What do news stories and blogs have in common? Well, at least online they open the door to immediate feedback.

A new story breaks and finds its way to a commonly viewed website. Within minutes dozens of responses could be posted to the news oriented website. The same frenzied posting can be true of a business blog. People love the opportunity to make their opinion known and they are finding adequate opportunity online.

A business blog presents the best in customer feedback. If you think back a dozen years or so you will remember newsletters that were printed, mailed and ultimately contained slightly outdated information by the time the customer received the ‘new; mailing. Most people never thought of responding because it would take time to write a letter, find an envelope, affix a stamp and take it to the post office box – so much work just to respond. Most customers never saw the benefit so they tucked the information in their cerebral cortex for later retrieval or the trash can for quick and complete dismissal.

Business blogs come with the functionality of immediate feedback. If you have a comment, you type it into the space provided and click the send button. In most cases it shows up immediately and is added to the weighty opinions of others. You shouldn’t be surprised when others respond to your response with either affirmative words or ones that challenge your point of view.

The customer benefits from being able to respond while the information is fresh on their mind and the business owner benefits because they get an immediate snapshot of the various views of their patrons.

You’ll notice I used the word ‘snapshot’. The primary reason is that a business owner still needs to temper their acceptance of business blog response because those who read the blog are still only a small representation of their clientèle. So, just as a snapshot only captures one frame in the tapestry of life, so too does a business blog.

In a somewhat amazing paradox a customer will respond to a blog when they will not reply with an email response. For some reason there is a comfort level associated with a somewhat anonymous online post that may not be there with an email response that will include a return address.

Customers may have as much interest in reading the varied response as they may have been with the original subject matter. I suppose it all goes back to the old adage, “If you ask twelve people their opinion on a subject be prepared for twelve answers.” A business blog offers readers the chance to give their point of view. Blogs also give every other reader the opportunity to review and consider the available responses.

If you have given the idea of a business blog even a small bit of consideration hopefully this article is enough to have you wondering why you have never acted on your suspicion that a business blog could be helpful.

Act now – respondents are standing by.