September 13th, 2006

Blogs. The New Secret Weapon.

A few years ago to identify yourself as a ‘blogger’ I am sure would have raised a few eyebrows. I still recall the quizzical look my ten year old son gave me when I told him I was working on a “blog”. His mental images of green slime or some other such unearthly invasion were quickly dashed when I told him that all it really meant was a journal entry on a website!

Lost in this relatively simplistic definition of a blog, is the incredible sales and marketing power that a blog can have. Blogs which used to be primarily online diaries of personal life, are now increasingly being used by both online and offline companies to communicate directly with their target audience.

Believe it or not, used properly a blog can be your sales and marketing secret weapon.

A key component to successful sales is having a relationship with your customer. This is were the potential of blogs really shines through! A blog will allow you to:

Humanize your business: given a choice, people like to buy from people they know. A blog allows your company to become a person that your customers can identify with. No longer are you ABC Natural Products Inc, instead you are Sally Smith a real person.

Engage your customers in conversation: through a blog you can actually have a conversation with your customers! You can tell them about new and exciting products that are coming; address frequent questions or just brighten their day with a funny story. All of these things are great ways to strengthen the all important relationship with your customer.

Develop Credibility: a good blog with lots of information will quickly become a go to resource for other people in your industry. As a trusted resource, not only will your market reach expand, but so will your influence in the industry.

Increase traffic to your site and make sure they don’t get lost: In addition to being a plus for impacting organic search results, a blog can also be a very effective way to highlight particular areas of your site.

For example in writing a blog about the benefits of a particular natural supplement it is easy and logical to put in a link that will direct customers the section of your site that provides more detailed product information. However, put a link in only if it is logical and would be useful information for the reader, not purely as a sales technique.

Without question, a good blog can be a powerful secret weapon for your sales and marketing efforts! By all accounts, blogs are not only here to stay, but they are growing in popularity and impact. As a result, the necessary time spent to learn about and develop an effective blog for your company will not be wasted.