Once upon a time, there was a client who after seeing decreasing lead conversion rates in their business, began to think it was time to open up to there customers and ask them what they liked and disliked about their service.
After posting an open thread for feedback on my client's
blog, we packaged it into an email with the option
of responding either through the blog or by simply
hitting reply to the email. To our pleasant surprise,
the responses started pouring in immediately. The
responses ranged from people who thought my client's
service was the greatest they had ever received to
people who flat out thought they did a lousy job.
The customers took the time to give us plenty of details to support their views along with great suggestions. Even the people who disliked our service thanked us profusely for giving them the forum to provide feedback.
Blog Marketing section.2
Whose job is it to respond?
If you're leveraging your blog to communicate with your customers, then the responsibility sits with the department that normally handles customer communication.
Transparency is key
Jeff Jarvis says this about transparency in his blog:
When you are not transparent, people will assume their
definition of the worst.
Part of the nature of blogs is that readers are able to get a sense of the
slant the author takes, and adjust accordingly. Anything
that comes off where the authorship isn't apparent,
people will assume the worst
The public is smarter than that, and it damages the company's credibility down the road.
Let the customers in Transparency isn't just about
doing the right thing. For Microsoft, transparency
can also mean letting customers see behind the curtain.
I have found, even Steve Balmer is posting to Microsoft's
Channel 9.
If you've got the number two guy in the company paying
attention to the blog, then you've got some great
insight into what's going on at that company,.
Len Pryor, Microsoft's director of platform evangelism,
says that the basic premise of Microsoft's Channel
9 is to shed light on what Microsoft is doing with
its products. Pryor uses the analogy of an airplane
that is going through turbulent airspace.
When the pilot gets on the p.a. and explains what's
going on, I immediately feel much more comfortable,
Pryor says, because I have information. When I don't
have that information, then fear takes over.
Engage blog readership to obtain feedback
If done well, blogs are a great vehicle for companies to speak with customers and to obtain feedback from them. This is particularly true if your blog focuses on a technology product, or a complex or controversial issue such as consumer privacy.
Even Maytag's Skybox team uses its blog as a way to
gain feedback from customers.
The bottom line
It seems like every week a few more marketing blogs
are launched. And there probably are (or will soon
be) marketing blogs that don't fit any of the categories
I've offered. Of this I'm sure: all marketing blogs
should be transparent. They should be concise. And
they should absolutely engage the reader.
Marketing is a conversation, says Microsoft's Pryor.
If you're not part of the conversation, you're missing
out.
Blog Marketing section.5
