Look, Your Case Studies Are Probably Putting People to Sleep
I see it all the time. A professional services firm—lawyers, accountants, engineers, you name it—decides they need to show off their work. They spend weeks putting together a 'Case Study' page on their website.
And honestly? It’s rubbish.
It reads like a dry technical manual or a school report. It's full of 'we did this' and 'we did that,' but it completely forgets the one person who matters: the potential client reading it.
If your case studies are just a list of tasks you performed, you’re wasting your time. Nobody cares that you used a specific software or followed a 12-step process. They care about whether you can solve their problem and make them more money.
At Local Marketing Group, we’ve seen hundreds of these things. Most of them are just digital paperweights. If you want to prove you’re the best, you need to change how you talk about your wins.
The Big Mistake: Being the Hero of Your Own Story
Here’s the biggest mistake I see. You write the case study like you’re the main character in an action movie.
"We swooped in, we worked 80 hours a week, we used our proprietary magic, and we saved the day."
Stop it.
Your client is the hero. You are the guide. Think of it like Star Wars—your client is Luke Skywalker, and you’re Yoda. You’re the one in the swamp giving them the tools and the wisdom to blow up the Death Star.
When you make the story about the client’s struggle and their eventual victory, it becomes relatable. A prospect reading it thinks, "Hey, that sounds like me. I have that problem. I want that result."
If you make it all about how great you are, people just tune out. It sounds like bragging. And in Brisbane, we’ve got a pretty low tolerance for tall poppies who spend all day patting themselves on the back.
Mistake #2: The "Wall of Text" Syndrome
I’ve sat down with business owners in Paddington who’ve shown me their case studies, and I’ve nearly fallen into my beer. It’s just four pages of solid text. No headings. No photos. No bullet points.
People don't read websites; they skim them. They’re looking for the punchline.
If I can’t tell what you did and why it worked within ten seconds of landing on the page, I’m gone. I’m going to find someone else who doesn’t make me do homework just to understand their business.
How to fix the layout:
Use big, bold headlines: Tell me the result immediately. Use bullet points: Break down the problems and the solutions. Use pictures: If you’re an engineer, show me the site. If you’re a consultant, show me a graph (a simple one, don't get fancy). The 'Skim Test': If you can't read the headings and understand the whole story, it’s too long.Mistake #3: Hiding the Money
Professional services people are often weirdly shy about talking numbers.
"We improved efficiency." "We helped them grow." "The client was very happy."
That means nothing. It’s fluff. It’s what you say when you don’t have actual results.
If you want to get better clients, you have to talk about the impact on the bottom line.
Did you save them $50,000 in tax? Say it. Did you reduce their project timeline by three months? Say it. Did you help them land a million-dollar contract? Put that in the headline.
If you can’t use exact numbers because of privacy, use percentages. "Increased revenue by 30%" is a lot better than "helped them get more sales."
Mistake #4: Forgetting the "Before"
A good story needs a villain. In a case study, the villain is the problem the client had before they met you.
Most people spend 90% of the case study talking about what they did. You should spend at least 40% talking about how bad things were before you started.
Were they losing sleep? Was their staff quitting? Were they burning cash on bad quotes? Was the bank breathing down their neck?
Setting the scene makes the result look much more impressive. It also builds empathy. Your future clients are currently in that "Before" state. They need to see that you understand their pain.
Mistake #5: The Boring Quote
We’ve all seen the standard testimonial: "Local Marketing Group were professional and easy to work with. Highly recommend."
That’s a nice thing to say, but it’s useless for selling. It’s a 'vanity' quote.
Instead, you want a quote that handles an objection.
"I was worried that hiring a consultant would be a waste of money, but within two months, the new systems they put in place saved us 10 hours of admin a week. It paid for itself almost instantly."
See the difference? That quote tells a story. It addresses the fear of wasting money (which every business owner has) and provides a specific result (10 hours saved).
How to Actually Write One (The Simple Template)
Don’t overcomplicate this. You don’t need a creative writing degree. Just follow this structure:
1. The Result Headline: (e.g., How we saved a Brisbane construction firm $40k on their insurance) 2. The Client's Mess: What was going wrong? Why did they call you? 3. The 'Oh No' Moment: What would have happened if they didn't fix it? (They would have gone bust, lost the contract, etc.) 4. The Simple Solution: What did you do? Keep it high-level. Don't bore them with the technical stuff. 5. The Big Win: What does their life look like now? More profit? More time at home? 6. The Killer Quote: A specific comment from the client about the result.
Why Most Agencies Get This Wrong
Most marketing agencies will tell you that you need to worry about keywords and 'SEO-optimised' case studies.
Look, Google matters, but if a human reads your case study and thinks it’s boring, it doesn’t matter if you’re rank number one. You won't get the phone call.
We focus on making sure your quotes win better projects by showing people you actually know what you're doing. A good case study is a sales tool first and a piece of content second.
The Cost of Doing Nothing
You might think, "I don't have time to write these."
Fair enough. You’re busy running a business. But think about the cost of not having them.
When a high-value prospect looks at your website and sees a bunch of generic 'Services' pages and no proof of results, they’re going to keep looking. They’ll find the competitor who does show their work, and they’ll call them instead.
You’re effectively paying a 'missing proof' tax on every lead that hits your site and walks away.
What Should You Do First?
Don't try to write ten case studies this weekend. You’ll hate it and give up by Saturday lunch.
Pick your best client from the last 12 months. The one who loves you.
Give them a call. Don't email them—call them. Say, "Hey, we loved working on that project with you. We’re trying to show more people the kind of results we get. Would you mind if I asked you three questions about how it went?"
Ask them: 1. What was the biggest headache you had before we started? 2. What’s the best thing about the result we got for you? 3. What would you tell someone else who is thinking about hiring us?
Record that call, type it up, and you’ve got 90% of your case study done.
My Honest Take
Most professional services marketing is a sea of sameness. Everyone says they are 'client-focused' and 'result-driven.' It’s all white noise.
Case studies are your chance to stand out. They are the evidence that you aren't just blowing smoke.
If you want more phone calls and fewer tyre-kickers, start proving your worth. Show the work. Show the money. Show the relief on your clients' faces.
If you’re too busy to handle this yourself, or you’ve realised your current website is a bit of a ghost town, get in touch with us at Local Marketing Group. We help businesses in Brisbane and beyond stop wasting money on marketing that doesn't work.