| Jan. 20 2008 at 10:34 PM |
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Very good Craig!
I threw in my 1 cent and my apple core on your blog, nikole.
I gotta say, I find this idea kinda absurd. I've been around small business types all my life.
Sure there are all kinds of speculative arguments in favour of having a blog, but the return on the effort is simply not sensible. For the effort (or the subcontracted cost) of that blog, there are often many more profitable ways for small businesses to promote.
If the customers are not accustomed to investigating their purchases of a particular item online, nothing you blog will do the job for you. Nothing.
I blog, but it is more a service to my existing client base, and it is because they asked for it - not because it was a viable promotion. Well that, plus I cannot keep my mouth shut or my fingers still.
With all respect to the authors of the original article, if you have a hammer, everything looks like it can be fastened with a nail. The top and bottom of my roast beef sandwhich for instance...
Show us the business case!
Saw you getting picked apart in their response - sorry, your point stands.
Mike
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| Jan. 21 2008 at 12:49 PM |
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Hi Nikole
Thanks for bringing the debate to this forum - it's interesting to get the different perspectives.
I wrote the original post and the (passionate) rebuttal to Nikole's response. I didn't originally intend to get on a soapbox about gas station blogging. My original point was to refute "experts" who claimed blogging was only beneficial to a small number of small businesses. However, since then I have become intrigued with the idea of a gas station blogging as an example of the ability of online media to enhance a traditional business.
Nikole challenged me to show some actual ROI on a blog. While I don't have it yet, I have begun contacting some gas station owners who have websites. They have obviously put some effort into their sites - and I have to tell you, I would much prefer to see them using a blog. They are probably spending a lot more on a relatively static site that is a challenge to maintain, than they would on a free blog they could update whenever they felt like it.
So, the jury is still out, but I stand by my original point - many more than the estimated 5% of small businesses blogging, could benefit from a blog as a low cost marketing tool.
Liz
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| Jan. 21 2008 at 12:52 PM |
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I really don't thin a blog can benefit all businesses. A blog is one of many marketing tools. It's like saying ANY business can benefit from ANY form of marketing.
But we know that many forms of marketing and advertising are appropriate for only some businesses. Some are more universal (like a website or business cards) while others are more specific (like post card mailers or doing trade shows) but not every business will benefit from all of them. That's ridiculous.
By the way, I did a quick Google 'blog search' for a gas station blog and came up nil. But then I didn't spend much time on it.
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| Jan. 21 2008 at 12:57 PM |
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Hi Steve
I haven't found any gas stations that blog, but I have found numerous gas station websites. I still think they could be blogging a lot more cheaply and easily than they are managing a website.
I hope to hear back from a few soon so I can ask them directly what they think of the merits of the discussion.
Stats estimate only 5% of small businesses use blogs as a marketing tool - do you agree there is more potential than that??
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| Jan. 21 2008 at 5:52 PM |
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Liz, I think the comprehensive point you're making is good, and based
on a combination of variables. 1) IF a small business has a Web site,
2) IF that Web site is well-made and functional, and 3) IF that site is
mostly static, then a blog could probably help a lot.
On the other hand, a psychological question comes to mind. *Why* does the business owner have a static site, and no blog?
Maybe we could draw a correllation between small-business owners who
like to sell, promote, and market, and their having a successful blog?
Then there would be other small-business owners who don't know how, or
don't like to promote themselves, and so they have no blog.
If so, then the question would be what is causing the success of the
first type: the blog, or their personal interest in self-promotion,
sales, and marketing?
Craig Landes
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Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don't." - Unknown
International Society of Curmudgeons
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| Jan. 21 2008 at 7:06 PM |
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Hi Craig
Those are good points - some small business owners are going to be more adept at self-promotion and their business goals are going to align more with a blog. It's a point I make in my post - no business should take on a one-size fits all marketing strategy. There are some that would be successful with a variety of marketing strategies, due to their nature. And there are some that are not going to be successful with a blog no matter how much it "aligns" with their business.
I worry about the businesses that feel they have to have a traditional website because "everyone does" and then they don't get much value out of it because it just sort of sits there. I think that is Nikole's concern as well - that busines owners will just jump on the blogging bandwagon without stopping to consider whether it is right for them.
My problem is the number of people discouraging business owners from blogging unless they fit a preconceived notion of the type of business that would benefit from a blog. I think it is too new and has too many creative angles - for us to be limiting it at this point. And, it is so cheap - if you can't try out a blog for free or nearly free - then you just aren't doing it right. So to me, it's worth the experiment - who are we trying to protect? and from what?
Liz
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| Jan. 21 2008 at 10:04 PM |
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It doesn't matter if 1, 10, or 500 gas stations have a blog. Just because most do not have a blog, does that mean you (as a gas station owner) should not have one?
Perhaps it is another reason to have a blog? Beating your competition; connecting with your customer; and finding new customers.
~Roland
Web Design | Golf videos | ecommerce articles | Golf Lessons
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| Jan. 21 2008 at 10:28 PM |
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I agree Craig - there will come a time when having a blog will be the norm - or at least nothing remarkable. But right now, with so few doing it - the fact of having a blog is remarkable in and of itself - then if it can generate a sense of community and increased sales - it will get even more publicity.
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