Jul 24 2008
Why Your Business Needs A Blog
You’ve probably heard that everyone needs a blog – even if you’ve never learned what a blog is, or why you’d want one. Blogs are the touchstone on Social Media in much the same way that web sites were the basic building blocks of the World Wide Web. In the early days of the Dot Com Boom, every business learned that they needed a web site, and soon everything from candy bars to car dealerships had a presence on the web. The trouble was, back then, few businesses took the time to discover why they needed a web site, or how a web site could help their customers. That pattern is now repeating itself with blogs.
Everyone needs a blog and, hey presto! – everyone has a blog! Businesses that never made good use of their web sites are now making all the same mistakes with their blogs. Even worse, internet-saavy marketers are looking for ways to turn blogs into SPAM.
So does that mean everyone doesn’t need a blog? No! Blogs are essential today and they will be mandatory tomorrow. They will be just as common a way to communicate as email. What is missing from many business blogs – the crucial first step – is deciding not what your blog will do for your business but how a blog will improve your customer’s life.
Does that sound too grandiose? Are you in the business of selling widgets, not experiences and feelings? Then consider this: the internet has made it possible for your customers to find another business that does exactly what you do, that sells exactly what you sell – at a fraction of the price. All your customers need to do is type a few words into Google and click their mouse – and you’ve lost another sale. If you don’t build a relationship with your clientele that enhances their lives in some way beyond low price, you will lose, because someone, somewhere, will always under-price you. You will forever be subjected to downward pressure on prices while costs rise and margins shrink.
On the other hand, suppose customers come to you for your knowledge, your service, your willingness to help to them, to listen them, to fulfill their requests. Suppose what they appreciate about your business is not price but value? Will they trade the intangible benefits of a business that puts them first for the few pennies saved by patronizing a low-ball cost cutter?
The internet forced even small, local businesses to compete globally. Blogs, properly used, can give you a weapon that isn’t tied to your current size or sales volume, but rather is forged from your commitment to your customers.
Blogs are social media. That means that, unlike web sites, interaction is a two way street. The commenting and community side of blogging is as important as the content. It is imperative that you listen to your customers and build that community. Your blog should not say, “Here’s what I’m selling.” Your blog should say, “What do you want? How can I help you reach your dream?”
When your business is an answer to a dream – customer loyalty will follow. That is what your blog is for and that is why you need a blog.
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