White Paper Pundit

Another survey has surfaced that shows white papers to be most effective in their ability to influence key business decision makers.

Eccolo Media, an industry marketing analyst that publishes an annual survey called, “The Technology Collateral Survey Report“, has released their 2009 publication. The study is based on feedback from approximately 500 C-level executives, vice presidents (VPs), managers, directors, developers/programmers, and technicians within U.S.-based companies. All participants were responsible for either making B2B technology purchases or influencing purchasing decisions. Only respondents who indicated that they had participated in a technology purchases in the last six months were included in the survey results.

While the study covered several types of collateral, here are some of this year’s findings related to white papers:

1. White papers still best bang for buck
Last year, 68 percent of survey respondents told us they’d read at least one white paper in the last six months. This year we saw that number increase to 77 percent, with the vast majority of respondents (84 percent) rating white papers as moderately to extremely influential when making final purchasing decisions. Add in the fact that white papers are also the most frequently shared collateral type, with 89 percent of respondents passing them along to others, and you see why they are the must-have marketing tool.

2. White Papers are highly viral
One of the most compelling results from our 2008 survey was how routinely and frequently technology purchase decision makers and influencers shared collateral. This was again borne out by our 2009 survey. Not only is collateral highly viral, but it has a far greater reach than we had previously assumed. A full 89 percent of the people who influence or make technology decisions share white papers with others.

3. Quality matters: Well-written white papers are the most influential
Fifty-one percent of respondents felt that high-quality writing is either very or extremely influential. Add those who felt well-written collateral was “moderately” influential, and that number increased to 86 percent. And even though respondents of all kinds said they preferred to have collateral—particularly white papers—written by a third-party, good writing from a vendor trumped mediocre writing from an objective source.

4. How to increase the influence of a white paper
When asked to rank which factors would most likely increase the influence of a white paper, respondendents most frequently responded that providing detailed technical information would increase influence, closely followed by real-life use cases and new industry developments. Likewise, we asked respondents to rank those factors that would decrease the influence of white papers. Respondents most frequently indicated that poorly presented information would decrease a white paper’s influence, closely followed by too much focus on a product or vendor, and no inclusion of real-life case studies. These latter two points bolster Eccolo’s own belief about best practices in white papers: objective discussions are more influential than content that promotes particular products or services.

To download a complete version of the study, please visit the Eccolo Media website at the following link: http://ow.ly/qKjz

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009 at 1:45 pm and is filed under Industry Insights, WP Marketing, WP Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.