Interview with Ray Cox, owner of the Northfield Construction Company

Ray Cox is the owner of the Northfield Construction Company as well as a Minnesota State Representative. The NCC Blog provides a great showcase for the company's services. He took time out from his busy schedule to answer my questions by e-mail.

JH        How did the NCC blog originate?

RC       I was introduced to blogs shortly after I was elected to the State Legislature in 2002. I was speaking with a friend that is into computers and commented that I didn't like most websites but thought the electronic world offered a good communication tool. He suggested I look at a blog...I liked it and have used it ever since.

JH        What's the purpose of the blog? What are you trying to achieve?

RC       My company blog is an effort to let people know the variety of work we do. We are not a cookie cutter home builder...we create custom projects for both residential and commercial clients. I also want to put forth a person first and a company second....clients will deal with people at NCC.

JH        Who is your audience? What sort of traffic do you get to the site?

RC       I am posting to new clients and repeat clients. I have good traffic to the site. People like to see their projects on the site. A recent client sent me a thank you note and asked when completed photos would be posted.

JH        How effective has the blog been in generating business for your company? Can you measure the ROI?

RC       This is much more difficult to measure. I have had a few clients who make electronic contact and said "You look like a company that fits what we are looking for" etc. They identify themselves as locating NCC from the web. A blog is pretty inexpensive to run so the ROI is about paid back if you get one decent job a year from the site. The time investment I also view as a community building activity.

JH        Has the blog brought any other benefits, either to you personally or to your company?

RC       My blog has been referenced in several magazines, on the floor of Parliament in the UK, etc. Lots of talk about both my NCC and Ray Cox blogs.

JH        How do other people in your company feel about the blog?

RC       They like it and are starting to think more and more about photos for it, projects, etc.

JH        How much time do you spend on the blog?

RC       I try to post once a week if I can...it slips sometimes. It only takes 10-15 minutes to put together a good posting...less if it is short.

JH        What has been your experience as a blogger?

RC       I find it a very positive experience. NCC gets good feedback from our clients about it, and my personal site has great contacts.

JH        What qualities would you say are necessary to be a successful small business blogger?

RC       You can't be boring....short, to-the-point blogs work best. And you absolutely cannot have someone else write for you...that is always "outed" and people feel very betrayed.