As you can surmise, one of the principal reasons
why businesses find blogs effective as business tools is they help
generate or increase sales. While there is no quantitative amount with
regards to the exact monetary significance of blogging on sales, there
are evidences of some sort of return on investment. Increase in sales
can be and often is one of the indirect effects of successful blogging.
Blogs - Good for Business
Imagine sitting in front of your computer with millions of people
(shareholders, business partners, competitors, employees and the media)
conversing about business and the like. Now imagine if you can use all
the information you learned to establish what product or service your
customers want, why they want it, how they want it and how much they
are willing to pay for it. This is precisely what a blog is all about
and much more. Definitely, blogs are good for businesses.
A blog or a weblog is an interactive website that maintains an ongoing
chronicle of information. It is a regularly updated website featuring
links to other articles or other websites. Generally, a blog tends to
have a main content area with articles called posts or entries listed
in reverse chronological order with the latest on top. Typically, these
articles are organized in categories. There is also an archive of
articles based on dates. A blogroll, a list of links to other related
sites is another feature of a blog.
A blog may contain one or more feeds. Most blogs publish feeds (RSS,
RDF, Atom). A feed is a machine-readable content that is updated
periodically. A feed reader displays the new post and a link to it.
Most blogs also have a feature that allows visitors to leave comments.
With a blog, you publish fresh content and your readers can add their
own comments with links to their own blogs. Easy to use blogging tools
are available, often for free. A basic blogging tool provides an
interface where you can work in an easy and intuitive manner while it
takes care of the rest of the logistics involved in making your blog
presentable and available for the public.
Blogging, authoring or maintaining a blog, is one of the rapidly
increasing growth areas of the Internet. According to popular search
engine Technorati, there are roughly more than 40 million blogs on the
Internet today and more blogs are appearing at the rate of 75,000 a
day. This is mainly due to the numerous benefits of blogging for
business.
A blog has a powerful marketing capability to grow your business, be it
small or big. You can now have a commanding presence on the Web, not
one based on size, capital, or resources but one based on quality of
content, targeted audience and useful products and services. With blogs
as equalizers, the blogosphere has become a truly exciting playing
field for all businesses.
A blog is a constant source of valuable and up-to-date information.
Setting up a blog allows you to showcase your expertise and establish
yourself as a thought leader in your industry. A blog can be your
vehicle for product or service updates, company news and any other
information you want to relay to your targeted audience. A blog must
contain relevant information, not just sales pitches; otherwise readers
are much less likely to return. As with any part of a business
marketing plan, a blog must contain information that appeals to its
targeted audience.
A blog is an effective method to communicate with clients and
prospects. It allows you to openly and regularly converse with them
increasing credibility, creating trust and forming relationships with
them early on. A blog with its conversational style is ideal for
developing good customer relationships. Readers will feel comfortable
with you long before they call you to make a purchase or avail of your
service.
A blog is a great tool to get feedback from readers. Your readers can
leave comments or make inquiries. A blog is a great way to find out
what readers are thinking and in the process provides you with ideas or
how to better serve them thus improving your business. Forming business
decisions based on reader feedbacks can be one of the smartest business
moves you can ever make.
Nevertheless, to be effective, a blog has to be updated frequently.
Readers do not visit blogs that do not feature fresh content regularly.
Keeping readers in the know with periodic posts about your business
creates buzz and publicity. There is work involved in creating a blog.
It takes time and commitment to write interesting and informative blog
posts. But it may prove to be well-spent especially if it helps
generate sales.
Blogs and Sales - In Tandem
Sales require personal interaction. A blog is one such place where
communication thru conversations thrives and relationships are
fostered. When you give your readers significant information they can
use through your blog consistently, they will be satisfied. They will
then return for more fresh content on a regular basis. Overtime, you
will be able to build a loyal following. Readers will see you as an
expert in your particular niche. Your readers will come to trust you
and a relationship is developed. Your readers will perceive that it is
less of a risk to buy from you or avail of your service. If you can
blog efficiently about your subject, they tend to believe that your
product or service will be worth it.
By blogging, you are sending the message that there is someone
listening, someone you can approach as can be gleamed from answered
comments and fresh updates. This will make your readers feel more
secure and will take this into consideration as they form a purchasing
decision. Blogging is inherently an ongoing conversation that in the
long run builds trust and loyalty and breeds familiarity. When they
become satisfied customers, they will come to you for more information
and if given the choice will want to buy from you. This strengthens the
relationship between you and your customers and they may also send
other sales lead your way. The cycle goes on. Moreover, a blog is a
remarkably effective way to get high search engine ranking. In other
words, blogs can bring in more readers - more prospective buyers.
A much publicized example that highlights the natural relationship
between blogs and sales is the Stormhoek case. Blogging doubled South
African wine producer Stormhoeks's sales in less than twelve months.
Aware of the vast numbers of people who blog and read posts, Stormhoek
decided to capitalize on this by offering bloggers free bottles of the
Stormhoek Shiraz 2004 and Sauvignon Blanc 2005 to try and comment on.
Sales went up from 50,000 cases to 100,000 cases. The wine became
popular and earned it listings in prestigious wine connoisseur clubs.
What is more, Stormhoek gets feedbacks and suggestions ranging from
bottle color to label design.
Blogging is marketing to people in a less obtrusive and offensive
manner, more like a freewheeling conversation compared to an irritating
sales pitch. It truly is a good way to increase sales, albeit
indirectly.
Article Source:
http://www.articlesbase.com/communication-articles/
blogs-and-sales-a-natural-business-partnership-61378.html About the Author
http://www.theinternetone.net |
