Corporate blogs... my kids are blogging, so what?

Many kids or young people are blogging, so what? That's the common feedback I receive when mentioning blogs to serve a Commercial/Professional Service. Keep in mind that a blog can be an incredible and unique 2 ways communication channel to your customers, accelerating innovations and gather direct feedbacks.

Of course, you have to coordinate such activities and you can't leave your blog without proper resources. At the same time, you can not directly control it, otherwise, you will not generate a positive approach and reactions from your customers. You will have to accept customers' freedom to complain about your services or products and consider all complaints as potentially innovation opportunities!

You will need a team of communication specialists to manage it carefully, without (too much) controls, and to turn it into a competitive advantage.

Read more about Corporate Blogging opportunities on SearchCIO.com "Blogging's ROI Becoming Clearer", an article by Paul Gillin

Article abstracts
"...McDonald's Corp. does it to monitor the quality of its sprawling restaurant chain. Dell Inc. does it to address its customers' technical support issues. Southwest Airlines Co. does it to perpetuate its image as the fun and friendly carrier. And Benetton Group S.P.A. does it to take a stand on global and political issues...."

"...Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, a division of Pfizer Inc. before its acquisition by Johnson & Johnson Co. last year, used Cymfony's service to track customer comments about its consumer products on blogs and message boards. "The insights that came from reading discussion boards verified some of our thinking but also opened our eyes to possible market opportunities that we may not have seen," said Tom McMillian, director of relationship and interactive marketing...."