May 15th, 2008Why is it good to have a blog for an Online Shop?
It’s always nice to have a human face behind a brand or company. The same concept applies for an online retail store. If you have a store that is selling something you need to communicate to your customers. The best way to communicate and relate to them is through a retail blog.
Communication – in the right way
It’s unfortunate that even to this day blogs are largely perceived as a personal log or diary online. This is far from the truth. A blog can be a powerful way to influence the minds of your customers. Besides this it helps position your brand in a much better manner. Plus with a blog you seem more approachable instead of just another website on the web. Customers are more assured that there is a human element involved and they tend to trust your brand more.
Any niche
No matter what industry vertical or niche you belong to you can talk about everything under the sun through your blog. Blogs allow you to discuss opinions, trends and concepts as well as ideas with your customers. If your predictions about future trends are correct then customers will visit your blog more often – just to check out what’s new on the blog! Let’s say you own a clothing brand store online. You could talk about the latest trends in summer or spring fashion. Then subtly tie in your products with the trends. That way you are influencing the customer’s mind and soft selling your products as well. Your sales are more likely to improve through a blog. Customers hate to be told what to do. With a blog you are merely suggesting latest fashion trends and this is a powerful way to get a customer to like your products.
Personal touch – with professionalism
A blog is important for any online retail store in order to relate to the customer. Basically you want to appear to be just like your customer. However, at the same time your blog is representative of your brand so you need to keep that in mind while creating a blog. So while you will have a personal touch to your blog to appeal to the consumer you also need to maintain that element of professionalism and elusiveness to gain respect and credibility for your brand. Not having your bio posted on the retail blog is a critical mistake. Customers would like to know about you and your interests to connect at a human level. By not having a bio you appear as a faceless entity which makes a human connection difficult. Not sticking to your niche segment is another mistake because you are distracting the customer’s attention this way.
