When IT buyers begin their buying process, the first thing they do is go to the Internet for information. You want to be where you can be found with information that IT buyers are interested in. Since white papers are among the most popular pieces of content for IT buyers, you’ll want to create a lot of them.
But coming up with new ideas for white papers can be a daunting task.
Here are 14 types of white papers I’ve worked on for clients over the years. Hopefully, these will spark some new ideas you can use in your organization:
1. Thought leadership. Vendors typically write these white papers to describe a business problem, explain why available solutions don’t adequately address the problem, and educate IT buyers on new solutions that are becoming available. These white papers should not actually discuss the vendors’ product, but they should point to its capabilities as they describe the ideal solution.
2. Original research. IT buyers are always interested in original research. Some topics I’ve seen covered include:
· Problems customers are facing in the market, how much they’re costing companies, and why they aren’t being solved today. For example, one client commissioned a study from an analyst that looked at regulatory compliance, asking questions about the number of companies that were sanctioned due to lack of compliance, the average costs of these sanctions, and what operational issues were keeping the companies from improving their compliance.
· Adoption of best practices. Another client came up with a set of best practices in its area of expertise and then did a survey on how many companies were following those practices. Not only did they use the results to create a white paper, they also published the study in a prestigious trade publication.
3. 5, 7, 10 (name the number) step programs. Another client did a paper discussing 10 steps its customers could take to get ready to comply with new regulations in its market. The same company commissioned a white paper on 10 steps to setting up an email retention program.
4. Best practices. As the name implies, best practices white papers describe the best ways to accomplish an objective. These papers are often based on a company’s professional services organization’s experiences implementing the solution to solve a particular problem. For example, one best practices white paper I wrote was on “Archiving Best Practices.”
5. How to buy. Tips on what to look for in a product—which point indirectly to your products.
6. Industry specific. Often IT buyers have difficulty understanding how a horizontal product will apply to their particular industry. Industry-specific papers connect the dots for them, talking about challenges that their industry faces that the vendor’s product solves, and how they can use it to do so.
7. Role specific. In many organizations, people in many roles serve as decision makers and influencers when it comes to the purchase of an IT solution. You’re more likely to convince these people of the need for your product if you can connect the dots for them, explaining how the product can benefit them in their role in the organization. For example, one company wrote different papers about the same product targeting CIOs, finance directors, distribution managers, and property managers.
8. Product specific. Once customers are further along in the sales cycle, they’ll want more specific information about the product, its features, and how it works. A product-specific white paper will accomplish this objective.
9. Case study-based. Many white papers will briefly describe a particular set of challenges in the market, and then present a series of three to five brief case studies showing how different customers have addressed those issues using the vendor’s product. These papers act as proof points, demonstrating that, indeed, customers are achieving real benefits with the product in a specified area.
10. Answering common customer questions. Sometimes, customers will start hearing about a new buzzword and will want to know whether and how the vendor addresses that issue. For example, a few years ago when RFID and Sarbanes Oxley were on everyone’s minds, customers kept asking the sales representatives at one client how their product supported those topics. As a result, the company created a white paper on both of those topics
11. Implementing a hot button technology, service model, process etc. Often a technology vendor will implement the latest hot technology into their product. They may want to do a thought-leadership paper strictly on that technology to educate readers on its advantages. Topics that I’ve worked on include Web 2.0, SOA, lean manufacturing, and virtualization.
12. Partner solutions. Often vendors will work with vendors of complementary IT solutions. They may write a white paper describing the joint solution and the unique benefits afforded by the solution as a whole.
13. Industry trends. This is a type of thought-leadership paper that goes beyond a particular problem and looks at trends facing the industry and solutions on the horizon that will address them. You might use a paper like this to publicize not a particular product, but a product roadmap and to justify your business direction.
14. How to. If you want to keep customers engaged, you might want to publish white papers written by your professional services/consulting staff or technical support teams on how to solve a particular problem using your product or how to address a common problem that people encounter.
These are just a few ideas to get you started.
Please share any other types of white papers you’ve created that might be helpful to our readers.
this is a great article - thanks
Posted by: Robert Jones | January 26, 2010 at 10:24 AM
Thanks for your comment. I'm glad you found it helpful.
Posted by: Cheryl Goldberg | January 26, 2010 at 10:36 AM