How Business Weblogs Really Affect The
Marketplace
Author: Danny Wirken

Over the years, the Internet has become a hub for people to
discover and invent new ways to share relevant information in
just a blink of an eye. A compelling worldwide conversation has
begun. This conversation has become the new market. The members
of this market communicate in a more open, natural honest,
direct and at times authoritative way. They are talking,
explaining, complaining, and sharing information in an
unmistakably human voice.

As business continues to be increasingly connected,
communication among these players in the new marketplace will
prove to be vital. If the market talks about a company and its
products, the concerned company should assess and understand
all the information to better respond to such information. As
information increases within the business world, proper
distribution and management of this information should be a
prime concern of the company. The blog is a very effective tool
that allows a company to gain, to store and to disseminate
information all at the same time. For a business to succeed,
connectivity with the market and community are a must. A blog
can accomplish this. The business weblog can affect the market
place.

A blog or weblog is simply a journal posted on the Internet. It
is updated regularly and may contain entries or posts on news,
opinions, ideas plus links to other blogs, websites and sources
of information. A blog has become a way to engage readers and
prospective customers of businesses. They have emerged as a
tool to boost business. Blogs invite readers to comment or post
feedback on what they see around them. It can be about sports,
entertainment, health, politics, economy, commerce to the most
mundane of things like rants about school work. A blog can
accomplish certain vital business goals. It can give
much-needed exposure to new or little-known product or service.
Since many potential clients know a little only about a certain
product or service, blogging is a good channel to lay out the
specifics of the product or service. Readers are always hungry
for information about companies and how to interact with them.
Blogging can lead to more informed clients as it supplants the
company as an information source.

Blogging allows a company to touch base with prospects. Any
company that has exposure in the Internet is well aware that
hits via the search engines especially the top three – Google,
Yahoo and MSN can bring in sizeable leads. Blogs can add
further leverage to the number of times with which search
engines identify a company especially if the blog is updated
regularly and allows readers to leave feedbacks. A
well-executed blog can contribute positively to the ranking of
a company's site within search engine results. A blog that
allows comments, post new entries equate to additional blog
pages to be crawled by the search engine robots.

Blogging is also an effective tool to establish a company as an
expert in its industry or niche. Blogging sends positive buzz
about the company credentials through the marketplace. It
builds credibility and generates leads and inquiries. Blogging
has evolved into a legitimate source of news that has greatly
influence public opinion. Some blogs even hold much sway on the
public as compared to larger and established media brands.
Through a blog, a company can openly engage customers and peers
in a discussion. This conversation transpires via reader
comments. Comments or feedbacks allow a company to know what it
is doing right and what needs to be improved. Customers and
potential clients can be a company's mirror to determine
whether its products or services are what the market wants to
buy or avail of. In this regard, a blog affects the marketing
scenario. A new trend in the marketplace has emerged – a
customer-centric market.

The current competitive environment is a challenge for many
businesses. The Internet and globalization have immensely
affected how businesses conduct business. The marketplace has
become a tough place for sellers. Customers and prospects have
become more demanding. They want to be heard and have a say on
the products and services that will satisfy their needs and
wants. In today's marketplace, the prevailing credo is "love
and hear thy customer". Customers, nowadays, expect that
companies will always take them into consideration. If they
have issues, companies should communicate that they understand
what the issues are from the customers' points of view.
Perception is very important thus companies should ask for
feedbacks from customers and listen to gain insight or how to
satisfy customer needs and wants.

Traditionally, a company develops a product or service and then
work out a marketing plan. The marketing plan is crucial in
applying company resources in the most cost-efficient way to
sell to potential customers. The marketing plan usually
includes the product, price, publicity or advertising and place
or target area. This marketing approach is product-driven or
company-centric. A company makes a product and then find ways
to get customers to buy the product.

The alternative to a product driven approach is the
customer-centric approach. The latter focuses on the customers.
The company first selects a particular group of customers. The
company then does research on the proposed product or service.
It is the customers who have the final say whether the
particular product is what they want to buy. Only then will
production commences.

A typical example is the La Fraise t-shirts. It all started
with a French guy who passionately blogs about t-shirts.
Through blogging, he built a community of loyal readers who
share the same interest. He posted samples of t-shirt designs
and the readers gladly send him feedbacks. This gave him an
idea to put up a gallery of t-shirt designs. He encouraged his
readers to vote on each design. The design that gets the
highest vote goes into production and he sells them through his
blog. What is nice is that the t-shirts are pre-sold already. He
has no worries about inventory. It has become a full- fledged
business. It is customer-centric. The customer decides which
product to produce and then buys it. Credit should go to the
guy because he is fully aware of the magic of comments – they
can spur great ideas that can be converted to a business and
one that works both ways for the customers and the business
entrepreneur. This story perfectly shows how blogging can
empower customers to be in the center in any business
undertaking. Blogging truly affects the marketplace in more
ways than one.


About The Author: http://www.theinternetone.net