The One-Pager That Gets Forwarded

78.25%

Has Website

EU27 enterprises (GE10), 2023

27.43%

Multi-Language

EU27 enterprises (GE10), 2023

28.50%

3+ Features

EU27 enterprises (GE10), 2023

In regulated and institutional markets, the “message” is often a document that moves through rooms you are not in. The one-pager is the atomic unit.

A great one-pager is not a summary of your website. It is a tool for forwarding. It is written for the person who will send it to someone else with a single line: “See page 1.” The best test is brutal: if your name is removed, would the page still make sense? If your voice is removed, would the page still feel credible? Write like you are not present, because you usually won’t be.

Forwarding infrastructure (table stakes)

EU27 enterprise adoption of basic web presence and selected features.

Source: Eurostat ISOC_CIWEB (EU27_2020, size_emp=GE10, time=2023).

Section

Committees read differently than individuals

Committees look for two things: clarity and risk. Not “risk” in the dramatic sense — risk as ambiguity. Anything that is unclear becomes a question, and questions become delays. The one-pager reduces ambiguity by choosing a narrow scope: who you serve, what problem you solve, what evidence exists, and what the next step is. It avoids adjectives because committees treat adjectives as liabilities.

What committees reward

A weighted view built from observed adoption signals (derived from Eurostat indicators).

Source: Eurostat ISOC_CIWEB and ISOC_EB_IIP (EU27_2020); weights derived for visualization.

"Committees do not share decks. They share one page."

Section

Your website is not your pitch; it is your reference copy

A website is less a brochure than a reference: the place where a forwarded claim can be checked later. This is why basic web presence is widespread — it is table stakes. But table stakes are not differentiation. Differentiation is whether the website helps the reader forward a decision: clear pages, clear contact, clear evidence. If the site is beautiful but vague, it won’t travel.

Web presence is stable; features evolve

EU27 enterprises (GE10), selected years.

Source: Eurostat ISOC_CIWEB (EU27_2020, size_emp=GE10).

Section

Language is a forwarding feature

Multi-language content is not “translation.” It is friction reduction. It makes forwarding safe across borders and across internal stakeholders. If a partner needs to rewrite your story in their own words, your story will drift. The one-pager prevents drift by giving them a clean sentence they can repeat without embarrassment.

The translation gap (multi-language vs any website)

Gap between “any website” and “multi-language website” adoption (pp), EU27 enterprises (GE10), 2023 vs 2025.

Source: Eurostat ISOC_CIWEB (E_WEB, E_WEBLANG; EU27_2020, size_emp=GE10, time=2023,2025).

Key Milestones

Draft 1

One sentence

Write one sentence a partner would forward without editing.

Draft 2

One page

Add evidence and a next step. Keep it one page.

Draft 3

One file name

Version it like it will live in shared drives and inboxes.

Ongoing

One rhythm

Refresh quarterly. If the page drifts, the story drifts.

Section

Stages make the page forwardable

A forwardable page has stages: context → offer → evidence → next step. Each stage is short enough to be understood in isolation. Avoid burying the ask. Committees don’t “discover” CTAs. They follow them. If the next step is not explicit, the next step becomes an internal meeting about what the next step should be.

Stages reduce cycle time

Same ladder, rendered as stages (EU27 enterprises, GE10, 2023).

Source: Eurostat ISOC_CIWEB (E_WEB, E_WEB1_GE1, E_WEB1_GE2, E_WEB1_GE3; EU27_2020, size_emp=GE10, time=2023).

Section

What’s widely adopted is a hint, not a constraint

Enterprise surveys show that certain tools are common (websites) and others are selective (advanced analytics). Use that as a hint about where audiences are comfortable. The best one-pagers meet readers where they are. They speak in concrete nouns. They reference systems people recognize. They do not require the reader to learn your private vocabulary.

Adoption ranking (what feels familiar)

Ranked adoption of selected digital capabilities over time (derived).

Source: Eurostat ISOC_CIWEB, ISOC_CICCE_USE, ISOC_EB_IIP, ISOC_EB_AI (EU27_2020); ranks derived.

Section

Marketing economics, without the theatre

Most B2B marketing “metrics” are theatre: impressions, clicks, vanity charts. The economics that matter are simple: cost to reach the right room, time to a reply, time to a decision. Design your one-pager so it reduces cycle time. If it gets forwarded and comes back with fewer questions, it is doing its job.

Channel mix (adoption view)

A grouped comparison of adoption vs advanced features vs support load (derived).

Source: Eurostat ISOC_CIWEB (E_WEB, E_WEBLANG, E_WEBCHT; EU27_2020, time=2023) with size_emp breakdown.

Section

Distribution is how your story survives

A one-pager works because it is distributable. It can sit inside an email, a procurement portal, a shared drive. It survives without choreography. Your job is to make distribution easy: clear file naming, clear versioning, and a single contact path that doesn’t depend on who happens to be online.

Features are not evenly distributed

A waffle view of selected website functionalities (EU27, GE10, 2023).

Source: Eurostat ISOC_CIWEB (EU27_2020, size_emp=GE10, time=2023).

Section

After it gets forwarded

Once the one-pager is forwarded, your next job is to be predictable: respond with the same clarity, the same documents, the same sequence. A brand is not what you say. It is what repeats. If your next step is chaotic, the one-pager will be remembered as a trick. If your next step is calm, the one-pager becomes a template — the kind that gets forwarded again.

Sources & References

EurostatWebsites and functionalities by size class of enterprise (ISOC_CIWEB)↗
EurostatIntegration of internal processes by size class of enterprise (ISOC_EB_IIP)↗

The One-PagerThat GetsForwarded

Forwarding infrastructure (table stakes)

Committees read differently than individuals

What committees reward

Your website is not your pitch; it is your reference copy

Web presence is stable; features evolve

Language is a forwarding feature

The translation gap (multi-language vs any website)

Key Milestones

One sentence

One page

One file name

One rhythm

Stages make the page forwardable

Stages reduce cycle time

What’s widely adopted is a hint, not a constraint

Adoption ranking (what feels familiar)

Marketing economics, without the theatre

Channel mix (adoption view)

Distribution is how your story survives

Features are not evenly distributed

After it gets forwarded

Sources & References

Start with clarity.Scale with discipline.