A potential customer for your small business is likely to check out your About Us page before deciding to buy. It’s not surprising that customers want to know who they will be patronizing. Sometimes it’s simple curiosity, sometimes it’s a search for particular capability, experience, or expertise.
Unfortunately, too many websites have About Us pages that fail to inspire. Often, they contain generic gobbledygook about ”world-class service” or “excellent customer experiences.” In other words, pablum. C’mon folks! About Us is your chance to wow the socks off your prospects. Don’t treat it as an afterthought. Read on to learn important tips to make your About Us page shine.
1. It’s Not About Us, It’s About the Customer
Prospects come to your website because they want a solution to a problem or to fill a need. In other words, prospects care about themselves, as well they should. That’s why you need to demonstrate that you are a real business capable of satisfying your prospects’ needs. You have some idea what prospects want because you speak with them, in sales calls, one-on-one conversations, forums, emails, etc. Therefore, you know what information prospects need in order to close the deal. And the information you should offer should be real data, not meaningless assurances.
For instance, imagine a prospect who wants to hire a shipper. Don’t fill the About Us page with word salad about great performance. Instead, announce that you provide 98.6% on-time shipping with an error rate of .0001% over the last three years. That’s measurable performance that makes prospects more likely to trust you, because it addresses their needs with hard facts. Dump the superlatives like world-class, state-of-the-art, cutting edge, etc. If you are a new business, own it. State the facts as goals and describe how you will achieve these goals.
2. You Are What You Are
Prospects want you to be candid about your business. They seem to have an innate recognition of what’s false, so get rid of the fluff and keep it real. Express who you are, not who you think you should be. For example, if you are a startup, describe the benefits of a small, lean business — the ability to focus on each customer’s requirements, provide short lead times, handle small orders, customize your offerings, etc. In other words, own your newness and use it as an advantage. If you are an established company, discuss your certifications, awards, and other objective indications of achievement.
3. Avoid Stock Photos
Why do so many About Us pages have pictures of skinny young people, smiling and well-dressed? In other words, stock photos. Just as prospects can detect fluff, they also can spot a stock photo from a mile away. If you can’t provide real photos, don’t use any at all. Use pictures of the owners, employees, facilities, and other realities. Don’t use a stock photo of a model smiling mindlessly at a souped-up, three-dimensional computer display of a pie chart hologram. It just looks foolish. On the other hand, a nicely produced video where you or a partner talk about your business is a winning idea.
4. Add Meaningful Accolades
If you run a small engineering business, it’s important to talk about your degrees and certifications. If you run a delivery service, it’s not important to talk about your driver’s license. The point is to put in information that a prospect would want to see. It could be affiliation to a professional organization, industry awards, licenses, security clearances, etc.
Your website reflects you, and that’s doubly true for your About Us page. Give it the attention it deserves, and you’ll always have a positive resource that can help convert prospects into customers. Should you need the funds to hire someone to help you amp up your website, look to IOU Financial for up to $500k in as little as 24 hours.
