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White Papers
A white paper is more than just a long brochure; it is a detailed, informative and objective collection of the information necessary to make a buying decision. While it should have a hint of marketing flair, it needs to contain mostly hard data that is easily accessible for the lay-person, but thorough enough for decision making.
A good white paper will help your sales force convey value at each point of the sales process, and ultimately close more deals.
There are several approaches to writing a white paper, but there is no need to limit yourself to just one. The important part is that the approach or combination of approaches answers as many potential client questions as possible without sounding too condescending. Another important aspect is objectivity; be sure to sound unbiased, and include third-party sources if available.
Assigning the task of writing a white paper should be carefully considered. A big mistake is to assign the task to the engineers responsible for the product. While they certainly know more about the product than anyone else does, they are too close to it to understand which information to convey. They may assume that the target audience is very familiar with the terminology and background, and write “over their heads,” or they may explain with too much detail and appear condescending. Assigning the project to the marketing department could lead to and abundance of fluff and no more information than the sales force already has memorized. It goes against the very nature of the marketing department to write an “unbiased” review.
The best white paper writers come from outside of the organization, with a logical/technical mindset and the communication skill necessary to address the right audience. The writer’s ability to learn about your product is much more important than the writer’s past experience in the industry. Another key skill is the ability to interview various stakeholders to get a well-rounded perspective of the product. |
