Manufacturers Find More Customers with White Papers

Ask a handful of people what they think is in a white paper and you'll get almost as many different answers. Probably the most misleading thing about white papers is that because they're a marketing tool, companies believe they should promote the business' product or service. Yes, it's a marketing tool. No, it shouldn't be all about the business. The focus should be on the customer with the problem that you can solve.

Author of Writing White Papers, Michael A. Stelzner defines a white paper as "a crossbreed of a magazine article and a brochure. It takes the objective and educational approach of an article and weaves in persuasive corporate messages typically found in brochures."

Why White Papers Work

Manufacturing is a complex business. Customers pay a lot once they decide to do business with manufacturing companies, so it takes time and information to go through the sales cycle before making the sale. Since white papers work well in technology, it's likely to succeed in manufacturing. They're both big, pricey, complicated and technical. Over 70% of technology buyers reported reading white papers according to a MarketingSherpa and KnowledgeStorm study from 2007. Not only that, but also 50% of them share the paper with others.

Furthermore, convert a white paper to electronic format and you increase your chances of people sharing the document and perhaps, go viral. Buyers researching a product or service prefer to do their research online. They also say about a quarter of the information they obtain comes straight from the vendor.

Basics of a White Paper

To explain what goes in a white paper to compel people to connect with your manufacturing company to start the sales cycle would take almost as long as a white paper. A white paper best explains technical solutions and helping the company establish itself as an expert on the topic. The following items are key in creating a white paper:

• Around 6 to 12 pages (some fewer and some more).
• First part identifies the problem from the customer's perspective.
• Second part provides a generic solution to the problem and benefits. NOT your company's solution.
• Third part discusses the company's specific solution without any marketing language.
• Fourth part contains a call to action to contact the company, visit the web site or sign up for an email newsletter to keep the connection and move further into the sales cycle.

To ensure you provide value with the white paper, think of a customer you helped and use that to guide you in writing the white paper. Identify the problem they had and explain how a generic solution helped. Then go into details how your product or service did the job. No marketing language. No promotional talk. No sales-speak.