In a post today ( in BBC News ), discusses the government of India’s strong interest in returning to the expansion levels of yesteryear. With a former growth rate of around nine percent annually, India’s latest growth rate has been around 6.5%+ recently. Actually, 6.5% looks great compared to many countries around the world for [...]
As the importance of creating and maintaining an Internet presence increases, so too must business writing that builds business relationships. Although creating copy easily indexed by search engines is important for driving visitors to a business website, alone it does little to form a business relationship. Rather than writing generic business copy for a company blog, grow your customer base by allowing your personality to shine through with professional business writing that builds relationships.
In person, you can build a solid rapport and establish a business relationship where customers think of using your company first. Online, rapport building is more difficult. Business writing that builds business relationships instills a combination of quality, reputation and personality from prospects and customers.
When a prospects or customers visit the company blog for the first time, the blogger hopes to achieve three things:
• Educating prospects and customers on the value of the company’s products or services.
• Establishing the company in the blog as the best choice.
• Converting visitor to customer.
Connecting with visitors on a personal level is important. People will do business with people they like. At times, they may even pay a higher price than the competition to do business with your company if they like you.
Using personality on a company blog is professional. Adding life to your writing can be accomplished with the correct balance:
• Ask questions to make people think about your topic
• Encourage questions and comments at the end of every post
• Offer your opinion on the topic within the post
• Share personal stories relevant to the company
• Write the way you speak to avoid stiff or stilted copy
Read your words aloud prior to posting them to the company blog. Ask, “Would I say it this way if my customer were in the room?” If not, it may not ring true when customers read it.
There may be times when adding personality is inappropriate in your business writing. For example, writing about the recall of one of a product is a time to offer the facts in as concise a manner as possible. If the goal is to regain consumer confidence after a recall, express empathy and concern over the situation can show customers that you understand their frustration and want to make things right.
Unless posting the quarterly stock report, statistics or issues of grave importance, adding touches of personality to business writing will help better connect with customers.
Mike McCann
Mike-at-GlobalBusinessCafe.com