Synergy shifting

In the last blog, we noted that the conclusion in a recent survey on B2B purchasing preferences rated White papers as the most influential sources of information, and their content features highly in the early stages of the buying process. 

Presenting sales information to a technical market has always been a subject of hot debate and compromise, usually resulting in a plethora of glossy brochures, data sheets, specifications and catalogues all saying more or less the same thing in different ways, backed up by White Papers, sales scripts, PowerPoints and all manner of peripheral marketing materials. 

In the current atmosphere of belt tightening, it is interesting to see a nascent trend appearing which moves the compromise balance of sales information into condensed print material. One of our recent projects involved marketing a highly technical and specific range of Ethernet devices. The core influencers in the purchasing cycle were identified as technical consultants - not end users or fund holders - and their decision making process was predicated on concise information, simply put. The client’s marketing budget had been slashed - no more separate glossy catalogues, price lists, data sheets etc. More would be squeezed out of the website to provide those searchable details. But there was still a need for a publication that could be supplied to dealers for onward distribution to specifiers for retained reference purposes. 

The result was a ‘briefing booklet’. It developed as a technical white paper with an overview of current system design techniques, a few appropriate case studies, and concise technical specifications of key elements of the system from the company’s broad range. Publishing such a document helps confirm authority and thought/knowledge leadership that regular sales blurb doesn't achieve.