Recently there have been a few blog posting here about vendors, people who try to sell other people products and services. The postings are rants or raves, the kind of things that are well suited to the self indulgent nature of blogs. One such story was mine, recounted by another member of the 3 Geeks team. When the story was first blogged, I was horrified, afraid the vendor would fire me as a client. But then I thought, perhaps the blog has some power, some anonymous and public way of reaching vendors in a way my own direct interactions cannot.
There was the recent Bloomberg posting which was followed by a call from Bloomberg but better than that, was the proactive response to the news aggregator blog posting. Shortly after posting my comments on news aggregators, I was contacted by several of the mentioned vendors as well as a couple I had not yet heard of, such as Attensa. Each vendor had read the posting and wanted to chat. We are now evaluating several other products, products I would have not known about had I not blogged about mine and other’s attempt to find the perfect aggregator.
Blogs do have power and not just the The 3 Geeks, (though of course, we like to think it is the best blog out there). From a vendor and client interaction standpoint, the value of the blog is obvious. Blogs allow you a first person narrative account, an easy way to track clients concerns and your market space. Postings are a primary intelligence source, a way see what people are saying and what needs are not being met. How much better can a client relationship be when there is a clearly defined problem made public and a vendor who willing to address the issue without formally being asked. Reading blog postings is among the most cost effective forms of business development and rentention. Blogs can often offer an opportunity to make new contacts, forge new relationships and possibly address a new business need without having to take a client to a sporting event or a lavish dinner – don’t need no credit cards to ride this train. That’s the power of blogs.
N.B. this poster, takes no responsibility for the Hughie Lewis and News “Power of Love” now likely playing in your head.