The theme for this year’s SOBCon is “ROI on Relationships” and how it relates to the business blogger. If you have your MBA, ROI is probably part of your everyday vocabulary. If you are a small business owner, the acronym ROI maybe new to you but the underlying concept of calculating the return on your investment of time, money and resources is not. It is a core business concept and one that helps determine your profitability.
When I talk to someone about starting a blog for their business, the savvy business owner often asks me:
- How much is it going to cost?
- What will it entail?
- How much time will it take?
- How will it impact my bottom line?
The first three questions relate to the investment and the last one relates to the return. All are important and valid questions but when it comes to blogging it can be difficult to quantify the direct impact on your bottom line.
Why?
Sure, you can track the traffic from your blog, you can monitor conversions and you can count the sales from your blog but that is only part of doing business. The strengths of blogging lies in the opportunities to initiate, develop and maintain relationships with your customers. The time and effort that you spend on your blog is rewarded with an informed and engaged customer base.
When evaluating the return on your investment into blogging, be sure to consider the impact of relationships fostered there.
- The cost of finding a new customer and making a sale versus making a sale to a return customer
- Your advertising costs versus word of mouth promotion by your customers, be it via their own blog, the phone or over the garden fence
- The influence a satisfied and engaged customer has with friends in making purchasing decisions
- The value your customers attach to being heard and their issues addressed
- The suggestions and inspirations for your business that come from your customers comments and interactions on your blog
- The feedback from your customers to help you adjust your inventory and/or services to best meet their needs more efficiently
- Cost savings in terms of money and reputation when you can quickly address problems with your product or business
- The intrinsic value to your and your employees in actively engaging a satisfied clientele.
These are just an inkling of the ways that blogging, with a focus on customer relations, can impact your bottom line.
Want to know more about the potential of ROI in relationships for business bloggers? Well, so do I! This post is part of the #blogitearnit promotion at Terry Starbucker’s site, one of the cofounders of SOBCon. You can join the conversation early and save $200 off your registration for SOBCon 09. Hope to see you there!
Hey Bean, thanks for this insightful post, and (of course) relating it to SOBCon. I hope you can raise your $$$ and join us in Chicago – in the meantime, I’d be happy to e-mail you the $200 discount code – just e-mail me and I’ll e-mail you back. Thanks again!
Terry
Terry,
I just emailed you. I am currently out of town with extremely limited internet access, caring for family. When I get back home, I hope to fund raise in earnst!
Great post, Bean. I’ve tried thinking how to write such a post, not knowing until I Googled it what ROI meant. Your post helps a lot. Since the deadline is tomorrow, perhaps a change in my plans is in order. (And anyone else’s who might BlogItEarnIt for Bean…)
Travel safely.
Well, I did it, and Terry Starbucker said it was just what they were looking for.
(I told him I took little stories and related them to life. And I guess that’s my blog’s description, in a nutshell.)
They sent me the discount coupon, which I’ve emailed to you, Bean. Go for all of us! You’ll certainly be bolstered that week by your students who love and appreciate you and want to learn what you learn.