Crime seems to be everywhere these days, doesn’t it?
Wherever we look there are reports of things going missing, being taken by sneaky scammers, and people being ripped off by unscrupulous con-artists.
No matter how hard we try to keep things safe and secure, it seems that there is always someone just around the corner waiting to divest us of some of our assets
Intellectual property goes missing as quickly as cars and televisions, and the entire nation is becoming more cynical, and alert to the ongoing threat of theft in all its forms.
However, there is one threat which you may not be aware of as a small business owner, that could be compromising your entire strategy.
Customer Theft
If you don’t currently blog for your business, there are unscrupulous marketers at every turn stealing your customers from right under your nose.
It’s a passive activity, but you can guarantee that if you don’t currently have a strong blog under your business belt, customers are flocking to give their cash to a competitor that does.
It may seem strange to think of your customers as an asset, or property, but essentially that is exactly what they are.
The people who make purchases with you for goods and services are the one thing which keeps your business thriving, and makes sure you can generate a healthy revenue to support your ongoing strategy for success.
If you let your marketing, communications and strategy slip for just a moment, you have to prepare to stand back as someone else nips right in there and takes your customers away from you and your business.
Blogging is like having a burglar alarm
Blogging for your business is the equivalent of popping a burglar alarm on the front of your house.
It safeguards your client relationships, and keeps your competitors away.
It acts to bring in new business each day by assisting you to develop an ongoing rapport with those people whom you provide products or services to, letting them get to know you and feel an affiliation for you.
It is this affiliation and understanding that leads to customer retention and loyalty, and there are a wealth of benefits to be had from blogging, despite the inexpensive platform and simplicity of the updates.
Having a blog lets you showcase new products, in addition to enabling you to speak out about why your company is in the best position to answer your client’s needs and requirements.
It works 24 hours a day to attract people to your virtual shop front, letting them browse for what they need and find you on the search engines.
No Blog Equals Less Customers
If you’re not yet blogging to support your business communications, it may be time to consider the damage that it could do to your company.
If your competitors are speeding ahead on the blog front, and you are still hesitating at the start line, be prepared to sit back and watch as your valuable clients are spirited away right in front of you, lured off by an unscrupulous competitor!
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Andrew is a website builder and helps small businesses with their on-line presence…so they can grow their customer list and increase sales. That’s it! That’s what we do each and every day.
I personally think that it is not strange to think of your customers as an asset – Since your customers is what drives your Business success. Great post , I really Enjoyed the read , and thanks for the excellent tips.
Exactly, Anton…customers are very important!
Andrew
Dear Andrew -Never thought of a blog as a burgler alarm. I am sure if I saw a post somewhere not authored by you – or many of my buds on the Internet, I would tend to recognize it. Everyone has a certain style.But we are at risk. My copy has be scraped multiple times. That\’s why I don\’t send them to article marketing sites.What can we do? Just protect ourselves best we can. And not be foolish.
Corinne,
The fact that we connected your site’s content with your G+ pages will help inform Google that you own it.
Google is also improving their search algorithms to ensure original content gets the best ranking…another algorithm to ‘weed’ out scammers is due out any day now!
Andrew
I could not agree more with your comments. I recently had a problem with a website in Asia that had scraped my content and posted it under their name. It took several weeks to resolve the problem.
Losing content that you created is annoying to say the least and it will affect your rankings within the search engines. In some ways we need a better system that locks the original creator’s information into the article or media information making it harder to steal.
Mark,
You may wish to read my reply to Corinne above.
If you don’t have a G+ page – set one up and ensure you connect your page to your site.
Andrew
It is right that our customers are a big source of advertisement and always do for the benefits of the customers and keep good communication with them.Keep always them in your circle with your positive strategies.
I totally agree with what you are saying Andrew. It makes a lot of sense. You can hear peoples voices through their writing, and it really does give you a feel for them. Plus, like you said, that would get the word out about you more. If your name shows up in a search for something, all the more popularity for you.
Thanks for posting this
Great post and I agree that customers are your assets. We need to protect them like they are our own.
Hi Andrew,
As Elena Anne states you can hear peoples voices through what they say. If your are yourself your honest or dishonest comes through.
And it is to the point that every business whether they are a store front on the street, it is important with the internet that they have a voice on the internet.
I like Corinne when your refer to Blogging is like having a burglar alarm. It does protect your business. With a blog your customers always know where they can find you and you can reach out to help them in many ways they may not have even know that they needed help
Thank Andrew and blessings to you,
Debbie
Debbie
You say…’With a blog your customers always know where they can find you…”.
Very true unless of course you are out to scam your customers and then you DON’T add an ‘About’ or ‘Contact’ page!
Andrew
This is very true Andrew. As for me I have the ‘about’ and ‘contact’pages, thanks to you and your help.
Debbie
I don’t know if having a blog would help you keep customers, though it may, but it can definitely bring some in. Great article and definitely things to think about!
Grady
If the blog content is great – customers will return (hence you keep them!).
Andrew
It’s a shame that most small businesses that are run by those who are perhaps over the age of 40 dismiss blogs as perhaps a ‘fashionable friviolity’ that they don’t need to run their business. Now it’s become a vital tool- but I don’t see many plumbers and builders with blogs! I work in the leadership industry and I find leadership consultants loving blogging about management etc, so unfortunately I have a lot of competition.
Simon,
Small business are SLOWLY beginning to uderstand adding a website will help (and adding a blog will help even more).
I just built websites for a local builder and a local solar panal provider.
Re: Management. Yes – a lot of competition. Pershaps you should narrow the niche a bit more?
Andrew
I concur with Simon, it is a pity that not more people have blogs. I do not know how they survive without one. I am glad to say that I am fifty and I do have a blog 🙂
Wade,
Snap! I’m 50 as well!
Andrew
Blogging will turn your business up a notch. If you have a strong customer base yet don’t have a blog, you will probably see your customers dwindling down. It is a great way of keeping your customers updated and interested rather than just sit and watch the money go down the drain.
I think there only one thing left to say. Not everybody can blog,but if you decide to do it then you better make it right. Sometimes i feel that having a blog is something like having a kid.Every time you take your eyes off of it you take the risk of something bad happening…
If you aren’t not so much about blogging maybe you should empower your profiles in social networks. And remember whatever you do, do it right or don’t do it at all!
Anne
I like the analogy between blogging and kids…I used that before in a blog post.
They are both hard work!
Andrew
There’s no way that you can stopped crime, it is dynamically and gradually increasing even if it is greatly maintain by some tools but still they were some who still manage to make some cases of such prohibited actions.