After the homepage, the “About Us” is the first place new visitors to your company will go. Yet many businesses have it all wrong, and it’s hurting the customer experience.
The problem: Some think it should explain what their company does.
But that should come through on the homepage.
If visitors are going to your About Us to find out what it is you do, your homepage has failed to do its No. 1 job.
What it needs to do
People want to do business with other people — not corporations, says Bryan Eisenberg, a best-selling author and one of eConsultancy’s top 10 User Experience Gurus.
So your About Us needs to be built to let your human side shine through, according to Eisenberg.
It’s where you need to tell the story of your company.
First and foremost, an About Us should explain:
- Why you exist
- The problems you solve, and
- What your values are.
3 questions it needs to answer
Your company could sell any of a million different products or services — but it doesn’t.
The founders of your company choose to sell what they do for a specific reason.
And that reason is the story your About Us needs to tell, says Eisenberg.
To help you get started, create an outline by answering these questions:
- Why do you sell what you sell (other than to make money)?
- What are you most proud of as an organization?
- Why should customers care about you? (What do you stand for?)
Adapted from “The About us Page in a Social World,” By Brian Eisenberg, BryanEisenberg.com, 11/12/12.
