When I was in college I earned a few bucks working seasonal retail at the mall. One of the biggest frustrations store managers have is watching a customer walk into their store and leave without knowing WHY that customer left without buying. Was it a lack of customer service? Sizes? Colors? What?

Unlike the retail setting, blogs DO allow companies to know what their customers are thinking. Whether your company is blogging or monitoring blogs, it's to your advantage to get as much feedback as possible from your customers and potential customers. In advertising, companies pay big bucks to get feedback from focus groups - so doesn't it make complete sense to engage an audience that already cares about your products?

Think of it this way - your company's next big idea, success story, product improvement, etc. might be out there in the blogosphere and you don't even know it.

Let me ask you this - ever Google yourself? Thought so. And you don't even have investors, shareholders or employees to report to.

P.S. Did I mention that our MediaQuotient division monitors blogs for clients?