Business prospects can be at different stages in the buying process, from relative unawareness to being ready to make a purchase. The unaware group are company leaders who believe they have a problem and are seeking a solution. They don’t know what that solution is, let alone that your company offers the solution. So they start searching and find your company might offer a plausible solution.
At the other end of the scale, there are those who already know what solutions are available and are trying to find the one with the most advantages or the best price.
And then there are those in between…
| These groups of buyers can be arranged into a funnel, with the general solution seekers, making up the majority, at the top. Those ready to buy at the bottom, and some in the middle. For each group there is a type of white paper that fits the stage in the buyer’s journey towards making a decision. There’s the backgrounder, the numbered list, and the problem/solution. |  |
The Backgrounder This is for prospects ready to implement the solution, in other words, make a purchase. This type of white paper is mainly about the product and its features/benefits. This is in effect, a detailed sales sheet for the product or solution.
After a description of the problem and consequences of inaction, the following pages are all about the product or solution, describing the features and benefits and pricing.
The call to action is basically for the individual to contact your company’s sales department.
The Numbered List This type of white paper is for prospects who already know about your company and its solutions, but needs to know the problem/solution in some detail.
The paper is organized as a numbered list of items. These items could be benefits of what solutions provided by your company. They could be a list of problems and how your company tackles them. They could be a list of mistakes made in implementing the solution. As with all white papers, the call to action is to contact your company’s sales department.
The Problem/Solution This is the most common form of white paper as defined in the home page. This is directed at potential customers looking for a solution to a problem and are not aware of \what your company provides. It starts with the executive summary, which describes what the reader will learn from reading the paper. It then goes into details about the problem and its significance to the client’s business and consequences of inaction.
It then, in typical white paper fashion, describes the solution in the most generic terms. This positions your company as a thought leader in the industry. It also creates a current of implicit persuasion by explaining the science behind the solution.
No mention of the actual product is made until the last page or two, with the call to action being for the reader to contact your company’s sales department.