The Role of Technical Writing in B2B
In B2B, clarity is vital to effective marketing. How, then, can you be clear and convey technical jargon easily and effectively? This is exactly what technical writing works to accomplish. Your company needs to be able to convey your content to your target audience, and the ways you write this content will depend on that audience. Below are two questions to keep in mind when considering the role of technical writing in B2B.
What is Technical Writing?
Before getting to the integration of technical writing in B2B, we need to understand what technical writing even is. Technical writing works to break down and communicate technical or field-specific, content. The main goal of this form of writing is to communicate information clearly to your target publics. If your audience does not have a lot of experience with and knowledge of your company and its services, then you will need to break down that content into more easily consumable pieces. However, if your target audience knows the technical jargon, then you can communicate with those more challenging and field-specific terms.
Types of Technical Writing
There are a variety of forms of technical documents. From instructions and manuals to reports and technical descriptions, technical writing consists of many common communication methods in B2B. The beauty of technical writing is that it serves to provide both clarity and usefulness.
Unclear instructions are a recipe for disaster. Not only is this frustrating for your customer, but there are also concerns about your company being liable for poorly worded instructions. Technical descriptions also need to focus on clarity as their whole point is to define technical jargon. Technical writing is vital for medical, manufacturing, and scientific fields among others. All in all, technical writing is needed for clear, effective, and accessible communication in B2B.
How Should My Company Utilize Technical Writing in B2B?
Now, this is a trick question. Your company is likely already utilizing technical writing. In B2B, it would be almost impossible not to. Why, then, is this question even being addressed? While your company is already using technical writing, you also need to understand why its use is so important in B2B.
Focus on the Recipient
Technical writing focuses on the recipient of your communication. Ask yourself: what knowledge do they already have?, what do they not understand, and what do they need to understand? These are examples of questions you should be asking yourself when writing technical content. Audience analysis is crucial because if you do not know with whom you are communicating, you risk either confusing or offending them. If you use terminology your audience does not understand they will be frustrated, but on the other hand, if you break down the content too much, your audience may feel like they are being talked down to. Therefore, make sure that you understand your target public and their knowledge.
Tailor Your Language
The language and descriptions you use may shift between clients. Maybe you have a client that is new to the industry, so you need to explain concepts more than usual. Or maybe you’re writing instructions for experts in the field so you can use that technical jargon as that is the language they use consistently.
To take these concepts further, check out Robert W. Bly’s article, “The 7 Rules of Writing Persuasive Technical Content,” at Entrepreneur to learn more about technical writing and how to utilize persuasion when writing.
Technical writing and B2B go hand in hand. Without technical writing in B2B, consumers and clients would be confused and frustrated with difficult-to-understand content. Therefore, analyze your audience and explain your content in the terms that will best speak to them.
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