There’s something going on out there called Blogging and if you haven’t looked at it as a potential marketing tool for your business, now’s the time. Blogging is the practice of writing personalized, heartfelt (to varying degrees) content and publishing it on the Internet for the world to read.
Last spring I wrote to all my customers to suggest it was time for them to start letting at least their salespeople write blogs for their customers and prospects. It sounds radical to many managers, but there’s no denying the power of authentic communication when it comes to building loyalty between people-and clearly your customers are people first.
Let’s evaluate this idea using the PPC technique-Pluses, Potentials and Concerns-that’s described in Roger L. Firestein’s book Leading on the Creative Edge):
Idea: Let your customers read blogs written by your salespeople
Pluses
- Customers will feel special (always a good thing).
- Customers will learn about your company in an authentic voice from the people whose main concern is helping your company make money (so they can make money)–not a bad motivation for creating positive content.
- Salespeople enjoy the process and feel gooerd about being able to be in touch with customers more frequently.
Potentials
- Your customers are so in touch with you that they think of you instantly when a colleague needs a referral for your product or service.
- Your customers feel so attached to you (through your sales reps) that they don’t hesitate to share important information about developments in their own company-which means you can become proactive (perhaps way ahead of the competition) about responding to their needs.
- Your customers become even more excited about your R&D process and are more willing to help test new products/services.
- Your customers complain less because they really know and trust your processes and are more inclined to be understanding about any glitches in service or problems with products.
Concerns
- How might you control any tendency for salespeople to write content that might appear negative?
- How might you let go of any fear that someone will say too much?
- What review process might you institute so that trade secrets and other IP items are protected–clearly off limits for blog content?
Remember: your salespeople are out there with your customers every day-in their offices and plants and at conferences and in hotels. You have even less control over what they say in those situations than you do in a blog.
If you find this sales blogging effective, by all means extend your audience to include vendors, trade and business editors and all prospects.
Apply all the above to your company and your salespeople and your customers. Calculate the potential gain–both to your company and to your customers–against the potential risks. Be creative about ways to minimize or eliminate perceived risks.
It’s free to start. Try services like www.blog-city.com, www.blogspot.com. There are many choices. Or you can set one up on your own site with CGI scripts and so on.
This new Internet phenomenon can become a mighty tool for unleashing creativity. Don’t waste time. Try it now.
Barbara Payne, managing principal of a ReallyGoodFreelanceWriter.com, is a marketing consultant and author who helps executives, professionals and companies find their true voice and use it to make their every communication reach the heart of the audience. The book she co-authored with business gurus Brian Tracy and Mark Victor Hansen (Chicken Soup) and thats been endorsed by Ken Blanchard and Dr. Stephen Covey, will be available September 1. Contact her at Barbara@reallygoodfreelancewriter.com
