White papers help speed up the process of building trust between businesses and prospects.
Every day, you create value by selling the products and services your customers need and want. You could say you’re a problem solver. As such, the more people that know how your business can help them, the better. Start building credibility with white papers. In general, a white paper explains how a business helped solve another business’s problem. Add these documents to your marketing mix. You’ll get more exposure and earn trustworthiness, which could lead to increased sales.
White Papers Help Clarify What Your Business Offers
Studies show that most people value their time when they search for vendors. They need to know what your business offers after a few seconds of visiting your website. Otherwise, they’ll move on to the competition. Use white papers as tools to educate prospects. Show them what projects your business has completed and what it continues to do for its customers.
Proves Your Company’s Customization Skills
White papers show real-life examples of how a business fixed a unique problem for a customer. They highlight the ability to adapt and tailor solutions. Prospects admire businesses that are flexible and experienced in handling problems.
Helps to Build Confident Customer Relationships
Credibility fosters consumer confidence. White papers are low-key sales tools designed to build the kind of integrity that businesses earn from their customers. Instead of a hard sales pitch, the white paper’s soft lead takes the prospect on a journey to learn more. For example, you could link the white paper to a video version to illustrate how you solved the problem. Another idea is to add a link to a video or photo of a customer where the customer gives an update on the results spoken of in the white paper. A link to a demo of how a product works is a good soft call-to-action (CTA) too.
Tips on Creating Effective White Papers
1. Determine the purpose for your white paper. Decide where you want the reader to go afterwards. Remember the white paper is a trust-building tool. Take prospects on a path to get to know your business. It will encourage them to make a wise purchasing decision to buy your products and services.
2. Introduce the white paper. Be brief. Write a line or two about a problem a customer faced and then give an overview of the solution your business provided. Keep in mind time is a factor for your audience. The short summary should help your readers determine if it’s something they want to continue to read.
3. In the body of the white paper, give some background about the problem. If you want, state something the customer had tried that didn’t work before they asked you for help. Finally, give more details about your implemented solution that solved the customer’s problem.
4. Wrap up the white paper with a recap to ensure that the reader understood the purpose of the document. Add a soft CTA to guide the reader to the next step according to your plan.
The Common (and Unfortunate) Life of a Startup’s Website and When Things Go Bad
Phase 1: You’ve designed your website using flat HTML/CSS or XHTML/CSS code. It’s fine to have your web developers take care of limited website content only in this very early stage.
Phase 2: Your business grows. You hire one or more marketers and you teach them “the developers way” to update your website.
Phase 3: Marketing complains because it is unable to update the website. They request a simpler method and CMS software. No one listens.
Phase 4: As your company matures, the marketing team becomes more frustrated. Departmental productivity slows down, but no one wants to point the blame.
Bonus Tip: Diversify Your White Papers
Start with creating a case study-based white paper. Later, consider adding reports about some popular industry topics for your audience. Variety keeps prospects and existing customers interested in learning more about your business.
People must notice your website before your white papers can work their credibility magic. Before you craft them, let MAXBURST’s marketing team help your website improve its search ranking. We use a comprehensive SEO strategy that involves market research, link-building, keyword analysis and more! Call 888-MAXWEB (888-962-9932) or fill out our efficient online Request A Quote Form to get the process started today.
