What do I need to know in order to make a decision about hiring you? That is what your ABOUT section on your blog or website must answer. On the rare occasion that someone is going to make a decision about contracting services or buying products from you, that person will want to know your credentials.
Here are a few questions that you should answer:
- How long have you been in business?
- What is your experience?
- Do you have any special credentials?
- What makes you special?
- Who are you?
- Where or with whom have you worked?
Recently, I was “shopping” for a doctor. The insurance website listing is not helpful other than to give me the distance the doctor is located from my house and where he or she went to school. So I checked to see if some of the practices had websites. I found one that was very simple yet answered questions I had: does the practice do its own lab work? What kind of healthcare do they practice? What are the doctors’ backgrounds? It all sounded good to me and now I have an appointment. I will let you know.
On the other hand, I came across a new marketing company’s website. Their “About us” says this:
We are uniquely qualified “marketing experts” as our seasoned management team has a combined 50 years of success in executing revenue generating strategies across numerous industries. We’ve been the leaders of Sales, Marketing, Business Development and Product Marketing teams. We have made cold calls, designed and launched products, catapulted public relation campaigns, pontificated press releases, and of course, successfully executed hundreds of marketing campaigns for small, medium, and large businesses.
Our team not only creates the programs, they are on the front lines executing and analyzing them. However, our success isn’t measured in our experience and ROI alone. We are customers too and know the importance of rapport-building and customer service. We treat each customer as honor, and mind our customer’s marketing campaigns as they were for our own company.
Why not tell me who you are, with whom you have worked, and where you are located, for starters? Hell, I am a “seasoned marketing expert” myself, right? (Not to mention the excessive capitalization.)
What other things do you look for when you are looking to hire/contract/buy services? Comments please!
About Deborah Brody
Deborah Brody writes and edits anything related to marketing communications. Most blog posts are written under the influence of caffeine.
