If your company operates within a complex supply chain with multiple tiers, a white paper can be a powerful tool to communicate your message across various audiences.
For example, let’s say your company produces replacement gaskets for automotive, truck, and industrial engines. Rather than selling directly to the service technicians who install these gaskets during engine repairs or overhauls, your primary customers are large parts distributors. These distributors stock products from hundreds of manufacturers like yours and sell them to local and regional parts stores.
Your gaskets are superior to those of your competitors, offering significantly better reliability and durability. However, this higher quality comes at a higher price—sometimes nearly double that of competing products. Fortunately, your gaskets also offer a higher profit margin for both distributors and parts stores.
When a service technician needs a new gasket, they contact a parts store. The store employee lists the available options and their prices. Which option does the technician choose? Predictably, they often opt for the cheapest part.
In the context of an entire engine overhaul, the cost of a gasket might represent just one or two percent. However, you know from extensive testing that your gaskets perform reliably for tens of thousands of miles longer than those of your competitors. Given the better profit margins and the longer lifespan of your product, the cheaper option is actually a poor choice for everyone involved. So, how do you address this issue?
You create a white paper that clearly explains the different manufacturing methods used for the most common types of gaskets. This white paper contrasts the high-quality construction of your gaskets with the less durable methods employed by your competitors. It also details how the upfront cost of a premium gasket is justified by its superior reliability and longevity.
The key audience you need to reach is the service technicians, but you don’t have direct access to them. However, you can identify the distributors who sell to them and encourage these distributors to share your white paper with parts stores. If successful, parts store employees will start recommending your gaskets as the better option. This benefits everyone: the service technician gets a more reliable part, the wholesaler and retailer enjoy higher margins, and the parts store employee gains credibility as an expert who genuinely helps their customers.
