What Are White Papers?

White papers discuss a specific business issue, product, or competitive situation.

In many cases, they summarize information about a topic, for example the results of a survey or study and then suggest a ‘proposal for action’, with the research data providing the justification for the action.

In the IT industry, white paper is often produced in tandem with case studies, as they are both ultimately used as sales collateral. White papers, it's important to note, are not technical documents.

Purpose of White Papers

From one perspective, their purpose is to share technical knowledge and business information with others in the same field; for example, CIOs who are interested in how web services can be used with Ecommerce applications.

They are also used as collateral material for presentations at industry conferences, promotional drives, seminars and other such events.

From a business viewpoint, a white paper is used to generate publicity, especially when a company is starting out and trying to get media attention.

If a company is working on an innovative area or solutions for a specialized audience, these white papers can be very effective in demonstrating the company’s achievements.

It is worth noting that the main difference between an IT white paper and, for example, an academic research paper is that the IT company’s writing will tend to be more guarded—so that competitors don't learn too much and steal their ideas.

The writing style of white papers tends to be formal, direct, and business-like.

However, they tend to avoid ‘marketese’—that unique brand of marketing writing that makes outrageous product statements and comes with over-the-top claims to greatness.

Supporting Sales & Marketing

White papers are also used to support the sales strategy, in particular, when introducing a new product. It also provides valuable collateral material for the Sales and Marketing team when they are meeting clients. It is something they can leave with the client who can refer to it at their own leisure.

Sales focused white papers tend to include:

1. Market analysis: this will discuss potential buyers; the most important business drivers; typical customers broken out by demographics, regions, sectors etc; and abstracts from leading market research companies that support the solution in the white paper.

2. Implementations of the product/solution supported by quotes from the client. This section details the client’s business objectives, technical obstacles, the solution that was implemented and how it benefited the company.

3. Product analysis: this includes tables, charts, and graphs about the solution. All the technical specifications are distilled down to a few pages in an easy-to-read format.

4. USP: details of the Unique Selling Points supported with persuasive arguments that differentiate it from the competition.

PS

Use your white papers as tools in your marketing arsenal and influence those in the decision-making process.