So many web sites for small businesses are just too generic and downright boring. Nothing is there to make the company stand out. Nothing is there to encourage visitors who found the site to look around or buy, or ever come back again. Nothing there to show the human side of your company. In many cases, these web sites are the only online marketing being done by a firm.
It’s hard to believe their only marketing effort of the many Internet marketing channels available, presents their company, products or services as so, Vanilla. Instead of presenting themselves as Rocky Road or Toasted Almond Fudge or Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, they chose Vanilla to represent their their public flavor. No excitement. Nothing of much interest. Could be that it is well beyond time to expose the human side of your company if Vanilla describes your firm.
A very Vanilla Home page includes vague, not very interesting information about the company, it’s products and services. Nothing to urge visitors to take any action or take the next step in developing a business relationship. You could look at half a dozen other web sites in their industry and they’d all be similar. A lot of website traffic will enter and bounce from these types of Home pages; nothing of interest. No stickiness. If this sounds like your company website, a serious need to expose the human side of your company is warranted.
Let’s say you arrive at one of these web sites and in spite of the lackluster Home page, you decide to stick around and dig a bit deeper. You might move on to their ‘About’ page. Same company image is found there, generic, unexciting nothingness. Maybe they posted something about the industry as a whole, and a bit of the history of the company. But, little more of interest to keep visitors on the site or encourage them to move forward toward an actual sale. No calls to action.
You’ve seen the type: “XYZ Inc was started in 1919 in Limboland selling rug beaters door-to-door. Five years later the firm moved to a bigger building in Nowheresville and began beating customers rugs for them. Over the years, the company continued to grow, added some carpet stain removal products, and now has three locations to serve our customers.” Ho-hum. Big deal. Who cares? This approach is stale, sterile and not the least bit inviting to visitors. No compelling story about the company. How about your business website? Again, is there is a complete failure to expose the human side of your company?
How to Expose the Human Side of Your Company
Absolutely no mention is made of the founders, who is running the company today or ran the company as it grew to its current position as an industry leader. No pictures of these industry titans, or their facilities. There is no mention of the founders or leaders, or images to bring them to life. Nothing more is provided than a vague notion that someone must have done something in the background to keep the firm in business and growing. No living, breathing people who brought the company to life.
The company certainly didn’t materialize from nowhere. Someone or some group started the company, put in the effort and sweat equity to grow and expand it. Who were they? Why aren’t they important enough to the company to be mentioned? Who works at the company today? What are their names? What do they look like? Exactly who will answer the phone or help me if I contact the company? Who is going to sell me their product? No reference to people customers can get to know, like and trust.
Benefits: When You Expose the Human Side of Your Company
Customers do business with people they know, like and trust; not nondescript businesses or web sites. The first step toward the know-like-trust level is to include images of your staff, their position or a brief job description. Even better, add a short paragraph about each one that makes them real, live people customers will want to get to know. People do business with other people, not cookie-cutter websites. Ideally, you bring that warm-fuzzy feeling that encourages relationships. It is imperative that you start to expose the human side of your company to prospects.
Think about how to make your website bring your company to life. Humanity can make a major difference in the relationship side of doing business.
