It's all About You

Warning: This article contains mild marketing language and creative ideas, closed minds may wish to look elsewhere.

The trouble with the Internet is that potential customers base their impressions of your company based on the content and what they read on your website. Remember the whole purpose of your website is to instill a sense of confidence in your competence, whether you are a solicitor, a painter or a fitness company, people make their buying decisions based in part on your site.

For this reason your 'About Us' page is an important way of showing the human side of your business. People want to see you and your team, they want to 'get to know you, after all people don't buy from companies, they buy from people.

So what should you include? Well that is entirely up to you. It might be that including a brief history of your company or the experience of you, and your staff, is important to forging the connection with the potential customer, or it maybe you describe a typical 'day at the office', whatever you consider to be the right thing.

The important thing to remember is that on the Internet you are competing with other company's in the same way that you are in the 'real world', in which case, you need to portray your company in a professional, and understandable way. You need to set the standard that the other companies need to aspire to.

Many people will tell you to look at your competitor’s websites so you can understand them and what they are offering to the potential customer and try to ensure you are doing the same or similar things. I think that it this is partially true, but the main reason that you should be doing that is to ensure that your website is doing its job properly and forcing them to have to try to keep up with you.

If you 'position' your company as a 'me too' organisation, one that is just running with the pack you will find yourself doing just that, however if you decide to think differently, and to stand apart from the crowd, to 'position' your company as a market leader for service, and quality, for providing the best products, or the most effective service, you will know that your competitors will have to follow what you do.

Your ‘About Us’ page can say what you want to say, but remember, people read it and make decisions based on the content. Try to be interesting and factual but most importantly be brief. When you set up your business, was it to be the same as everyone else or did you have a spark or an idea that was different. If it was, that is what you should put on your ‘About Us’ page, all you have to do is catch that spark in a bottle.