Writing Website Case Studies Without Revealing Client Secrets

Your company has delivered plenty of good projects. The trouble is that most clients don't want to be named, the contracts have confidentiality clauses, and the sales team isn't sure what can be shared. So the "Projects" page on your website stays empty, or shows photos with no story.

Yet case studies are among the strongest evidence a B2B buyer can see. The good news is that you can write them without revealing your clients' secrets. This article explains how, step by step.

Why case studies are still worth writing

Prospective buyers want to know one thing: have you solved a problem like theirs before? A product list doesn't answer that. A story about a real project does.

Google looks at something similar. In its guidance on helpful content, Google asks whether content clearly demonstrates first-hand expertise. A case study is the clearest example of first-hand experience, and competitors can't copy it, because only you did the work.

The client's name isn't the most important part. What matters is the problem, how you solved it and the result.

First, check what you are allowed to share

Before you write, gather three things:

1. The contract and any non-disclosure agreement (NDA). Read the sections on confidentiality and publicity. Some contracts forbid naming the client; some forbid mentioning the project at all. If in doubt, ask your legal team.
2. Information that may be the client's trade secret. Indonesia's Law No. 30 of 2000 defines a trade secret as information in technology or business that is not publicly known, has economic value and is kept confidential by its owner. Examples include formulas, production processes, supplier lists, prices or order volumes. Treat all of this as closed unless the client says otherwise.
3. Personal data. Under Indonesia's Personal Data Protection Law (Law No. 27 of 2022), a full name counts as personal data. Processing personal data needs a lawful basis, one of which is the person's explicit consent. So if you want to quote someone at the client or show photos of their staff, ask those people first.

Choose how much to disclose

Not every case study needs the same level of openness. There are three levels you can use:

• Open. The client's name and logo appear, with written permission. The most convincing, but the least often possible.
• Described. The client is referred to by general characteristics, for example "a plastic packaging manufacturer in Tangerang with two production lines". Readers can still picture it without knowing who the client is.
• General. Only the industry is mentioned, for example "a pharmaceutical distribution company". Suitable when the industry is small and more detail would make the client easy to guess.

Be careful with the second level. If only one factory in an industrial estate matches that description, you might as well have named it.

A case study structure that is easy to read

1. Starting point. Who the client is (at your chosen level of disclosure) and what the problem was.
2. Constraints. The time, budget or technical requirements that made the project hard.
3. What you did. The main steps, without details that belong to the client's secrets.
4. Result. What changed after the project.
5. Lesson. One thing that helps readers facing a similar problem.

An example opening, invented for illustration: "A spare parts distributor in North Jakarta received hundreds of stock enquiries on WhatsApp every week. Its sales team struggled to answer them one by one. The solution: an online catalogue searchable by part number, so customers could check for themselves before asking." No name, price or volume is revealed, yet the reader understands the problem at once.

Between 300 and 600 words per case study is enough. Interested buyers will contact you for the details.

Showing results without revealing sensitive figures

The most convincing results are numbers. But raw figures such as production volume, prices or revenue are often the most sensitive. A few safe approaches:

• Use percentage changes, not absolute numbers. "Order processing time fell by about half" doesn't reveal how many orders the client handles.
• Use ranges, such as "more than 500 products", rather than the exact number.
• Use observable outcomes, such as "the sales team stopped sending catalogues one by one over chat".

Above all, every number must be true and approved by the client. Don't round up or guess.

Photos and documents: check before uploading

Project photos often reveal more than you think. Before uploading, check for:

• Logos, company names or signs in the background.
• People's faces, vehicle number plates and computer screens showing data.
• Technical drawings, product labels or documents on desks.
• Location data inside the photo file. Phone cameras can store the coordinates where a photo was taken, and other people may be able to read it. Remove the location data before sharing the photo.

Get approval before publishing

The last step, and the one most often skipped: send the draft to the client before it goes live. Include the full text, the photos you plan to use and the level of disclosure you chose. Ask for written approval, an email is enough, and keep it on file.

Clients who are involved from the start rarely object. Some are even pleased that their project is told well, and agree to be named in the next case study.

A good case study tells the problem and the solution. The client's name is a bonus, not a requirement.

Case studies are strongest on a website that also has an About page that builds trust. See also the essential pages for a manufacturer website, or contact us if you want a projects page you can easily update yourself.