Blogging as More Than a Sales Tool

I recently spoke to a group of small business owners about blogging. The focus was that in addition to being a big-payback element of your content marketing mix, blogging can also help integrate customer service, operations, and other departments with sales and marketing to create a more effective, efficient organization.

Sure, that sounds a little bit pie-in-the-sky, but I'm telling you, I've seen it happen.

Turns out I'm not the only one.

Blogging for Sales & Marketing & Everything Else

Buried in some very good articles (like this one from Moz) are suggestions that blog content isn't "just" good for generating leads and turning prospects into customers.

Here's the key: while your blog content is developed for leads and prospects, it can also be useful to YOUR organization, from the inside out.

A blog post about what to do when your widget fails unexpectedly - directed at your prospects - can also be required reading inside your organization. Then, when a customer comes in complaining that a widget failed unexpectedly, no matter who handles that complaint, they'll be prepared.

Blog posts about services you provide, or high-end products that are new to your mix, are another good example.

Again, the content created with your prospects in mind should be required reading within your company. That will ensure that everyone in your organization is on the same page - so when a sales opportunity presents itself, whoever recognizes that opportunity is ready with a response that advances the sales process.

Make Your Blog Useful, Inside and Out

I'm a big proponent of cross-training and think silos are silly (except on farms). I've found that blogging about a problem is a great way to solve (or at least, productively address) that problem.

Look no further than your complaint box (or Twitter feed) and you'll see plenty of fodder for your next few (dozen) blog posts.

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Cross-training sometimes gets a bad reputation. In some cases, it can be used to train highly competent people to do the jobs of their less-productive co-workers. But when used as a tool to improve overall operations, it really rocks. 

For help creating a content mix that works for you and your customers and your employees, contact a writer who understands business. That's me. Get in touch.