Part I of this blog post analyzed the white paper entitled “Manufacturing Outsourcing: Seven Common Pitfalls to Avoid” , authored by Symphony Consulting and Arena Solutions. It also established an intrinsic connection with product lifecycle management (PLM) software technology as a global sourcing collaboration enabler.
Indeed, several macroeconomic trends seem to be helping the PLM market, starting with the rampant offshoring of facilities and/or expansion of outsourcing and contract manufacturing overseas. There are also escalating mergers and acquisitions (M&As) within multiple business sectors and the inexorable spate of regulatory and compliance mandates within many industries and geographic regions.
This dovetails into the relentless pressure for companies to innovate and bring ever more functional (if not even “ever-cooler”) products, that have ever-shorter lifecycles, ever more quickly get to the market, and thus differentiate, especially in the electronics/high-tech and consumable packaged goods (CPG) sectors. Read the rest of this entry »
A number of TEC blog posts have discussed benefits but also the inevitable caveats of white papers (including all too common vendors’ self-serving marketing fluff and buzzword verbiage), and about their (un)intended audiences. These posts have even caused some heated debates with other blogging sites and experts on white papers, and I am going to stay away from all that here.
My intention here is rather to acknowledge that, as part of my daily routine of doing research on vendors and their strategies and offerings, I’ve read a ton of white papers in the last decade or so. And yes, these have ranged from vendors’ blatant bragging about their capabilities (a la the “Every man thinks his own geese swans” proverb) to some exceptional ones that were quite educational and established someone’s expertise in something.
One latter example would be the white paper entitled “Manufacturing Outsourcing: Seven Common Pitfalls to Avoid” and authored by Symphony Consulting and Arena Solutions. Why? Read the rest of this entry »
No, I’m not about to launch into a Paula Abdul cover (I won’t even dignify that with a link).
Lead generation is a process that uses information to create interest in an enterprise’s products or services. It’s end objective is to generate sales.
Several steps are involved in this marketing process. Before a company begins, it needs to define the market that its product or service caters too, segment that market, and then identify its most profitable areas. Once this is done, the leads generation process begins. The leads generation process involves prospecting, preapproach, approach, and close. As a prospect moves through the leads cycle, information is being created and filtered. Sensibly, a business should use this information to follow up with its customers to see if they were satisfied with the service or product, and then generate leads metrics which will be used to further refine the leads generation and sales process.
The leads generation process gathers a lot of information and involves a lot of tracking, and it should generate dialogue not only between the company and customers, but within the company between sales and marketing in particular. A leads management solution uses different methodologies and practices to govern this information and distribute it to the appropriate people within an organization. Read the rest of this entry »
I have a danish on my desk that I want to eat. Actually, it’s half a danish… almond, homemade with butter. But first, this week’s white paper topic: ecommerce.
I’m actually going to direct you to a datasheet by AppFinity on e-commerce solutions. This does require registration, but it’s worth it. Not necessarily for the datasheet alone, but to access other white papers. I know, white papers sound like they are meant to be dull. You hear “white papers,” and think “white bread”, and if you’re in North America, you think of “Wonderbread” which tastes like sawdust. No, that’s not true. I suspect sawdust tastes better …. (sigh… danish).
When written well, a white paper won’t leave you feeling manipulated into buying something. Rather, will give you a better understanding of the issue and how your company can resolve it either with or without the vendor’s product. (I’m told Mike Stelzner’s book is good–I would tell you more, but I haven’t read it yet. I’m waiting for someone to take pity and send me a free copy. )
Anyhow back to ecommerce. Ecommerce is the commerce of goods and services over the Internet. Transactions involve credit cards, Paypal, and other types of electronic funds transfer mechanisms. In the US, ecommerce grew faster than the total economic activity in manufacturing, retail, merchant wholesale, and (selected) services in 2006.
Like any retail or point of sale system, ecommerce software needs to integrate with other areas of the company, such as accounting, customer service, inventory and shipping, etc. to ensure that product is sent out in a timely manner. The data sheet by AppFinity lays out a couple of other points that need to be considered when looking at an ecommerce solution.
Here’s a little tidbit (tidbit. timbit. bad press): white papers, modeled after government documents, were adapted by the private sector in the 1990s as a messaging tool.
Disconcerting? That’s hardly what one feels when losing a laptop, and when it’s stolen … ?
Lackadaisical, however, seems to be the approach most enterprises take when it comes to safeguarding laptops. The theft of a laptop is devastating to a company, because data is so precious. It’s not just a matter of losing trade secrets, which is also a major concern, but a person’s name is one of the most important assets she has (remember Tina Turner?). Read the rest of this entry »
The white paper—a wonderful little piece of literature chock full of thought provoking insight and informative prose—got its start many years ago, long before there were computers in every office and home around the world. Back then, the white paper was a way for individuals to discuss their positions on a specific topic, but was predominantly used by the government. Today, white papers are a staple for many technology websites around the world—including ours.
Anyone who’s ever been involved in choosing enterprise software knows it’s not an easy job. It takes months of preparation that involves gathering information from various departments, mapping business processes, preparing a business case, interviewing stakeholders, and getting buy-in from executives and users on the project. And that’s only the beginning!
But whose job is it to do all of this anyway? It’s often assumed that someone in IT (a technical professional) will be responsible for it. Other assumed targets are the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Chief Technical Officer (CTO), and sometimes even the Chief Financial Officer (CFO)—depending on the type of enterprise software that is required. But believe it or not, most often the person that is handed the title of software selection “Project Manager” or “Project Champion” is just an ordinary Joe—(or Jane to be politically correct)—a department manager or project coordinator who knows the organization’s business processes like the back of their hand. While he (or she) may not have any particular technical expertise, he may certainly be able to add value to the project by knowing the business. So, why not; who better to handle this type of job, than someone like that?
Which brings me to the point of my story… Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s the final point in a series of four aimed at identifying a “good” IT white paper (and providing helpful hints, should you need to write one). The previous points addressed the importance of the white paper’s introduction, of writing to a specific audience, and of proposing a viable solution. The final point, appropriately enough, considers key features of an effective conclusion.
4. All’s Well that Ends Well…
The first paragraph of the white paper is important, but no less so the conclusion. It should be “practical and memorable,” according to both Michael Stelzner and Ed Gandia, a technology copywriter. And for best effect, it should include a call to action: a clear (doesn’t hurt to say it again) statement that compels the reader to do grab that bull by the horns and make a decision.
I’m a bit swamped right now, but I thought I’d address a number of specific requests from your comments in Supply Chain Management 101 by pointing you to a bunch of other free resources on our sites:
Here is the third point in a series that looks at the key features to consider when writing an IT white paper… so that you not only get your reader’s interest, but keep it.
Are you part of the problem or part of the solution?
Identifying a problem isn’t enough, no matter how much “affinity” is established with the reader (see previous post and Michael Stelzner’s site). The proposed solution must be both practical and clearly stated.
And here’s the second point that all writers of IT white papers should keep in mind when writing (special notice of this point should be taken by those writers who may *forget* that not everyone on the planet has the same rarified vocabulary, not mentioning the names of any jobs or fields…).
2. Audience, Audience (Stake a claim with your first paragraph).
After the compelling title, the first paragraph makes or breaks audience “affinity,” which is Stelzner’s term for the white paper’s ability to identify a problem or a situation with which the reader can identify. Focusing on the reader’s needs, and highlighting the “pain points”—the bugbears the reader hasn’t yet had any luck dealing with—makes a white paper more credible than one that only brags about the genius behind the featured product or service.
And, it should be clear in the first paragraph the nature of that audience: Is it composed of engineers? CFOs? Retailers, or suppliers? Each of them, according to Stelzner, has a different perspective on the same problem, and has different needs that must be satisfied by different solutions. In any case, aim to use language that could be understood by almost anyone in any field or industry, even if your content is targeting a particular field or industry. But no matter how savvy your audience, a string of jargon is not going to sell your idea or product as effectively as plain language that is used cleverly or creatively.
Want more tips? Check out SherryFox’s smart post about “Ambiguous White Paper Buzzwords” for more on what language NOT to use when you’re writing a white paper…
and keep checking for points three and four, coming soon…!
Let’s face it; we’ve all had to deal with pushy salespeople.
How do they always get you to buy stuff—even when it’s something you didn’t need? It’s called the sales pitch. Every salesperson has one, and software vendors are no exception. In fact, they have several ways of pitching their products.
One such way is through a white paper—which often discusses particular problems that many companies may be facing. At the same time, it gives vendors the opportunity to enlighten you about the one possible solution that can “fix it.” However informative it may be, ultimately a white paper is a cleverly written sales pitch—a pitch containing certain buzzwords that gloss over the practical realities of their solution.
Here are ten of the most ambiguous buzzwords I’ve seen used in white papers—and they may make you think twice about whether or not a software vendor is truly focusing on your best interests.
A white paper is a document or “brief” (and yes, perhaps unfortunately, I mean “brief” in the sense of something that informs rather than something that is short—white papers are sometimes as concise as newspaper editorials, or run as long as the latest “… For Dummies” book; examples of this will be provided in upcoming posts). A white paper’s purpose is to educate the reader, who is the potential customer/consumer of a particular industry’s service or product. The author of the white paper aims not just to inform readers, but also to persuade them to clamor after said service or product. Or, at the very least, readers are encouraged to consider the product’s use and benefits—information which may help in making key business decisions.
White papers are intended to inform—and to sell an idea or a product. Another way to look at it: a white paper identifies a need (or more cynically, creates a need or desire) and then suggests a solution. After all, as Michael Stelzner, a recognized expert in white paper writing, says: white papers are “powerful marketing tools” (or, in a more hyperbolic moment on his blog, “atomic marketing weapons”). In spite of this underlying purpose, it is generally understood that a white paper—or at least a good one—shouldn’t be overtly “salesy.” Or, in other words, a white paper is not supposed to be an infomercial in silent portable document format.
Editors’ Picks: Vendors submit. We review.
… white papers from whitepapers.technologyevaluation.com.
White paper: Why One Number Is Not Enough
Editor A (the nominally genial one)
This one caught my eye as it crossed our desks a while ago.
“What number?” I asked. “A hundred? One? Pi? Do tell me more.”
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