There are many - countless - small businesses that live month to
month, quarter to quarter, year to year. These small businesses
range from solo enterprises to publicly traded businesses of
varied sizes and market focus. They struggle from one reporting
period to the next to satisfy investors, shareholders, and
stakeholders alike. That's reality.
Equal reality is they continuously seek the silver bullet. The
one thing they aren't doing today, that if done, changes their
financial future for the better. Forever.
Enter blogs.
Blogs are hyped as the latest, greatest, and best hope of
business. Business Week runs headlines on the importance of
blogs, countless gurus extol their benefits...the gold rush is
on. We all must blog. There's great temptation.
Enter reality.
Blogs are low on the list of marketing tactics to grow a
company. Faced with the need to immediately grow your revenue -
this month, this quarter, this year - there are far more
effective marketing efforts to undertake than blogging. In fact,
blogging is for many businesses a colossal waste of valuable
time.
If you start a blog today, hoping your business will
significantly grow in the near future as a direct result, you're
kidding yourself. Blogging offers no immediate revenue or
business growth.
Here's my list of marketing activities I'd undertake to grow a
business in the next reporting period. All activities would
support proven and highly effective direct response marketing:
* targeted direct mail sales letter * referral programs * sales
promotions and incentives * white papers * targeted advertising
* joint ventures * co-op marketing
If you were given the mandate to significantly grow a business
in the next month, quarter, and year...regardless. What
marketing and sales efforts would you undertake? Remember, you
loose everything if you don't produce significant revenue growth
in the time frames investors, shareholders, stakeholders, and
business leaders' value most - this month, this quarter, this
year.
As wonderful the possibilities of business blogging, it's low on
the list of marketing priorities for most companies. Where would
you rate blogging?
About the author:
NoneJim Logan writes, speaks, and consults on the issue of
revenue growth; working with clients to build their revenue the
only three ways possible - getting more new customers,
increasing the value of your average sale, and getting more
repeat business. Jim can be reached at http://www.jslogan.com.
|
