If You’re Looking for More Customers, Consider a Blog
As retailers we are always hung up in selling product. It’s as if we still think the customer builds a relationship with the product rather than the salesperson. More than ever, the customer wants to know if your “representative” is trustworthy. If the customer has done business with you before you have a better shot, but it’s still no guarantee that she trusts you. What happened to all those other “trustworthy” people, where did they go?
So what can the blog do?
One of the big things is to encourage a dialog between you and your customers. There’s no guarantee that they will respond to your posts but you can ask for comments, do surveys and write a post that might provoke new thought. The key is to get readers to pay attention and want to come back for more. This is the difference between the old advertising — push in my face — and new advertising — pull me in because I want to be there. Remember, this is the way to get your customers to offer more clout, precisely because it comes from your customers. It’s like when you were a kid and your mom bragged about how good a ball player you were. As your mom, she was expected to support you, or at least we hope she did. What a difference when your friend’s father bragged about how good you were. Endorsements from others always have clout — you know there's no ulterior motive.
Remember, the Internet is viral; if someone likes what they see or hear they can pass it along to others. In addition, you can link your blog to Facebook or Twitter for all the world to see. Start collecting those friends.
Develop a blog following. Get your friends to “opt in”, which is basically signing up for a subscription to your blog. It means, "send me updates, I like what you say." Encourage people to pass your blog along to others that they think might like the information. Now we have more people involved. Ask that you send them your blog updates and provide a testimonial for you. A testimonial is really an advertisement.
Create excitement and fun on your site. There’s enough boring things in the world without you adding to it by supplying a commercial about your business.
You want to be the person with the blog that people want to come to. You’re credible and interesting. Well, maybe/yes/no. Is it compelling? Are you trustworthy, fun and someone I want to see or hear again? Or was once enough? Try to solve it. A blog is a way to share information — information that interests all.
As Chad Rothschild said, “Remember, people buy from people. So don’t forget the human element. It is more powerful than corporations think."
Resources
Lis, taking your lead, we at Carpet Network are blogging, or at least making a stab at it. Our customers are helping us out in our “Name that Blog Contest”. We have about 24 entries so far and our franchisees will vote the best of the best. Loving the idea that we can reach out to our customers and have them reach back.