can also be distributed via PDF files, videos, or even live webinars to capture a specific audience.

When it comes to highlighting a story on a landing page though, the most important thing is to start with the benefits provided and work your way through the challenges.

Remember that you're speaking to a business audience so all they care about is what's in it for them. You have to provide this answer immediately at the top of your case study.

Although this is the first thing the prospect will see, it's not the first one you'll write. The process of getting your case study down is much more treacherous than that. First, you have to ask yourself why...

» Why did the customer go through such lengths to use your product?

The problem is always the biggest factor in a customer's success story. If the product was able to solve it, then the process of getting there was worth it and the money was well-spent.

In most cases, customers will never get there.

Sometimes because the product or service wasn't good enough, other times because they didn't really know what they wanted.

But when they do get on the other side of the fence, that's when a case study is crucial for you to get the most out of the business relationship, and I have some examples to show you.

The 3 Case Study Page Examples I've Picked

For each of the 3 examples you'll see in a moment, there are different ways to convey a similar message—that of success.

That's what a case study is all about, it's where customers are celebrated for being the "hero" in the story and your product being the means to an end. The elements of a good case study landing page are:

• A banner image at the top that recaps the entire story in a quick summary for the reader to understand whether they'd like to go through with the entire article
• Quick benefits below the main banner with information on what the customer was able to achieve after going through the "trouble" of implementing the solution
• Some high-level information on the type of business the customer runs like the industry they operate in and the size of their company compared to target market
• The complete story of how a customer first realized they had a problem and then identified your product or service as a potential solution leading to success

All these elements must be included for a case study that inspires trust. Fancy design isn't as important here as sending the message of success across using a real-life example.

Example of Case Study #1: Miro's Thoughtful Formatting

There's no denying that Miro has one of the most beautifully-intricate visual identities I've come across, so it's good to see that they're passing that effort onto their case studies as well.

Miro is a collaborative software most known for its digital whiteboard, where customers can conduct brainstorming sessions and store some of their most important Eureka moments.

Essentially, it's a place where team members go to "throw it all out on the table" and then start putting the pieces together.

It's a wonderful tool that has a unique angle on collaboration.

Upwork saw an opportunity to use the tool in a way that would help them fully-embrace design thinking as part of their culture and thus requiring a complete organizational restructuring across multiple departments.

Miro beautifully illustrates the complexity of the situation by pairing it with a sleek profile of the company and the type of business they run.

Addressing the problem is only one part of the equation though; they go as far as to highlight what design thinking is with beautiful cards right below the fold not only guiding you through the journey of Upwork but also educating you on the topic itself which coincidentally is exactly what Miro is strong at: helping teams foster innovation via collaborative effort.

In just two visual steps, Miro has given us a lot of information to work with, and now I'm left wondering: "Was Upwork ultimately able to deploy their design thinking approach?"

That's when Miro fills in the context from within Upwork's culture, making it clear that this was a big shift for them and that if they wanted to do it, they'd have to be aligned in full.

The reason why I'm putting this landing page first is that it screams trust; from the thoughtfully-placed quotes to the authoritative sources, Miro knows exactly what they're trying to achieve with this case study and they execute it almost with surgical precision.

What's even better is that, being a software tool, Miro can embed their own solution within the case study itself, making the experience that much more compelling.

Of course, not everybody will be able to afford creating a software suite as complex as Miro's just to make their case study stand out, but I just think it's absolutely brilliant. The problem with case studies is that they are often boring, uninspired chunks of text that don't say anything other than:

"We did this for customer A so you should buy our product."

Miro flips that coin by focusing on Upwork's problem first and only getting to what Miro did as a solution towards the bottom of the article, cementing their commitment to customer success.

Overall, Miro checks all the boxes here:

• An immediate understanding of the problem
• Tackling the story from an educational standpoint
• Removing themselves only to enter when relevant
• Focusing on the customer success and not theirs

If you had to copy one landing page for your next case study, this is it. One of the most elegant ways to compliment a customer that's found success with your product or service.

Example of Case Study #2: Ghost's Unorthodox Approach

Ghost is a Content Management System that claims to be the best way for news publishers to claim back their independence through a variety of monetization features.

Just like Miro's landing page, the best case studies are the ones that embed your product or service within the content itself, essentially showing the benefit rather than talking about it.

That's where Ghost's approach truly shines.

They created a "showcase" of websites built on Ghost.

From this seemingly-endless pool of gorgeous designs, you can draw a lot of inspiration, with many of them having their own dedicated mini-spotlights to celebrate the customer.

Although not a case study landing page in the "traditional" sense since this is more of a gallery of customers who built their publications using Ghost, it's still impressive how they were able to pass that feeling of trust and empowerment by simply taking screenshots of their client's sites.

The cool thing is that Ghost has dozens of the examples to show, making it an effective marketing tool due to its compelling visuals and variety of choices.

As unusual as it might seem, Ghost's approach is extremely effective at producing exactly the effect they are looking for:

» building trust in the blink of an eye

As soon as you open up the showcase page, you're greeted with a world of Ghost creations that look amazing. The next in line is obviously you then.

Example of Case Study #3: Kiflo's Simple Yet Effective Page

To close this deep dive into some of the most powerful case study landing page designs available on the internet, I'm now picking something more in tune with a "typical" success story.

Similar to HubSpot's case study design, Kiflo (a Partner Relationship Management software suite) highlights the main benefits provided by their product at the top of the page.

In the hero section, they include details about the representative who's given a short interview for the case study, and later they'll link that information with quotes from them.

Quotes with real faces and names reinforce the message of the case study

With its simple approach, Kiflo's case study landing page is half-article, half feature page. Below the fold, you get a clear understanding of the company they've interviewed, the challenge that they were facing, and how they came to find and ultimately choose Kiflo as a solution.

The page does a great job at separating each section so that the reader can follow along with PerceptionPredict's point of view which is that of the hero going through incredible challenges to find the superpower which would lend him the tools to succeed in his quest.

By then connecting the features of the product back to the original problem, Kiflo is effectively affirming itself as the solution to creating a partner program from scratch with practically no experience nor advanced knowledge on how to operate one day-to-day.

In their "Strategy" section, Kiflo describes how each feature helped the customer tackle a part of the overall puzzle, up until finally solving the problem at scale.

The results shown are convincing and they really show the effort that the team at Kiflo made to help PerceptionPredict succeed.

The landing page world isn't just made of eye-popping colors and quirky animations; it's meant to deliver value to the reader in a way that helps them move forward and down your funnel.

If you're looking to create a case study page but don't really know where to start, try and bring a first version of it live rather than aiming for perfection. Then see what sticks.

I've reviewed 100s of landing pages over the years and I can tell you that what I care about seeing the most is upfront value.

If you don't tell me what you do NOW, I'm gone.

A similar thing can be said about case studies; if I can't find anything that tells me I should trust you above the fold, I won't go on to read the rest.

So put those benefits up there :)

(And convince me you're the only solution to my problem!)

Originally published 27 Apr 2021