White Paper Pundit

For years, premium goods and services, including luxury items were always perceived to be “recession proof”. It was understood that wealthy customers could always afford them and flock to them. Therefore any provider of said items was guaranteed a market for them in good times or bad.

This current recession has blown this concept entirely out of the water. Many premium goods and service providers in today’s marketplace that never had to deal with a downturn in their marketplace are now experiencing revenue shortfalls as never before. Just look at companies such as Starbucks, Nordstrom, or Mercedes-Benz. As Christine Rosen writes in a recent Wall Street Journal article entitled, “The Bare Necessities: Marketing Luxury Goods in a Bad Economy“:

This Christmas season has fewer of us to high-end stores. Luxury purveyors’ standby tactic — subtly stoking envy — may well appear unseemly in these times. Yet traditional American marketing strategies, such as celebrity endorsements or the use of adorable ‘spokescharacters’, won’t work for such companies. So what’s a purveyor of luxury items to do?

This conundrum for high-end retailers and purveyors of consumers goods is no different for businesses that are marketing premium solutions. In a bad economy these businesses can not simply rest on their good name or polished image to carry them through these darker times. Instead these companies need to try something different with their marketing activities. As the Wall Street Journal article suggests, one approach is to convey a different slant on that premium item:

But the DeBeers diamond company has adopted the most creative strategy. Its recent ads attempt to convince us that expensive diamonds are not luxuries but thoughtful investments — better, in fact, than putting your money in the stock market. Riffing on DeBeers’s familiar “A Diamond Is Forever” slogan, one full-page newspaper ad declared: “Here Today. Here Tomorrow. In times like these, it’s perhaps wise to reflect on the things that last rather than the things that come and go.” A diamond, DeBeers tells us, “has outlasted all that history can throw at it, from the formation of continents to the turmoil of markets. Across the generations, in a thousand years’ time, a diamond will still be here. Just like love.” Just not like your 401(k).

So in this case, DeBeer’s has changed the discussion from luxury good to “things that last” or “provides longer-lasting value”. This message changes the discussion from one of price and reorients the presentation to value without disrupting their existing image.

The message for premium solution providers is that your solution isn’t just an expensive high-end version of a comparable commodity, its a longer-lasting value and yields a greater ROI for your customer. Present your case based on that altered concept: ROI, Return on Equity, Longer-lasting value, Better build construction, Less frequent repair, Less frequent upgrades, etc. These are the type of value messages that premium solution providers can adopt in a bad economy which does not deter an existing high-end image. A Case Study is also a great way to reinforce such a message with your audience.

Oh, and by the way, did I say that white papers are also a great medium to convey these value oriented messages?

I think Linus Van Pelt said it best in the animated movie, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”:

“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, ‘Fear not: for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

So in the spirit of Linus, Charlie Brown, and all the Peanuts gang, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Hanukkah!

Jonathan Kantor
The White Paper Pundit

While white papers originally were developed to support the government sector, and were later embraced by the academic community, the technology sector has adopted the medium more than any other single business industry.

So why do prospective technology customers take to white papers like a duck to water? One blogger, Christine Taylor, provides her perspective with four key reasons:

Reason #1. Many people would rather die than talk to a sales representative right off the bat, but they will read a white paper. When people start researching a product, they are not prepared to talk to a salesperson. They have no idea if the product is for them, or if they even need the technology at all. They’ll also be resistant to new and innovative technologies. Well-written, benefit-laden white papers will qualify your product to the reader, and qualify the reader to you at the next stage in the sales cycle.

Reason #2. White papers build a bridge between the prospect and your organization’s salespeople. When the salesperson does call, it’s not out of the blue. If a user has downloaded a white paper, there is an established connection between user interest and your company. The call can even be welcome if the customer has more questions and is interested in moving forward.

Reason #3. White papers are simple to host on the Web, where people can easily download and read them. In addition to your own company Website, there are numerous sites that host white papers and make it easy for prospects to download the paper. Many companies take this opportunity to capture reader information, including if the reader wants to be contacted. If they do request contact, for heaven’s sake contact them! They are coming highly qualified.

Reason #4. You’re not just reaching prospective customers with white papers, you’re also reaching journalists. Or you should be. This is why you should always include a solid technical section in a white paper: journalists doesn’t want to download a white paper and find a brochure, it makes them cranky. But if you deliver a valuable white paper, the journalist is far more likely to speak well of you and your product.

Well, I agree with Reasons 1, 2, and 3, but #4 is kinda iffy. While the mistique of white papers is certainly higher than that of a brochure, I have read my fair share of crappy white papers that would do more harm than good to a product, brand, or corporate image.

Frankly journalists are the last group that I care to impress. The customer is the primary audience for a white paper and the one that the writer should focus their content towards. If you’re writing white papers for the journalist community then it’s better write articles for Information Week, not white papers.

The customer will see that coming through in your writing style and content in as they say, “a New York minute”.

For some time, both the government and the business sectors has been tip-toeing around the use of the word “recession” for fear that its use would only make consumers scale back their purchases and business conditions worse. As a result, many have been hesitant to include the word in formal communications like white papers.

It seems that there is a difference of opinion on the word “recession”. I always assumed that is was defined as “two back-to-back business quarters with negative growth”. But the Ad Sales Blog has a different perspective:

A recession is more than just period of slow sales. It is a time when the markets and customers we sell to change behavior, with buying less only the tip of the iceberg. Customers often realign their buying criteria, corporate values, personnel, and alliances in ways that last for years after the recession ends.

From this bloggers perspective, white papers are a valuable sales medium during a recession, especially ones that come out of the closet and boldly use the term right in the title, as referenced in a white paper called “What Is Your Recession Strategy”:

In these tough times there really are strategies sales organizations can use to make a difference. This white paper can help you find ones that can help you. If your competition just “selling harder and waiting for better times” read this paper before they do!

Does it make sense to use the term “Recession” in a white paper title? Do you think it would scare away your target audience or given the current economic times, would it more likely incent a prospective business customer to read your white paper?

I’ve always been a believer in laying your cards on the table for your reader. It they are feeling the effects of a recession, then tell them so. Don’t try to dance around a sensitive issue. Your business reader will appreciate your honesty and give your white paper an open mind when it comes to determining if your solution will solve their business challenge.

In this case R not only stands for Recession, but also for Responsibility to your Reader.

I recently ran across a white paper subject that one doesn’t see very often, especially from my vantage point as a business marketer. This particular white paper is entitled, When Does Human Life Begin?, and it is being published by the The Westchester Institute For Ethics & the Human Person.

I’ve often wondered if many business writers could write a white paper and other business marketing materials about a controversial title if hired to do so? Could you write such a paper if you didn’t have as much enthusiasm or emotional investment as you would about a piece of technology, a professional service, or a complex solution?

My view is that unless you were emotionally invested in a controversial topic, it would be extremely difficult to pull off, at least with the same degree of quality as you would for a non-controversial topic such as technology. If you didn’t have that degree of emotional investment, the quality of that work would be suspect. At least your personal bias would show through to some degree.

So my question to you is: Do you need emotional involvement to do a good job writing a white paper for a political, religious, or controversial organization?

Most white paper marketers target C-level executives (CEOs, CIOs, CFOs) and key business stakeholders as their primary audience. But according to blogger, Amy Johns of the Ageless Beauty Blog, white papers should also target IT influencers early in the decision making cycle:

IT staff and managers aren’t looking for a spec sheet but for a technology that will meet a pressing need. They’re using white papers much earlier in their buying cycles. A recent TechTarget survey reported that 79% of IT professionals read white papers to learn something new about technology relevant to their job, 73% of them consider white papers very valuable for keeping up-to-date on the latest technology trends, and 62% said they use white papers to get information on actual implementations. This means that putting white papers where IT can find them will get their attention very early in their buying cycle and guiding prospects through the decision-making process so you’ll be top-of-mind when they’re ready to make their short vendor list. With 9 out of 10 prospects using white papers to research vendor capabilities, the last thing you want is for your white paper to sit around gathering dust.

C-level enterprise executives and business influencers shouldn’t be your only target. In the blog post, Amy also suggests three additional audience targets for your white paper marketing efforts:

Channel executives. Reach existing and prospective channel partners through mailings. Email is ideal for partner sales reps while direct mail is best for high-level partner executives. In-house lists can be golden, but if you rent an outside list make sure it’s highly targeted to the people you want to reach and that it’s scrupulously cleaned. Also post your white papers on content syndication sites; you can pass on the resulting leads to partners as well as your direct sales force.

Marketing executives. Send email and direct mailings in-house and other trusted lists, syndicated content on the top syndication sites, sponsor popular newsletters to your targeted prospects, and invest in paid search in Google and business/IT sites.

PR executives. Offer your white paper in mailings to media and include a copy in your press kit. Reporters that will dump a press release in a hot second will stop to read a good white paper. Suddenly your client’s approach to solving a business problem becomes a valuable resource for the reporter instead of an annoying intrusion.

By widening the number of potential target audiences for your white paper using this strategy, your odds of influencing the highest number of potential customers and generating a greater number of positive leads will increase as well.

Good food for thought especially in these troubled economic times.

There are two styles that are used to write a white paper. Authoritative or Conversational.

An authoritiative style uses a third person voice and emphasizes facts, figures, statistics and quotes to validate the information that is contained within it. Authoritiative style has been the writing standard since the dawn of the white paper in the 1920′s. Most enterprise white papers use anauthoritative style since it provides their customers with the impression of knowledge and leadership.

On the other hand conversational style uses a first or second person voice and a less formal approach, leveraging questions, comments, analogies and other quips to make the white paper more readable, friendly, and approachable. Conversational style has become more popular among Web 2.0 B2B marketers, younger business professionals, and with consumer audiences.

If you would like to see an example of a conversational white paper, I’ve enclosed this sample from email marketing solution provider, Bronto.com, called “Seven Email Marketing Refreshes“. In the paper you can see the casual writing style and easy conversational approach that they use.

Two $64,000 questions on this subject are, “Is this the new white paper style standard?” and “Is a Conversational style more effective than an Authoritative approach?”

From my viewpoint, it depends on the audience. I would hate to send an enterprise CEO a conversational white paper. Such an organization would be viewed as unprofessional and not worthy of further consideration. On the other hand, an authoritative white paper in the hands of a 20-something Internet professional would bore them to tears in about three paragraphs. Click-grab-drag to the trash. End of white paper.

The secret to success in this area is the tried and true marketing concept: Know your customer! Apply the most appropriate style that will best match your reader and allow them to assimilate the critical information that is contained in your white paper.

You may just find the conversational style easier to write and the dawn of a new writing style that you didn’t know you had previously!

When you’re a large software company like Microsoft, getting lots of developers on board at an early stage in the development process is an essential step for a subsequently successful product launch.

But getting preliminary information out such as a development white paper, presents a marketing conundrum. Do you release early information about a product to help your developer base be informed and develop supporting products, but know that in doing so you are informing future prospective customers of the capabilities of the product that might cause them to delay their current purchases?
 
Case in Point: Microsoft’s latest white papers related to Windows 7, Microsoft’s next generation replacement for the much ballyhooed current version of Microsoft’s operating system, Windows Vista.
 
These papers not only provide developers with new capabilities of Windows 7, but also give more savvy Windows power users an ability to analyze whether the new operating system version will be worth their time and money to invest in that upgrade down the road.
 
What’s the harm, you say?
 
Simply put, as soon as your customers realize that a new product is on it’s way, they will stop any purchases of your current version, killing your sales quarter.
 
So how do organizations release critical information via a white paper to a development community without altering the buying behavior of future customers?
 
The answer lies in using code names that only the development community will know.
 
Intel would use the names of rivers, cities and towns in the Northwest. Apple used animal and inanimate object names. And these names would change so that the name used at the beginning of the development cycle was different by the end of the development cycle.
 
Either way, the use of code names would confuse both the media and end user customers, but would present be a unique language among the development community. In doing so, the number of potential customers given early information about a new product would be kept to a minimum, resulting in a minimal loss of current sales.
 
While this works for technology-related products, I wouldn’t advocate its use for less sophisticated consumer products. That would be a secret too difficult to keep under wraps.
 
So in the end, with the use of code names in a technical or development-related white paper, it is possible to do marketing justice to both your development community and customers.