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”.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 22nd, 2008 at 9:43 am and is filed under Industry Insights. 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.