Devoted to branding and building and protecting brands

One of the many things small businesses have in common with larger outfits is the challenge of converting shoppers into buyers.  Tire kickers into drive-out-the-door purchasers.  Anyone wondering if a blog is the magic bullet here may want to read this piece is yesterday's WSJ.com, courtesy of Steve Rubell.  The point is that anything you can do to engage your market and encourage the buyers in it to talk positively an enthusiastically amongst themselves about you can accelerate the selling process.  The president of a small agency I used to work for loved to say that people don't buy things they are sold things.  Not today.  Well, maybe some people.  Visions of country bumpkins gathered around the medicine wagon, mesmerized by a snake oil salesman, come to mind.  You don't need a blog on your site, or a separate URL devoted to customer service and feedback.  What you need is feature that creates an open-door, townhall meeting, no-holds-barred.  Have it moderated by a third party and filter out the comments and posts that aren't useful to the conversation string. But let the people have their say, and become part of their discussion. Then see your reputation for honesty, transparency, and customer-mindedness grow.  Caution: not for the skittish or the control-freak.  But if you're serious about a web site that encourages visitors to become serious prospects, it's worth every consideration.