Businesspeople possess a unique opportunity to be more than just a cash funnel to their customers. A few steps to improve the company blog can work wonders for customer relations.
The next competitor to you doesn’t have to beat you on price if he or she has the customer’s love. In this century, any illusions you still entertain about controlling the customer relationship need to be pummeled from you forthwith.
Fear not, I have a large club full of ideas and a decent reach. We’re going to improve your company blogging today…
You don’t have one? Please get one. Easy free solutions from Google’s Blogger or from WordPress exist.
Committing time to blogging will be a problem? I’m terribly sorry. I don’t have a tissue handy.
See, the time used to blog shouldn’t be viewed as a consumption, but as an investment. You don’t complain about taking money to the bank, do you?
I’m letting you in on a big secret about human nature, one that few people understand well if they do know it. People want to believe in something. Your customers want to believe in your authoritative voice on the topic of whatever it is you have to place in a virtual shopping cart.
They long to understand that in a world of beeps, boops, and boings, someone listens. You are in a business which I expect you understand at least in a nominal fashion. Share that understanding. Yes, the difference between Product Version 1 and Version 1.1 may be nominal, trivial, and pedantic to discuss.
It’s a piece of information you understand. Conveying it through the company blog says “I know these things, I know them well, and you’re a better consumer for doing business with me.” People want this, conveyed a little more gently, probably.
The investment you make consists of details, provided through a blog. It’s marketing, brand reinforcement, and an ongoing solicitation to do business with an absolute professional. Provided, naturally, you communicate that way.
Blogging quality ranges from outstanding to “did this person skip grammar and spelling in school” types of bloggers. Spellcheck fixes a multitude of sins, and having a trusted person look at your post to find the stuff spellcheck missed will grab most, if not all, of the rest.
No matter how much work you put into blogging, you’re going to make a mistake somewhere. My personal demon: writing billion for million and vice versa. No idea why, but I’ve done it a couple of times and had it pointed out to me. Sometimes even politely.
This is how you handle a mistake you made, in blogging and I think elsewhere in the business. Acknowledge it, fix it, and move forward to the next issue. People seem to want contrition as much as they want to believe in something. Provide a reason to forgive; fix the problem. Letting a mistake simmer to boiling over the proverbial pot will leave you regretting it.
As for the negative comments you will see at some point, gain what you can from them. The most annoying person in the world may have a valid argument. These days, they expect to be able to express it; worthy complaints merit a decent response.
I can’t tell you how to be interesting, funny, and compelling with your writing. We’re all different, in blogging and elsewhere. Write honestly, authoritatively, and regularly (a post a day, you can manage that), and leave no one the option to claim you aren’t trying to embrace your customers.
