11/5/2022 0 Comments White paper![]() ![]() That's because all the sources you need – SMEs, product documentation, etc. Backgrounders are the easiest of all white papers to research. Advantages of the backgrounderĮasy to research. But when it comes to closing a sale or supporting a product launch, a backgrounder can be just the thing. Studies have shown that most business buyers seek out white papers early in the buying process when they aren't yet ready for detailed product information. Personally, as a lead-generation specialist, I had come to view backgrounders as outdated. If customers in your market habitually check to see what you have to offer before making a purchasing decision, a backgrounder can help make sure your offering makes it to their shortlist. Not having a backgrounder available at this stage can lead to being dropped from a buyer's shortlist.īackgrounders can also be used to provide in-depth product information to analysts, journalists, bloggers, channel partners, and your own sales staff in support of a product launch.įinally, if your company is the undisputed leader in your industry-a household name like IBM, Intel, or Microsoft-the backgrounder may be the only type of white paper you need. ![]() Backgrounders provide technical evaluators with the solid information they need to make a recommendation to management. The final stages of the buying process are where a backgrounder really shines. When to use a backgrounderīackgrounders are best used for the following tasks: Only now, they do so as marketing collateral for potential customers rather than as internal documents. ![]() Normally, its purpose is to explain the key features, functions, and benefits of a single product or service, and to do so in greater detail than is generally found in brochures, datasheets, or web copy.Īnd of course, they are still used to explain new, unfamiliar, or misunderstood technologies to technical audiences. Graham likens the backgrounder to vanilla ice cream: plain, straightforward, and reliable. They were used to explain new, unfamiliar, or misunderstood technologies to technical audiences. Backgrounders were originally internal documents rather than marketing collateral. The backgrounder – also called an "evaluator's guide" or "product briefing" – is the oldest type of white paper. Let's look at the typical characteristics of each one, their advantages and disadvantages, and the marketing objectives to which each is best suited. His three main types of white papers are: In reviewing his portfolio and other successful white papers he'd read, Graham found they could all be grouped into three categories or species-he calls them "flavors"-and hybrid combinations of those species. Graham has written more than 300 white papers for companies large and small, including Google, Rackspace, and Oracle. It even made me change my mind about what qualifies as a white paper today. In that book, I found the best discussion I've ever read on different types of white papers and when to use each. The book is White Papers for Dummies by my colleague Gordon Graham (also known as "That White Paper Guy"). I'd like to share with you something very useful I found in it. It helped me establish myself as a white paper expert, and it helped me convince clients to hire me. A few years ago, I read a book that made a huge impact on my writing business. ![]()
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