Newsletters are usually designed to contain several short bits of information along with a few longer pieces in a format that is pleasing to the eye. They are usually either printed and distributed by mail or sent electronically via an email subscription (not to be confused with using email as a channel which we’ll get to shortly) and can be effective in reaching those who are willing to take the time to read them or to skim through for points that interest them.

Blogs are much more utilitarian than the newsletter but do not have as much focus on aesthetics. Blogs consolidate all comunications from past and present in a single location but can also be distributed using tools like RSS feeds or announced via email, Twitter, or other social media. The website that hosts the blog can be simple or complex in design but the real draw to use them is the efficient distribution of information as well as the ability to search past articles for topics or keywords. This is also important if you are trying to reach potential customers as having this content on the web will allow others to find you and can be very effective in establishing your presence on the web and stregnthening your brand.   The down side to using blogs is that the consumer of the blog must either visit the site regularly or subscribe to the feed in order for the effort to have a proactive effect. Otherwise the most common use case is that the consumer searches for an answer to a problem that is already occuring.

Email is makes it easy to distribute information as there are few who do not use it to some extent and it requires little time and effort. You can reach your audience (if you have their email address) directly much like the newsletter but, unlike the newsletter, it is difficult to fit large amounts of information in a single email and there aren’t many who like an inbox full of email regardless of how useful the infomation they contain may be.

When I weigh the pros and cons I find that, out of these three, blogs are the most useful and beneficial for myself and my readers.

What do you think?
Which of these would suit your customers/readers best?
What kind of needs are you trying to meet?

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Many companies think of their customer support obligations as a necessary expense. Support staff is expected to solve customers’ problems and answer their questions as quickly and efficiently as possible, nothing more and nothing less. This approach is hardly sufficient for a successful business model.

Today customer service is what separates you from your competition. Anyone can sell widgets but if you provide exceptional customer service, your customers will return again and again.

Thoughts: What do your customers think about the service you provide? How did you come to that conclusion?

Jeff Jarvis of BuzzMachine.com explains the power of these web giants well in a recent blog post entitled ‘The collaboration economy’;

That’s how Google sees us, capturing our links and clicks to discover the value of those million – no, trillion – flying pages. That’s how Wikipedia and Craigslist created their value, dealing in trust and membership as a new currency.

That’s right,  we still use other people to determine the value of content and information but to determine that value, we search using tools like these. If we are looking for the number of quarts in a gallon we type that in, if we want to know about the specs on that new athletic shoe a customer just called about we type that in, and if we need to know who to call if our water pipe breaks, we search that too.

What does that mean for you and your business? How are you making information available to your customers and employees? How can it be made more available? How can it be made…. searchable?

These reporting applications include the more basic Microsoft Access and the open source Open Office Base as well as higher end products like Crystal Reports from Business Objects. Simple reports created with any of the above can be very effective and will help you take advantage of the information you have on hand.

Today, the web has taken the place of the phone book for consumers who live connected lives and this brings a dilemma to the local businesses who have limited marketing funds and limited knowledge of the web. Often professional website design/management companies can be costly and difficult to coordinate with.

There are a couple of other options to consider:

• College professors are often looking for ‘real world’ projects for their students and if you are willing to give a little of your time to explain your business needs you might get a very proffesional website at no cost with documentation of how it can meet your needs and how to maintain it.
• Some web designers may be looking to start their own business or to build a portfolio both of which provide you the opportunity to negotiate a more affordable price in return for letting them use your site as an sample of their work to direct others to.

Both groups of people would be more than happy to explain the process and help you create a presence on the internet. Take advantage of these and other resources, you might be surprised at what is possible.