How Good Companies Use White Papers To Succeed In A Bad Economy

By Author: Steve Hoffman
Total Articles: 2
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In weak economies, smart companies adopt marketing strategies that offer fast results and provide the most bang for the buck. One such strategy is developing and leveraging white papers.

Headlines are grim, and the U.S. is mired in a recession. Time to hunker down, take your marketing dollars, and stuff them in a shoebox under the bed, right? Wrong.
According to a recent article in the Hartford Courant, manufacturers and marketers are scrambling to do whatever they can to retain brand loyalty, even as they face pressure to cut costs. Time and again, successful companies have leveraged bad times to their advantage. Smart companies kick the economy when it's down by using innovative marketing tools and strategies that keep brand awareness alive even when sales are suffering and competitors are bailing out.
White Papers to the Rescue
One of the most successful techniques to keep your product or service top-of-mind is a white paper. Unlike advertising, which tells customers why your product or service is best, white papers establish thought leadership and provide your customers with knowledge that helps ...
... them improve their own business - and make their own decisions. In this way, white papers accomplish more than simply promoting your business - they actually add value for your customer. For example, in a recession, your customers want to minimize risk. Providing potential customers useful information in a white paper helps them make better decisions and reduce their own level of risk.
Get Results Now
Use white papers to boost sales. Offering white papers as an online incentive can significantly boost lead generation. According to a 2007 KnowledgeStorm/MarketingSherpa survey, 80 percent of users (the highest ranking) were willing to register online for a white paper.
A recession increases the urgency of marketing success. While market research studies and market assessments are process-oriented, white paper development is results-oriented. The end product is tangible and directly supports your marketing goals. Take action and create something real, like a white paper, rather than simply studying the problem. White papers can be written quickly (usually in a month's timeframe), require little or no layout or document design, and can be distributed quickly.
Another way to get results is by reaching out to your target audience using a white paper. In a recession, you can't afford to have your target market ignore you. Write a paper that addresses the concerns of your customers and speaks their language.
Get these results at a low cost. Marketing budgets are tight in a recession. Spend your marketing dollars wisely—invest in a cost-effective white paper. Exhibiting at conferences, designing fancy brochures, placing high-profile ads, or sponsoring events is expensive. White paper development is less costly, yet the paper produced can reach a larger audience and can be distributed in many venues.
Get More Bang for Your Buck
The need to leverage the most value from your marketing dollars increases in a recession. A white paper is a multi-purpose marketing tool. You can post it on your Web site, use it as an enticement to build registration-based prospect lists, post it on white paper library web sites, send it as an attachment in an email in response to a prospect inquiry, hand it out at conferences, etc.
In the cost-cutting environment of a recession, tactics that serve multiple purposes win out. Use a white paper to inform more than just potential customers. White papers can also inform employees, (e.g., sales forces), potential employees, contractors, regulatory personnel, the media, analysts, and partners, including resellers, recruiters, suppliers, and investors.

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