Let’s face facts. When it comes to marketing, most business executives are skeptics, especially when someone promises that all of their problems will go away if they only purchase the prescribed product or solution.

White papers are one of the tools that marketers have deployed to help alleviate this type of “solution skepticism,” and the integration of case studies can bolster overall white paper credibility and further reduce this skepticism.

While there are many opinions on the subject, I believe that a case study is a real-life view of a business solution in action. Case studies are either one or two pages that provide the reader with a look at the details behind an actual business problem and how that solution solved the problem. It will also quantify the specific advantages that the business gained in the process of deploying the solution.

Marketers typically think of case studies as stand-alone documents and in doing so, they miss a great opportunity to leverage them in building the credibility of their white papers. The integration of a case study transforms a white paper from being a purely theoretical document (how the solution is supposed to work), to a “proof-of-concept” with actual, beneficial results.

Picking a case study that closely matches the primary benefactor of the solution is an essential component to building reader credibility in an integrated white paper. For example, if your white paper emphasizes an enterprise network security solution, don’t pick a small- or medium-sized business. Choose a case study that shows how the solution solved an enterprise-specific network security problem.

Using an actual customer name is the best approach for a case study, but some clients may view your solution as a competitive advantage and as a result, may be reluctant to disclose their name. In these instances, you can use a more “generalized” example.

For example, instead of Northwest Mutual Life Insurance, you can say “A large insurance company in the Midwest….” While the name is generic, the specific details of the business challenge and the solution benefits remain the same. Remember, the primary goal is getting the “head nod” from readers so they can relate to the case study example and understand how the broader benefits described in the solution portion of the white paper might apply to their business.

The case study should also be placed immediately after the solution presentation section, so that solution advantage messages are still fresh in the reader’s mind. By quickly transitioning the readers in this fashion, they will be able to leverage what they have learned, and make a more positive connection when they read the case study. This provides the best opportunity for a “call to action,” specifically in getting the reader to register on your website, place a phone call, send an e-mail, etc.

After all, isn’t that the primary reason why you’ve created the white paper in the first place?

About the author: Jonathan Kantor is a 23-year tech industry veteran, and the principal of The White Paper Company, a firm that specializes in the creation of professional business and technical white papers.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 at 6:57 pm and is filed under Writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.