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Published by: Judy Cobb 06-04-2013  |  POSTED IN: Traffic Tuesdays

Words Blog 24: Use What You Know - Customers!

 
Regular blog postings demonstrate that your website reflects a real understanding of your customers and your business. Two recurring topics in your blog will go a long way toward building your credibility and your online business: 
 
1. Blogs that reflect the customers' questions, decisions and solutions.
2. Blogs that provide current and timely information about your industry, business and products.
 
This week's blog will chat about how to take a customer-oriented view in your blog.
 
Blogs that reflect the customers' questions, decisions and solutions. 
 
An earlier blog discussed the value of answering your customers' questions--even the tough ones--in your blog. Some other strategies will demonstrate your understanding of what your customers need and how your products or services meet those needs: 
 
• Case studies of successful customer solutions.
• Testimonials or guest blogs by your customers
• The key factors to consider when buying your product or service.
• Most common issues or problems encountered by customers buying your product or service.
 
Case studies of successful customer solutions. A case study is based on a real situation. It simply describes a customer's need or problem, the specific product or service you provided to meet that need, and the way that product or service met the need or solved the problem.  
 
A case study may use a hypothetical situation based on the experiences of several customers. It can be a description of an actual customer experience. 
 
If you are using a real customer as your case study, get their permission before giving their business name. Be sure to review what you have written before posting it. Otherwise, you could inadvertently give away proprietary or competitive information. If your customer prefers to be anonymous, create a fictitious name and alter some of the specific details.
 
Testimonials or guest blogs by your customers. Be careful using testimonials in a blog. The best way to incorporate these is to describe a common issue, question or problem related to your product or industry, then include one or more statements from your customers about your solution and how it worked for them.
 
A guest blog by a customer should relate directly or indirectly to your product or service. This could include a blog about how your product or service meets key needs in the customer's business or industry. It might also describe key trends in the customer's business or industry and how those relate to your products or services.
 
Guest blogs are a win/win for you and for the customer because it demonstrates your business credibility and gives the customer visibility on the Internet. A guest post provides informative information about the product or service, which is beneficial to future potential customers as well.
 
The key factors to consider when buying your product or service. Potential customers often do not think about all the short and long-term results when they buy a product or service. In fact, they may not think of some of the most important factors that should influence their buying decision.
 
A blog that talks candidly about these issues and alternative solutions may highlight areas that he or she has not considered. It also demonstrates that you are willing to be candid in dealing with their question and potential objections. 
 
Most common issues or problems encountered by customers buying your product or service. Few, if any, products or services are perfect, and customers will always have questions about potential issues or problems with yours. Being candid about these matters in your blog puts your business in a credible position. 
 
This strategy also assures that people who read your blog will have these questions and your answers in mind when they talk to your competitors.
 
Writing a blog on your website presents an interesting challenge. Blogs need to be interesting and readable. They also need to provide timely information or a unique look at your business or industry. By definition, blogs need to be short, 400 to 700 words, so each blog needs to have a narrow focus so it can be fully discussed in those few words.
 
Check the next blog in this series for ideas about how to approach blogs about your business or industry!
 
 
As always, you can help us assure that every blog post in this series provides you with tangible suggestions and ideas for building or improving your website. Please share your ideas, comments, questions and suggestions with us. Feel free to leave comments below or email Judy at [email protected].
 
Judy Cobb is an independent writer and business writing coach whose clients have included Parsons Engineering, Mattel Toys, The Los Angeles Times and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She has specialized in developing training materials for instructor-led courses as well as interactive online courses and websites. She holds advanced degrees from Columbia University and Stanford as well as an MBA from UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management.
Thanks for reading. Jason.
P.S. Don't forget to subscribe below to this blog.
 
About Jason Ciment
Formerly an attorney and CPA, Jason has been working online since 1997. His columns on affiliate marketing can still be found on www.Clickz.com and his book on search engine optimization can be found at www.seotimetable.com.

This blog is published 4x per week and covers website design and SEO tips as well as a wide range of tips and advice for working and living online more efficiently and enjoyably.
 

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