The power of white papers to maximize B2B lead and demand generation
One critical way to grow your organization is by securing new leads. Some new leads will eventually turn into customers and those customers––if they’re satisfied––could be with you for the long haul.
White papers are the ultimate lead generation tool
But how do you attract new customers to your organization? Educating and providing value is often more effective than a sales, sales, sales approach.
The white paper can be one of the most powerful documents helping your organization offer deep expertise while finding prospects. That’s because the white paper focuses on educating, providing information for free, and offering solutions rather than trying to sell your prospects on something. And for many organization’s it pays off.
What’s the purpose of white papers?
White papers are educational, authoritative, and persuasive documents that thoroughly explore a specific topic or issue.
The main purposes of white papers include:
Educating the audience: white papers offer the chance to educate your audience on a specific issue or topic.
Establishing authority: via an in-depth document on an industry-related topic, your organization can establish that you are an authority on the topic.
Highlighting solutions: by presenting in-depth research on an issue alongside potential avenues for resolve, you offer your audience solutions to their challenges.
Lead generation: usually white papers are offered for free, but to download the document, the reader must enter an email address––making them an ideal document for lead generation.
How white papers promote lead generation
White papers can be a powerful lead and demand generation tool. This is true for a range of reasons.
Audience targeting: white papers are typically a deep dive on a very specific topic. This makes them a very targeted document relevant for a niche audience. Those in the audience are often decision-makers in organizations or professionals in the field who might be interested in your organization.
Solutions-focused: when writing a white paper, you’re offering solutions to your audience's key pain points. The leads you gather, then, will be highly relevant to your service offering.
Trust: given that your organization is establishing itself as an authority on the niche, your audience is more likely to trust your products and services.
Slice and dice: one powerful thing about the long-form nature of white papers is that they can be sliced and diced into many different pieces of content. Think social media posts, blogs, webinars, or ebooks that can be used to further attract leads.
How white papers power the sales funnel
White papers are a critical part of the sales funnel helping your team to find new prospects and eventually close deals.
Top-of-the-funnel: typically white papers are seen as a top-of-the-funnel document that help to gather leads and introduce customers to your product in a very non-salesy way.
Middle-of-the-funnel: white papers can also be useful in the consideration phase of the funnel to offer in-depth content that reinforces trust in your company.
Bottom-of-the-funnel: the deep research and data points within a white paper can help confirm beliefs and trust to play a role at the conversion stages of the buying journey.
Standing out amongst the crowd
In a competitive landscape, in-depth and heavily researched content can help your organization to stand out.
Offering white papers can show that your organization is the go-to expert on your niche topic––something your competitors might lack.
Why white papers should be gated
To ensure your white papers help your organization attract leads, it’s essential to make them gated.
While most organizations give white papers away for free, they ensure that the prospect enters their name and email address to download the document. This means that follow-ups and nurturing can take place with high-quality leads.
It’s helpful to collect the following information when a prospect downloads your white papers:
Name
Email address
Phone number
Organization name
Organization size
Job title
The ultimate lead gen tool
If you’re keen to secure new leads and offer maximum value to your audience, then creating white papers could be your golden ticket.
White papers are one of the most useful documents in the lead generation process helping your organization to target highly-engaged prospects. And the payoff can be big for your organization.
Interested in creating white papers as part of your B2B marketing efforts? At CG Communications, I create in-depth, researched, and well-crafted white papers to help your organization grow. Get in touch today.
