In the big picture, blogging is one of many emerging trends revolutionizing the way brands communicate with their customers or, more accurately, how customers communicate with brands.
Like most internet-based media, blogging shifts control and power away from the company to the customer. The old model of top-down mass marketing is rapidly eroding as new forms of customer interaction come to life. Unlike past marketing vehicles such as radio, TV, and print, this one is being created by the customer. And this organic transition is a great thing.
Taking advantage of the opportunities blogging affords, however, can only happen when companies abandon corporate rhetoric and start speaking honestly with their customers. This means acknowledging failures, admitting limitations, and never overselling the truth, big steps for companies that aspire to be citizen brands.
It also means engaging customers in the development process. This new communication vehicle can be used to identify your customers and utilize their thoughts to innovate products and services.
One significant example of how a company is using blogging to market their products is Sun Microsystems. By offering to send a free server to any current or prospective client provided they agree to “... write a blog that fairly assesses the machine's performance–positively or negatively. Send us a pointer and we're likely to let you keep the machine.” Sun has developed an integral feedback loop. It can be used to guide and improve products but more importantly, Sun has seeded influencers and early adopters with its products.
To the victor go the spoils. So the question is: who will be victorious in this new paradigm? I believe victors will be those companies that embrace what IS. Brand marketers and corporations must divorce themselves from the idea that they are in control. It is now possible to interact with your best customers directly in ways that have never been possible through digital technology. The client has a voice and it’s easier than ever to hear. Successful brands will be the brands that learn to listen.
