The New Pitch

Once thought of as lengthy, heavily footnoted, text-heavy treatises, white papers have evolved from their predominant use in academia and government to become a mainstay of business marketing. The term white paper is an offshoot of the term white book, which is an official publication of a national government. A white paper typically argues a specific position or solution to a problem. Today’s business white papers share some of the well-researched and objective characteristics of the prototypical white paper. But they are usually shorter, more graphical and easier to read. Often, they are “sponsored” or written by a company with a product to sell. These businesses create white papers to provide an easily readable “deep dive” exploration of a topic in which they have expertise.

Sponsoring companies have come to realize that at certain points in the sales cycle it is better to educate than sell. In the process they get credit for thought leadership and expertise that the competition, which is too busy selling, doesn’t always garner. The best business white papers today evoke the old aphorism “Don’t sell me, tell me.” Or as New York clothing magnate Sy Syms used to advertise: “An educated consumer is our best customer.”

White Papers Are in Demand

Studies show that business prospects respond to white papers. A 2005 study of 1,400 technology buyers jointly conducted by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council and tech marketer KnowledgeStorm ranked vendor white papers as the most frequently considered form of content (58%) in making a purchase decision. These vendor white papers outranked product literature (52%), websites (33%), industry trade articles (33%) and case studies (30%), among other alternatives.

White papers are especially useful marketing tools in markets where the products are somewhat complex and the sales cycles are long. So B2B markets, such as technology, financial services, medical equipment and others, are most ripe for the use of white papers. For example, according to KnowledgeStorm, four out of ten companies that end up buying technology products start their research nearly a year before purchasing. When they start this research, they rarely have established budgets, decision time frames or purchasing authority. Along the way, they often rely on vendors for education.

Is There a White Paper Formula?

There is no prototypical format for a business white paper, but most are anywhere from 8 to 14 double-spaced pages, contain several charts, diagrams and illustrations, give the key findings and summary up front, and are as easy to scan as they are to read.

But more important than the physical structure is the content approach. Because they employ a longer format, white papers have the luxury of being more detailed and elaborative — unlike an ad, product brochure or sales flyer. Simply put, white papers can dig deeper into a topic than almost any other form of business marketing. The challenge for the company is to keep the material as balanced and objective as possible. Readers understand that a sponsored paper may detail a set of arguments that lead to a company’s products or services being shown in a favorable light. For the reader, that’s OK as long as the journey to that conclusion is logical, informative and well researched. Readers won’t tolerate a 14-page sales pitch, however.

The more focused the white paper, the easier it is to target an audience. For example, a white paper entitled What Every Hospital Administrator Should Know About Nursing Workstations has a much better chance of being read by the target audience than The ABCs of Nursing Workstations.

How to Use White Papers in Your Marketing Mix

For most small businesses, there are three primary ways to use white papers:

-Lead generation
-Lead nurturing
-Leave-behinds

Lead generation is perhaps the most common use for white papers. In this scenario, an informative white paper is usually offered as an incentive (via advertisement, website or e-mail) in exchange for some information or commitment from a prospect. Increasingly, white papers are used to build prospect databases and collect contact information. To download a white paper, many companies require prospects to complete a registration form first, supplying name, e-mail, job title, etc. In this regard, white papers are extremely useful. Experience shows that website visitors will respond to white paper offers and readily submit contact information if they feel there is value in exchange. Note that for Web-based campaigns, about 20% more prospects will provide their e-mail addresses than will provide phone numbers.