Your Business Blog Can Be That Guy

A favorite blogger friend, Michael Reynolds, posted a wonderful piece titled “That Guy”.

“Ever notice how many organizations have ‘that guy’ (or gal) who is the go-to person and is the one that people look to for competent help and support?” asks Reynolds. “No matter what the proper chain of command is for a company, customers will learn who ‘that guy’ is and will always call him directly even if he is not the person who is supposed to handle every issue.” 

How “on point” is that for blogging! I thought, reading that blog post. First of all, whoever that person is in any company, he or she has to be that firm’s best marketing tool for repeat business.  And what I think the reason is – in our age of automation, people want to talk to people, particularly people who can “get that done”.

That’s true, I learned, even if those company people aren’t “real”.  Awhile back, I based one of my own Say It For You posts on an article in Benefit Advisors Magazine.  When large employers used digital “avatars”, Pixar-like images to respond to employees’ online typed in questions about their health benefits, the percentage of employees using the site increased dramatically as compared with the old system of having the searcher read a list of benefit descriptions and then check boxes to select options.

Keep in mind, now, your corporate blog is probably meant to help you be introduced to strangers, people who are not your employees and who are only potentially your customers and clients.  These prospects not only have no idea who the go-to guy or gal in your company is, they’re not even sure you have such a person available should they decided to begin doing business with you!

That’s exactly the challenge blogging is equipped to handle. Your corporate blog posts must be designed to elicit an “Aaah” sigh of relief.  I’ve come to the right place.  If I choose to deal with this company, they will follow through. They will keep their promises. They will make sure things go right for me.

The whole tone of blog posts has to be welcoming and reassuring: We know what we’re doing around here.  Rest assured, we’ll listen to your needs and you’ll be taken care of.

Your business blog had better be “that guy”!