Technical and b-to-b marketers usually include white papers in their marketing mix. Now, there’s even more evidence that they are indeed valuable in influencing the buying decision. Eccolo Media, a content strategy services company did an online survey of 155 technology buyers last August. A whopping 86% of respondents found white papers to be the most effective piece of marketing collateral.
Lorie Loe, president of Eccolo Media said, “They are definitely the best investment you can make in terms of your collateral budget.”
The same survey asked the respondents to rank various marketing collateral based on the how they influenced the buying decision. White papers were ranked number one as being the most influential. Brochures and case studies were number two and three respectively. Even though product brochures and data sheets were the most frequently used collateral type, they were ranked as being the least influential.
One surprising find of the study was that the majority of respondents preferred to read their content right on the screen rather than printing it out. I thought most people would prefer to read a 10-12 page white paper in a hard copy format rather than straining their eyes reading it on their computer monitors.
You can download “The Eccolo Media 2008 B2B Technology Collateral Survey” from their website.
Let’s chat to determine if this will be a good fit for both of us. It will be a friendly conversation to get to know each other better, not a high-pressure sales pitch.
Atul Dhakappa says:
Interesting to note that people nowadays prefer the digital copy to the physical copy. We are indeed moving towards a more greener planet. Also white papers are getting more graphical in nature, so making readability that much more easier. We have also had huge demand for creation and propagation of white papers for B2B technology companies. you can find more on my blog http://blog.xenia-consulting.com
Jake says:
We have been wondering if white papers would be a good tool in marketing log homes to consumers. Until now we always resorted to print advertising and never put much time to really develop a suitable white paper. Maybe on times like this would be exactly the method to cultivate sales leads for coming years of growth.