When we have an unexpressed idea, it sits in our heads incomplete. We imagine we know it, and possibly even see it, but the test it when we have to explain it to another human being.

Writing every day makes us better thinkers. It moves us to take ideas from our minds and describe them with words. Publishing those words invites an audience to react and respond — we find out whether the message we sent is the one that they heard.

It’s a challenge to simply state the feelings, thoughts, and scope of an idea in precise and expressive ways. Unlike talking, which allows us to adjust and respond with tangents and corrections, writing and publishing come with an expectation that we’ll set out a thought clearly stated.

The commitment of words to written form draws that has an audience is a powerful incentive to think things through . . .

Liz Strauss
Find out about working with Liz.

In the 17th Century they called it a literary salon. . . .

A salon is a gathering of men and women to participate in formal and informal discussion centered around a specific topic. . . . which may include politics, literature, art, fashion or business. . . . The participants sought to increase their knowledge through conversation and readings, . . . the practice continues today in many cities around the world. Wikipedia

We gather on a blog to read and discuss in the same way.

Knowledge increases. So does trust.

Relationships happen.

People like to work with people they know, like, and trust.

Does your business blog?

Liz Strauss
Find out about working with Liz.

I have a friend that is married to a very bright guy. His nature is friendly, helpful, and giving. He’s always solving problems — even when the problem is already gone.

I would often visit that friend after work, when we lived in the same city. As coworkers do, at times we’d debrief on problems to make sure they didn’t occur again. Every occasion that we got into an analysis of what happened. The friendly would start offering us possible solutions.

We would explain that he didn’t have all of the information.
We would point out that the problem had already been resolved.
We would continue to say that help wasn’t needed.

He would continue to suggest ideas.

You might think he was feeling left out of the conversation, but rest assured we asked about other point of information.

The young man in question was so busy solving our problems, that he didn’t listen to hear they were already solved.

Great bloggers listen. They understand when folks don’t need advice or their problems solved.

Liz Strauss
Blog confidently with Liz.

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t made a mistake. It will happen on a blog, sure as the sun shines.

As mistakes in the workplace, a mistake on a blog is what we make of it. Leaders turn mistakes into opportunities. Leaders aren’t always right, but they do right when they find they’ve been wrong.

What better way to connect with a human face to your customers than to say, “Hey, that last thing I wrote wasn’t quite as it should be. Let me set it straight.” People, customers, don’t expect perfection. We expect respect and honesty in our transactions.

If I can trust you to correct a mistake you’ve made publicly, I can invest in a transaction with you with some security that you’ll back that up too.

People like to do business with other people. We know that other people are human.

Liz Strauss
Blog confidently with Liz.

One issue that comes up when companies start thinking about a blog is control.

When we stand back and consider a blog in the context of conversation, the idea of control falls more into perspective.

Conversations ebb and flow. Each participant has part of the control. No one can direct the conversation completely. When a person takes over control, the “exchange” becomes a presentation to an audience, and loses it’s conversational give-and take. It also loses the input from the side that no longer has a voice in the discussion.

A leader can handle conversation that doesn’t follow a plan.

We’re back to choosing a blogger who loves the company, can represent it well, and wants to be blogging.

Transparency isn’t exposure.

Liz Strauss
Blog confidently with Liz.

In this series, we’re putting context around the issues of trust and control that concern companies as they consider blogging.

Marketing wants to start a blog. Product thinks they should do one. Sales says it’s their territory. How do I choose a company blogger?

Backing up from the question, keep in mind that any blog can have more than one blogger. Look for the people skills that you look for in any customer-facing role.

• An ability to communicate authentically and responsibly with transparent respect for the audience.
• An active listener who is truly interested in the views and ideas of customers.
• Curiosity about the market you’re in and the people who are in all facets of that market.
• A bias toward helpful action, that stays clear of hypeful selling.
• A beginner’s mind that allows the blogger to say “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”
• A strong sense of relationships and community.

It’s a good blog that centers around readers and ideas, rather than writing and products. Though we want our message clear and well presented, blogging is more about conversation than disseminating product information.

Information is all over the Internet. It’s the people that make the difference.

Liz Strauss
Put people back in business with Liz.

In this series, we’re putting context around the issues of trust and control that concern companies as they consider blogging.

If I let my employees blog, I open my company to negative comments from people with bad intent.

If we think a little wider, we realize that we’re already open to those negative comments from those very people . . . the comments will happen with or without the company blog in question. A search on the Internet is sure to find negative comments about any successful product. What a blog offers is an official place to address them.

What is an effective way to address negative comments on the Internet? Look to the people. The response is the same as we might handle it well in person.

• Consider the source and the value of the information. In the extreme case, when they offer no value or are offensive, moderation is an option.
• Be gracious. Acknowledge the comment and the commenter with a respectful “thank you” for the investment of time sharing the opinion. Offer appropriate and authentic apologies if the situation warrants.
• Be thoughtful. Agree to the facts and point out the misunderstandings.
• Be transparent. Add any available information that might offer context or clarity to the situation.
• Be action-oriented. If something is happening in response, say so. If nothing can be done, tactfully explain that too.
• Be confident and non-confrontational. If the commenter cannot be satisfied, agree to disagree, and offer to take the discussion offline. Other readers will thank you.

We all know that a great information source and a great relationship can begin with a negative statement. Sometimes we don’t realize that the way we handle such situations also builds trust in those who are only watching what happens.

Negative comments offer us a chance to show our commitment to all of the people we work with.

Liz Strauss
Put people back in business with Liz.

I think if you’re in a business where talking to your customers is important, blogging is a great way to do that. — Matt Mullenweg, WordCampDallas 2008

At the end of March, I had the honor of being part of the exceptional business blogging panel moderated by John Pozadzides. John brought up fabulous and important questions that businesses raise daily about blogging. In this series, I’ll take those questions and step back to apply them to the larger company culture.

Playing devil’s advocate John said, “I’m scared to let my employees’ blog.”

What a power-packed sentence! A blog is a tool. In this case, it’s a relative unknown, but is the blog the problem?

Look to the people. Isn’t the issue one of trust and control? The employer is concerned about what employees might write on the blog.

We let employees talk to customers daily — answering email, answering phone call, answering questions at exhibits, and answering letters at the office. We trust what they write on behalf of our company. We once worried in the same way about the telephone and email. Still today any of those customer conversations could be shared internationally or in a court of law.

It comes down to hiring and training employees who make good decisions.

If we trust our ability to choose the right employees and to let them know the values that we hold for our company and our customers, the question of whether we should let them blog falls away as an issue.

A blog is a powerful, customer-facing tool. Like a computer, it’s as strong as the people we choose to use it.

Liz Strauss
Liz puts the people back in business.

I decided to put three questions on the back of my new business card under the heading, Tell Me Your Story.

They are these:

What do you do?

Why should I care?

How will it make my life easier, more meaningful, more fun?

Anything that doesn’t answer those three questions for your key customers is irrelevant.

Is your story relevant? They get to pick.

Liz Strauss
Find out about working with Liz.

Whether Henry Ford actually said, “You can paint it any color, so long as it’s black,” it underscores Ford’s success at building for a mass market. He brought together an acceptable standard of quality, price, and reliability to sell 15,000,000 Model T automobiles.

It might seem that all we need to do is find our own “Model-T” and get it to the mass market. Some companies are trying to do that. The ones that are succeed understand that no product can serve a mass market in the 21st century.

If you’re marketing a Model-T — a single version product — in this century, here’s how to do it.

• Identify a clearly defined key customer group who buy for reliability and low-price point value.
• Study the products that this group currently buys to see the features those products have in common. Look beyond the features to the benefits that each feature offers.
• Within the key customer group, meet with the car mavens — folks who offer friends detailed advice on car buying — and customer evangelists for the products that the key group is currently buying.
• Build a product that includes all of the features that key customers value and none of those that they have no use for.
• Offer it at a competitive price that requires no negotiation.
• Provide fast delivery and excellent service.
• Make the product modification friendly. Allow consumers to personalize it. Offer mod kits and merchandise that let’s folks feel part of a club for owning the product.
• Take care with any new versions that you don’t revise out the value that developed the customer base that you’re enjoying.
• Consider a limited and temporary brick and mortar presence and a huge online selling model. A consistent product with a simple sales story works well in an online situation.

A single version product that fits its customers perfectly still has a place in the 21st century market.

Liz Strauss
Find out about working with Liz.