 WebProWorld Marketing Forum |
12 Sure Ways to Get More Customers
Whenever you start a new business you ask yourself one of the most important question "How can I get customers?" Or if you have some customers already you say it like this "How can I get more customers?" .
Internet marketing strategies - new site
I've finally finished my new site covering all areas of internet marketing. I'm hoping to get some feedback on what people think.
outlook add-ins for mailing newsletters
I wamt to start creating newsletters now that I have a large customer list but I would like to us outlook to send all the emails. Is there a cheap or even free add-in that works great for creating newsletters.
|
 |
| Recent Articles |
Upholding PR Standards Starts With the Small Things
Will you join with me and other PR bloggers in a grassroots blogging campaign to help raise the perception of the public relations industry ...
Bill Gates Touts Interoperability, XML
In an executive email appearing on Microsoft's site, Bill Gates talked about his vision for future software interaction...
A Peek at Disney's Blog and RSS Plans
Elisabeth Freeman, Eric Freeman and Mike Pusateri from the Walt Disney Company will be giving ...
Ask Jeeves Starts Blogging
The Ask Jeeves search engine has started a corporate style blog. It appears to be aimed at Ask Jeeves employees, customers and search industry insiders.
Good Model For a Leadership Blog
The GM FastLane Blog is attracting quite a lot of commentary and opinion, with varying views being expressed on how effective it is as a means of engaging with GM's customers.
Marketing Conference Mashup
You'd think they'd realize their target audiences can't be in 3 places at the same time, haha, event planners...
Making Tablet PC Evangelism Wholly Transparent
Having bloggers evangelize Microsoft's Tablet PC is what Steve Rubel suggests as an answer to Robert Scoble's vexation on the seeming invisibilty of the Tablet PC ...
The Rise of Business Blogging
The following is an article that I wrote on business blogging for the February issue of The Advertiser ...
GM Executive Blog and the Role of PR
General Motors' Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz, is not the only one blogging The FastLane Blog, GM's executive blog.
|
| |
02.09.05
How Can A White Paper Support Sales And Marketing?
 By Christine Taylor
A white paper supports PR, marketing and sales because it works for all levels of decision makers. Engineers and executives may not be too impressed by brochures, but they are impressed by well-written white papers. (The same thing goes for trade journal articles more about that in a subsequent piece.)
Good white papers sell products because they pack a lot of useful information into a clear and readable structure. Warning -- dont take any old brochure or product brief, print it on 8-1/2x11" paper and call it a white paper. Decision-makers hate that, dont let this be you! Good marketing white papers contain both technical and marketing sections in a balanced format, and then throw in some other great stuff. A good white paper may start with an executive summary my general rule is a 5+ page paper needs one but it will follow the same structure as below, abbreviated to one page.
White papers should include:
1) Throw down the challenge glove. Describe the pain the prospect is experiencing. (That you can help with, anyway!) Describe the problem from their standpoint, and be sure you know what that problem is.
 2) Talk about how your technology will solve their problem. Bore in on the technology behind the product and how it will make their lives easier. Be sure to include some technical detail for the engineers and technology journalists who are sure to read it. (And who are sure to be annoyed if it lacks detail.) Many marketing white papers fail because they dont include technical sections, usually due to one of two reasons:
Extreme paranoia regarding proprietary knowledge. Shoot, no one is asking you to include the blueprints. But if you wont tell your customers what youre selling because youre afraid your competitors will find out, I suggest that you are not ready for the marketplace.
Uncertain writer. If the writer doesnt know the background technology, they cant write about it. Find an experienced technology writer and give them the information they need. (If necessary, professionals will understand the need for signing an NDA. Just dont try to get them to dump their other clients.)
3) Get specific on product benefits. This section combines with the technology section and includes ways that the product meets the challenge. You can also use this section to contrast your approach with other technologies, especially if your product is innovative. We all know the sad fate of disruptive technologies, but readers do want to know what your product does differently, how it does it, and why it does it better.
4) Push a positive return on investment. ROI has always been a big deal, and with reason. If you have great hard cost numbers, terrific dont hesitate to use them. Longer white papers have room for graphs and charts, but even shorter ones can refer to positive ROI. Newer ROI analysis methods factor in soft costs employee time, improved infrastructure, etc. so dont hesitate to talk about those too.
5) Add some case studies. Actual case studies with actual customers are ideal, but if you cant mention customer names (common in the financial world), its fine to speak more generally. A Fortune 100 finance company recently deployed
| Get real-time visibility and control of Microsoft web application service levels with the VIEO management appliance
-> more info |
|
6) Conclude with how great your product is and contact information. Heres where you can use the marketing mottoes, just keep it to 1-2 paragraphs. And include your contact information!
Well-written white papers have lots of good uses. Heres a run-down:
Sell a product its ultimate purpose, of course
Differentiate product from competitors
Place company in leadership role
Promote bylined author as a subject matter expert. (Which they should be, even if a professional writer actually wrote the thing.)
Help journalists research their stories (note: journalists are not helped by sales brochures)
Theres a lot that goes into creating a useful white paper. For your next project, consider hiring an experienced writer to create a marketing white paper that just keeps on selling. Talk about good ROI!
About the Author:
Call Christine Taylor today at 760-249-6071 or e-mail her at chris@keywordcopy.com, and start that white paper selling! Christine Taylor Keyword Writing P.O. Box 3499 Wrightwood, CA 92397 at chris@keywordcopy.com |
|
