The Metro Chamber Small Business Committee marked a milestone change with the institution of “Business Enhancement Strategies” on its monthly agendas. Last week the committee heard from Greg Bauer, of Bauer360, a company that provides new media and internet solutions.

Bauer is an entrepreneur who has started multiple businesses including RacknRoad and Park A Bike.

Bauer presented a PowerPoint slide that emphasized the importance of a “process driven approach to your web strategy.” He made a point that nothing can replace a good handshake, but the digital world is allowing businesses to supplement their sales efforts and reach out to customers at a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing.

Bauer cautioned that if a business is blogging, emailing, or sending E-newsletters, and the content does not talk to their customers’ emotional needs in a short and relevant way, it can also be the cheapest way to lose customers.

Bauer’s business partner Ryan McCann covered blogging. This is one of the many Digital Services Bauer360 offers. Here is a short recap:

• Blogging is useful for keeping a business’ customers up-to-speed on what's happening in their customers' terms; give them information they want to read. Blogs can be promoted through other blogs and a business’s should concentrate on five to 10 topics that are most relevant to the individual business. Self-serving blogs are the quickest way to lose business.

• The more a business blogs, the more content is created about that business that search engines can find—thus providing more presence on the Internet. View an example of Bauer360’s blog at http://blog.bauer360.com.