My clients have been asking for white paper writing quite frequently over the past few years. I don’t know if that’s a general trend, a function of my expertise and focus, or some perfect storm related to my Google page rank and key words (aside: I need to do some testing/SEO autopsy). In any event, I’m seeing a trend. In many cases white papers have become the new brochure. I think it’s a welcome development, and I’ll tell you why.
The modern white paper – technical or otherwise – has attributes of many different types of collateral pieces. On one level, it’s a education piece. On another, it’s a brochure of sorts. And, white papers often resemble case studies, with clear development from problem/challenge/issues to solution/presentation. All these attributes are welcome, IMHO.
Education is always great. People need information presented clearly in order to make good decisions. The case study angle in particular is very interesting. First, it forces the writer and the client/company to view their solution from the eyes of the user/customer. White paper format makes the writer think about the issues and hurdles close to the user first and then transition into the solution. Oftentimes, market forces and technology trends are used in white papers, as well. Same benefit – it forces the writer to view the problem on a larger scale. Only when macro, micro and user viewpoints are considered can a true solution be presented. White papers allow you to do this.
An old-fashioned brochure, on the other hand, is the antithesis of a white paper. I should clarify that… a typical, average, traditional brochure that presents the company and it’s products is the antithesis. These old-style brochures usually “led with their chin”.. meaning they presented a “hey look at us and our product” position before ever considering the needs and challenges of the customer/user. This kind of leave-behind, corporate overview brochure is a dying breed.
A friend of mine just had one of these old-style positioning brochures produced for his company, even though I advised against it. It was a waste of time, a waste of resources and a waste of a graphic designer for layout. It started with “this is who we are” (as if anyone cares).. then “this is what we do” (even though no need or urgency was developed first).. then “we’ve been in business for XX years” (another ‘who cares’ unless it can be linked to specific customer successes).. then the brochure offered no call to action, no “what to do next” and no lead-gen potential whatsoever. It was a money hole.
The friend thought he needed it to provide “legitimacy” as a leave behind, even though he admitted that it’s the kind of piece that gets glanced at and tossed. He thought it might help his image and brand. Urk. Branding without promotion, offers and call to action is for Coca Cola or Pfizer.. it’s not for small businesses with no national advertising budget. Heck even Coke and Pfizer have offers and promotions these days. It’s rare that even the big guys shout out an egotistical “hey look ut at us.”
So.. to answer my title question, yes I think the white paper is a new form of brochure. Web sites generally function as the company brochure nowadays, however the white paper acts as an extension of the web site. It gets people to act and engage, like the leave-behind brochure used to. In the old scenario, the salesman came to the office and offered the pitch then left the brochure behind as a reminder/in-depth business card.
In the new web scene, the site is the cold call, the white paper is the voluntary demo, and the email capture is the relationship builder/reminder. You can mix up the order, but I think these are the key phases. For example, you can offer a white paper after you’ve captured an email or phone number. Or, you can produce a white paper that’s so strong it gets high rankings on Google and generates its own leads via a call to action on the final page. In any event, the white paper is the key value proposition builder and demo. It’s got lots of flexibility, too. You can go deep into challenges and issues while doing a really soft sell on your presentation (or even a no sell). On the other hand, you can go really deep into solution discussions and product features on the back-end of the white paper if it’s appropriate. There are lots of ways to slice and dice it.
What are your thoughts? Is the white paper the new brochure? Is it the new pre-sales-call? Can you close business with white papers? Please comment – your views are appreciated.
