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B2B Marketing Evolution, White Papers Emerge as Winner

By Michael Stelzner

The white paper has pushed brochures and other marketing tools to the side over the last few decades.

My friend Bob Bly wrote an interesting piece for Target Marketing Magazine recently.

He takes a look at B2B marketing over the last 30 years.

One of the key things Bob explains is this: B2B marketing is constantly evolving.

From the article:

The primary sales collateral today is the white paper, not the brochure. While the sales brochure focused on the product and looked and read like sales copy, the white paper focuses on educating prospects about and problem and how to solve it. It looks and reads like a how-to article or tutorial.

Later in the article Bob explained:

I was wrong in 1978 to view B-to-B marketing as static. Rather, it’s dynamic and fast-changing. And for today’s B-to-B marketing professional, just keeping up is a full time job.

Where do you see B2B marketing headed? How has the white paper altered its role in your marketing plans?

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 2:30 pm and is filed under Marketing. 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.

  • In the present recession time when most of the companiers have cut off the expenses on marketing and advertisements, B2B is a very cheap and effective option for online marketing.
  • I agree Michael, the sales brochure not only establishes the brand its a comfort zone for many consumers...Great site and infor,,,
  • When we just observe past 10 years, we easily can see that publishing brochures is not common anymore as it used to be. The philosophy behind B2B marketing is to build a many-to-many network between marketer and customer with concepts such as online exchange, infomediary, I-market, digital marketplace, net hub. Which require cohorence in info and integration of customers and marketers. This is where white papers come into play.
  • This is a great article. One thing I would argue on is the demise of the sales brochure. I agree 100% that the whitepaper educates, solves problems and closes the deal. But the sales brochure establishes the brand, if nothing else. A sales brochure (glossy etc.) is a crucial component to target marketing and establishing your brand. I think of brochures today as a print version of your website. What has changed today from over the years is that fact that a sales brochure doesn't do the selling anymore. It's actually the whitepapers that help close deals.
  • JohnK
    New question: Are white papers only for B2B? Can they be used in Consumer or B2C markting?
  • I think that B2B would change simply because the delivery media is changing. In 1978, the only way you could communicate your product or service to the client in such detail was through physical papers (involving printing and shipping costs) or face-to-face conversations and workshops.

    Now how easy is it? You can email it, podcast it, even post it on your website so that the customer can download it. All for a fraction of the cost. AND you can still print and ship if you like. There is much more flexibility these days.

    I think what it boils down to is that cheaper delivery methods thanks to today's technology is opening up new possibilities, and savvy B2B marketers are continuing to explore and exploit those opportunities.

    ~Graham
  • sarah
    I think that b2b can open some amazing doors. Before you know it you will be able to easily run b2b sales businesses from online. I have been setting up business websites and selecting my domains with a software called nemeas. The program gives me a nice 15% jump in page rank which is great. I look forward to being able to ring more b2b marketing into my repetoire. Thanks for your article.
  • Janet Butler
    Well, I have been following Brausch's Freedom Business System, and I must admit he does not mention White Papers. So I have never done one.
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