Is a Blog the Best Marketing Tool for Your Business?

There is an adage in advertising that says, “I know that half my advertising dollars are wasted - I just don’t know which half!” Several authors claim credit for this quote, but no matter what the origin, I can assure you the saying is wishful thinking. Not only is it possible that more half of your advertising dollars are wasted, on the flip side, it’s also possible that your marketing efforts are working very hard – against your business! One every popular “advertising” avenue  beomg touted is using blogs to promote your business.  With all the hype surrounding blogs, you may be wondering  if a blog could help your business. The answer is easier than you might imagine.  But in order to answer this question, you must first recognize that there are two different types of sales your business can be making. Neil Rackham is the founder of The Huthwaite corporation, which launched a 12-year, $1 million research study into effective sales performance.  Rackhamd is not your typical “sales guy” but rather he’s  a psychologist who studies the sales process.  The study results are available in the book, <a href="http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Spin-Selling/Neil-Rackham/e/9780070511132/?itm=1&amp;afsrc=1&amp;lkid=J24309724&amp;pubid=K155373&amp;byo=1">Spin Selling</a>, where Rackham differentiates sales into two categories… the Minor Sale and the Major Sale.  While Rackham applies this theory to sales people who make sales calls,  I have taken this theory and applied it to advertising and marketing, because these activities are “selling” activities. If your business is making Minor Sales, then a blog probably won’t be a really effective marketing tool for your business.  However, if you’re making a Major Sale, then a blog can be a GREAT marketing tool for your business. Are you making a Major Sale?  The elements that make up the Major Sale extend beyond the financial investment required.  Asking a customer to spend a lot of money is one way you know you’re making a Major Sale… however, it’s not the only factor in play. To determine how much of a Major Sale you’re making,  ask yourself the following questions: QUESTION 1: How much risk is there in purchasing your product or service for your customers? In other words, how much trust do they need to have to become your client or customer? How “high” is the risk if your customers make a wrong choice? Most businesses doing business on the internet need to establish a level of trust, but some require more trust to be built than others. For example, if you’re selling office supplies, the consequences fof your customer of making a mistake and purchasing the  wrong kind of copy paper is very, very low.  If your customer orders the wrong kind of paper and then finds out that he/she made a mistake… the consequences aren’t very high.  If the customer has children, then he or she merely brings home the reams of paper and the kids will take care of it in short order. On the other hand, the choice of a financial planner is a VERY high risk decision for most consumers. Several years ago, a financial planning firm in my home town made BIG news when it was discovered that the “investments” offered by the “financial planners” were not investments at all but actually a complex Ponzi scheme. As a result, several thousand of the firm’s clients in the area lost their retirement savings. If you need to establish TRUST with your potential clients… then a blog is a GREAT marketing tool for your business. If you’re selling baseball gloves to Little Leaguers… well, then trust isn’t quite as important as it may be if you’re a CPA or a financial planner.  On the other hand,  if you’re selling copy paper, trust may be downright irrelevant! QUESTION 2: How much TIME will customers invest in researching their purchasing options? The higher the “risk”  is for your client or customer in purchasing your products or services, the more time he or shee will spend researching providers and searching for alternatives. It’s important to note that devoting a lot of TIME to making a decision about buying changes the buying process significantly.  Just because someone is spending time researching a purchase, it doesn’t  mean that the decision will be made based ENTIRELY upon which provider has the lowest price. If your customers are spending a lot of time researching options, then a blog is a great marketing tool because, via regular posts, you can illustrate time and time again why they should make an investment and build a relationship with you.  You can use those blog posts to clearly illustrate WHY the lowest PRICE provider may not be the BEST provider. If your potential clients spend a lot of time researching their options… then a blog is a GREAT marketing tool for your business. Blogs are MAGNIFICENT COMMUNICATION TOOLS!! If you’ve got a good “handle” on the information you want to communicate to potential customers and your customers are SEEKING more information to make an informed choice. QUESTION 3: How much TIME will your customers be spending with you after the sale? Yet another factor that moves a sale from Minor to Major is the RELATIONSHIP that you’ll have with your customers or clients once the sale is completed. The more interaction you expect to have with customers or clients, the more information those clients or customers need BEFORE they make the final decision. If you expect to have a lot of interaction with clients or customers AFTER the sale, then even if customers aren’t making a major financial investment, they still treat the transaction as a major sale.  After all, breaking up with a service provider is hard to do! So while the investment in choosing a baby sitter for a Saturday Night out on the town may not require taking out a loan, it still falls into the Major Sale category. If your potential clients will develop a relationship with you after the sale… then a blog is a GREAT marketing tool for your business.If your business is involved with making Major Sales, then establishing communication with customers BEFORE they make a purchasing decision is essential.  When communication is key, a blog is a GREAT way to communicate with customers and clients.Of course, your traditional static web site can also help to build this trust, but be prepared to spend a lot more time and effort achieving the same results. 2008-04-15T14:50:52Z