{"id":664,"date":"2014-06-09T17:38:10","date_gmt":"2014-06-09T17:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/?p=664"},"modified":"2021-02-01T12:01:51","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T17:01:51","slug":"frame-your-white-paper-around-a-nasty-problem-part-1-of-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thatwhitepaperguy.com\/frame-your-white-paper-around-a-nasty-problem-part-1-of-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Frame your white paper around a nasty problem (part 1 of 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In your next white paper, why not go back to square one?<\/h2>\n

Why not start by describing the problem your offering was designed to solve?<\/h3>\n

“It’s often effective to start by describing a predicament experienced by your target market,” agrees Marcia Yudkin in a recent edition of her\u00a0Marketing Minute newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n

“This creates rapport and sets up the value in your way of solving the problem.”<\/p>\n

In many companies, this problem “goes without saying…” because everyone is\u00a0 familiar with the oft-repeated pain points of their prospects. SO they tend to skip quickly over those to get to talking about their product.<\/p>\n

But if your document simply describes your offering in glowing terms, it’s not a white paper. It’s a brochure or an advertisement or a product brief.<\/p>\n

A problem\/solution white paper is different.<\/p>\n

A compelling white paper provides useful, educational content that helps a prospective buyer understand an issue, solve a problem or make a decision.<\/p>\n

\"Stuck<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Many white paper experts and I all agree: It helps to frame your white paper around a nagging industry problem.<\/p>\n

This approach accomplishes several things.<\/p>\n

Gets people’s attention:<\/strong> Bad news travels fast, as we all know. Remember when Apollo 13 called Mission Control?<\/p>\n

Builds credibility:<\/strong>\u00a0Starting with an acknowledged problem shows your prospects that you understand their industry.<\/p>\n

Proceeds in logical order:<\/strong>\u00a0There can’t be any “solution” without a problem. This approach presents material in logical sequence: problem, then solution.<\/p>\n

And it provides a logical framework for the educational content that you are going to provide, including some business or technical background, and a context for locating your solution in a certain market space.<\/p>\n

Slows down the sales pitch: <\/strong>Many marketing and sales personnel feel an irresistible temptation to jump into their offering on the very first page of a white paper.<\/p>\n

But survey after survey shows that anyone who downloads a white paper doesn’t want a sales pitch.<\/p>\n

Framing your white paper around a problem\u2014not your offering\u2014slows down any tendency to make a sales pitch.<\/p>\n

Are you convinced by now that this is the right way to go?<\/p>\n

Then here are some tips on how to frame a white paper around a problem.<\/p>\n

Step 1. Choose a big, acknowledged problem<\/h3>\n

This should be industry-wide, perennial, costly and tough to solve. It should cause your prospects a lot of pain and keep them awake at night. It should be a problem so bad that if they don’t solve it, it can threaten the company’s survival.<\/p>\n

And of course, it must be a problem that your company can solve, ideally, in a very innovative or effective way.<\/p>\n

For example, here are some problems I’ve written about recently:<\/p>\n