Author: Franz Malten Buemann

  • UJET and Assembled Partner to Enable Seamless Customer Service and Intelligent Workforce Management

    Rapidly-growing, disruptive cloud contact center innovator partners with powerful scheduling and analytics provider to transform the employee and customer experience
    SAN FRANCISCO – December 16, 2021 – UJET Inc., the world’s first and only CCaaS 3.0 cloud contact center provider, today announced its partnership with Assembled, a leading provider of workforce management software for modern support teams. The partnership equips UJET customers with greater insights and enhanced support team capabilities to provide timely, high-quality customer experiences at scale. 
    “Effective customer support requires strong planning and can be a powerful brand differentiator, but only if businesses have actionable data on support team performance to drive customer retention and loyalty,” said Tom Puorro, Chief Business Officer of UJET. “Assembled centralizes this data for stronger analysis so that brands can continuously improve. Combined with UJET’s ability to unify consumer data for a more contextual and frictionless customer journey, support teams can engage with customers like never before.”
    Through this purpose-built integration, UJET customers offering phone and/or chat support now have access to intuitive and automated scheduling at scale, accurate forecasting capabilities, and actionable reporting, all wrapped in a delightful, easy-to-use interface. The combination of modern workforce management software with a cloud contact center platform gives support teams what they need to be at the right place and right time, every time. 
    Says Assembled CEO Ryan Wang: “We are building solutions that empower the modern support team, and customer experience partnerships are core to this strategy. In pairing up with UJET, we’re able to offer intelligent workforce management capabilities to the most innovative support teams, from agents to team leads to management.” 
    The partnership enables UJET and Assembled to offer a truly seamless workflow in which CCaaS is supercharged by intelligent, productivity-driving workforce management. Teams working with UJET are able to maintain high levels of customer satisfaction while achieving time and cost savings, from increased agent adherence, increased customer follow through, as well as numerous productivity gains for agents and team leads alike. 
    “Rather than building integrations for every contact platform, we’re focused on partners that share our philosophy around CX innovation, agent empowerment, and full team visibility. UJET is a prime example of this,” says Assembled Head of Product, John Wang. 
    The partnership reinforces UJET’s commitment to seamlessly integrating technologies that make agents more productive and successful while improving a customer’s experience.
    About UJET: 
    UJET is the world’s first and only cloud contact center platform for smartphone era CX. By modernizing digital and in-app experiences, UJET unifies the enterprise brand experience across sales, marketing, and support, eliminating the frustration of channel switching between voice, digital, and self-service for consumers. Offering unsurpassed resiliency and the flexibility to deploy across leading public cloud infrastructures, UJET powers the world’s largest elastic CCaaS tenant at up to 22,000 agents globally and is trusted by innovative, customer-centric enterprises like Instacart, Turo, Wag!, and Atom Tickets to intelligently orchestrate predictive, contextual, conversational customer experiences.
    Learn more at www.ujet.cx and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and subscribe to our blog!
    About Assembled:
    Assembled is the operational backbone of the modern support team. Our workforce management platform facilitates the planning and logistics needed to reliably deliver responsive, empathetic support. Today, our solution helps customer-centric brands like Stripe, Everlane, Webflow, Betterment, and GoFundMe craft world-class customer experiences at scale. Find out more at www.assembled.com. 
    Media ContactVictoria Vichroski
    Corporate Ink for UJET Inc.
    617-969-9192ujet.cx@corporateink.com
    The post UJET and Assembled Partner to Enable Seamless Customer Service and Intelligent Workforce Management appeared first on UJET.

  • Salesforce Products Hit by Log4j2 Security Flaw

    A security flaw was identified on December 9th, 2021 that has the potential to affect a large portion of the Salesforce development world. Apache’s Java-based logging utility, Log4j, was found to have a security vulnerability officially known as CVE 2021-44228, or informally as Log4Shell or… Read More

  • 25 Best About Us & About Me Page Examples + 5 Templates

    Building a website is an exercise of willpower. The bells and whistles of the design process are tempting to focus on, but compelling content is what makes a website work for your business.
    There are few pieces of content on your website that are more compelling than your mission, vision, values, and team. And all of these elements are typically found on the About page of your website.

    By the end of this post, you’ll have the latest best practices on crafting a stellar About Me and About Us page on your website that shares where you’ve been and where you’re headed. Use these links to jump ahead to each section:

    What makes a good About page?
    How to write an About page
    The Best About Us Page Templates and Examples
    The Best About Me Page Templates and Examples

    Featured Resource: Our 29 Favorite ‘About Us’ Pages

    Download the guide to review what we love about these amazing ‘About Us’ page examples, plus a few tips about how to make one of your own.

    What makes a good About Us or About Me page?
    A remarkable About page is genuine, approachable, and distinguished. It should give the visitor a glimpse into what working with you and your business might be like. You can include personal interests, stories, and photos that convey the unique story of your business.

    Since About pages are creative and personal to you and your company, there are several ways to construct one, however, the process is generally the same. So, let’s create an About page one step by step.
    It’s tough to establish one all-encompassing template for your About page — there are so many ways you can go about telling your company story. The good news is, there are some tried-and-true steps to get you started.
    1. Establish a mission statement.
    Your About page can and will be more comprehensive than a single mission statement, but to draw people in, you need to succinctly state your goal in the industry upfront. What is your business here to do? Why should your website visitors care? This information will give the reader something to remember about your company long after they leave your website.
    2. Outline your company story.
    Every business has a story to tell. Even if you’re running a start-up, you might not have a long history of changes and growth (yet), but it’s a nice touch to talk about how you got to where you are on the About page. So, isolate the milestones before your company’s founding, and use them to give readers some backstory on your current venture.
    3. Reveal how you’ve evolved.
    There’s no shame in admitting how your business strategy — or even your way of thinking — has changed since you began. In fact, these evolutions can improve the story you tell to website visitors.
    About pages are perfect spaces to talk about where you started, how you’ve grown, and the ideals that have helped your organization mature. Use these moments to further your company story and show people that you’re always ready to change and adapt to the needs of your industry.
    4. State your “aha!” moment.
    Every good company was founded on an idea — something the current marketplace might not yet offer. What was your idea? Use this “Aha!” moment as a pivot point when telling your company story. What was a challenge you faced while developing your company? How did this challenge or discovery shape what you are today?
    5. Explain who you serve.
    As much as you want as many eyeballs on your About page as possible, you won’t do business with every single one of them. That’s why you must identify and mention your core customer. This lets your visitors know what your business is dedicated to helping them meet their needs and goals.
    6. Explain what you’re offering them.
    As you’re explaining who you serve, make it clear what it is you’re offering. Companies often generalize their products or services in the website copy, making it hard to understand what it is the customer is actually paying for. Sometimes, businesses are afraid that the literal explanations of their products aren’t interesting enough or will sound unappealing in writing. And that’s a fair concern.
    However, investing just a sentence or two into telling your potential customers exactly what they’ll receive can keep them on your website for longer and get them interested in learning more.
    7. Cite examples of clients you’ve served.
    Got some loyal customers in your portfolio? Use your About page to let the world know who already trusts and benefits from your work. A great way to showcase this is through a case study.
    Knowing about your company’s past successes can influence your prospects’ purchasing decisions because they will be able to envision their success in the success of your past customers.
    8. Describe your values.
    Customers want to be treated like human beings. For that to happen, they need to feel that they’re being served by human beings. When finishing your About page, describe who you are as a person or a team, and what your personal values are. What’s your company culture like? What bigger picture in life drives your business?

    Keep in mind a secondary audience of your company’s About page consists of your future employees. This is another reason describing your personal values is a good idea — the key to your job candidates’ hearts is to show them you have one too.
    About Us Page Template & Examples
    About Us Template
    You can create an About Us template for your company website fairly easily. Check out the standard About Us template below or use one of the done-for-you website templates that can be installed and customized in minutes.

    Mission Statement – This describes the purpose of your business as it relates to the industry or market you serve.
    Vision Statement – The future of your business is outlined in this section.
    Values – Core values help the reader connect with you and your business on a personal level.
    Target Market Summary – Your site visitors want to know that they’re in the right place and that your company can help them.
    Brief Company History – In addition to piquing the interest of your target market, a brief company history can help the press talk about your business accurately.
    Done-For-You About Us Page Templates
    Copy is an important element of an About page. However, you’ll also want to keep user experience in mind as you showcase your brand story and identity to the world. Here are some of the top About Us and About Me page templates to use or draw inspiration from.
    1. Touraza Template (WordPress)
    If you want something with a little flavor, the Touraza template is a tasteful choice. With the “meet the team” section near the top, geometric designs, and striking typography, you’ll be able to showcase the humans behind your brand.

    2. Logan Template (Shopify)
    This template makes use of large images in a modern layout to break up the ample white space. The result: A clean and enjoyable reading experience. The top of the page puts the brand story (or other introductory text) first, supported by a large image that speaks for itself. The pops of color can be customized to your brand style, drawing emphasis to the most important elements you want to highlight.

    3. Coax Template (WordPress)
    The advantage of the Coax template is that it’s powered by Elementor, a page builder that makes customization easy. Even if you want to keep some of the defaults, though, this template is beautiful, letting the typography and copy take center stage. Ideal for a personal brand, you can choose to layout your content similarly to a resume with big subheads on the left and descriptive text on the right.

    Best About Us Page Examples
    1. Yellow Leaf Hammocks

    When you have a great story about how your product or service was built to change lives, share it. The About Us page is a great place for it to live, too. Good stories humanize your brand, providing context and meaning for your product. What’s more, good stories are sticky — which means people are more likely to connect with them and pass them on.
    Yellow Leaf Hammocks tells users about its product by describing how the hammocks empower artisan weavers and their families. The company breaks down different pieces of the story into sections that combine words and easily digestible graphics, painting a picture instead of big chunks of text. Yellow Leaf is clear about why its brand is different: “Not a Charity,” the page reads. And then: “This is the basis for a brighter future, built on a hand up, not a handout.”
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    Every company has a story to tell, so break out your storytelling skills from that random English class you took years ago and put them to work on your About Us page. Using descriptive and emotive copy and gorgeous graphics, an About Us page with a story works harder for your business than a generic one.
    2. Eight Hour Day

    People tend to think that About Us pages have to sound formal to gain credibility and trust. But most people find it easier to trust real human beings, rather than a description that sounds like it came from an automaton. It should always sound friendly and real.
    Trying to sound too professional on your About Us page results in stiff, “safe” copy and design — the perfect way to make sure your company blends in with the masses. Instead, take inspiration from Eight Hour Day. This brand showcases the people behind the company and humanizes its brand.

    Why this About Us page rocks:
    Introducing the founders with inviting photos on this About Us page drives home the point that Nathan and Katie are — as they so astutely put it — “two individuals with a passion for creativity — creativity makes us happy.”
    3. Apptopia

    People want to know what your business does and how it can help them. After all, if people can’t figure out what you do, how will they know they need your product or service?
    So, skip the industry lingo — that’s what Apptopia does on its About Us page. The startup’s simple but polished language effectively communicates the company’s offering while still allowing the Average Joe to understand it.

    Why this About Us page rocks:
    Apptopia uses short and punchy sentences to explain complex products and ideas in a way that isn’t patronizing. The copy on this About Us page leads with empathy.
    4. Moz

    Instead of following the classic About Us script and writing a few paragraphs about the company’s mission and origins, try something different — there are plenty of ways to make your brand more compelling to someone who doesn’t know about you.
    Take Moz, for example. A lot has happened since it was founded in 2004, so the company chose to share those milestones using a fun, clean design that incorporates clear headers, concise blurbs, and little graphics to break up the text.
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    We especially love the humble references to how Moz received funding, how it switched its brand positioning — and most importantly, how it switched back to its original model. This speaks volumes to the value honesty and humbleness can play to your customers. Don’t be afraid to talk about your ups and downs; your customers will trust what you say that much more.

    5. Yokel Local

    Yokel Local does a few things well on its About Us page: The company spotlights its clients, its story and mission, and the team behind the brand. This last element is key because Yokel Local knows that its “vibe” wins over prospective clients. After all, when you hire an agency, you’re hiring its people. And people have personalities.
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    Because “Yokel Local” is a bit of a kooky name that gives people pause, the company pokes fun at it by providing the definition, which then leads into photos of the team at work (and at play), the agency’s story, its mission and values, and the people who make the magic happen. This magic is included all over the about page as its employees make goofy faces, wear ugly Christmas sweaters, and work/play hard.

    6. Nike

    Nike might seem like a company that’s too big to inspire smaller businesses. You might even wonder if Nike even still has an About Us page. As a matter of fact, it does, and it hasn’t forgotten the company’s roots.
    Nike began on the campus of the University of Oregon by the hand of the college’s track coach, Bill Bowerman. And even though he no longer works at the company, one of his beloved quotes still brands the bottom of Nike’s About Us page below: “If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
    This bold sentence, referenced by the asterisked “Athlete” in the words right above it, sheds important light on Nike’s audience. The brand may be big today, but Nike is all about the rising stars — whom the company depends on, according to the rest of its About Us page, to “expand human potential.”
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    Nike clearly knows its audience and makes their mission obvious to them as soon as they land on the About Us page. There’s no question that the visitor is in the right place and understands exactly what Nike has set out to do.

    7. Bulldog Skincare

    What’s the difference between “average” marketing and lovable marketing? It’s the difference between creating generic webpages that provide great information, but in a straightforward, black-and-white kind of way — versus creating webpages that provide great information and are infused with color, personality, and stay true to a company’s unique brand voice. When you create lovable marketing, you can start a movement of brand evangelists and advocates who will help you grow.
    Where does this fit into a company’s About Us page? The folks at Bulldog, a men’s skincare company that was named for the colloquial “man’s best friend” — a dog — could have typed up a few paragraphs about where the brand came from and how it was one of the first in the space to redefine and eliminate stereotypes around men’s grooming. But that text alone would have been a bit, well, average.
    Instead, the About Us page is pithy, colorful, and leads with an adorable bulldog — fitting the name and the brand. And it states the purpose of the products — to help customers from waking up with the (admittedly adorable) wrinkly face you see when you visit Bulldog’s website.

    Why this About Us page rocks:
    Bull Dog isn’t afraid to have fun with its brand. That bit of fun and humanity adds personality and humor that makes this About Us page anything but typical. It primes visitors for a story in a way that makes them immediately feel connected to Bull Dog’s mission and vision. That’s how you create memorable, lovable marketing.
    8. Doomtree

    One minute of video is worth 1.8 million words, according to Forrester Research’s Dr. James McQuivey. But what about audio and visual, too, all combined with a really cool story? Well, that’s one way to tell your story in an engaging way — through multimedia.
    Doomtree is built on a bit of an innovative concept: That a group of talented artists can each have thriving solo careers, but can still come together on a regular basis to create great music. It’s not a band — it’s a crew. It’s an unconventional concept with an equally interesting backstory that “started as a mess of friends in Minneapolis, fooling around after school, trying to make music without reading the manual.” And as soon as you arrive on Doomtree’s About Us page, you’re greeted with big, bold photos of those friends.

    Why this About Us page rocks:
    As you scroll down, users are treated to even more interaction with the crew’s events and music tracks. That makes sense because it gives visitors an instant sample of Doomtree’s product.

    9. Below the Fold

    Below the Fold is a company committed to “sharing news stories you aren’t hearing anywhere else.” With that in mind, the big headline on the page introduces Below the Fold and what the company’s purpose is. Further down, you’ll find four core values, how the business generates revenue and more details about the team behind the scenes.
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    It gets straight to the point about what Below the Fold is, who it serves, and why it exists. The simple design lacks color, embellishments, and sensational imagery so the reader can focus on what the company has to say — a direct nod to the mission statement.

    10. Ceros

    Ceros’ About Us page is interactive and engaging. As you scroll, the images move across the page with punchy designs. Additionally, Ceros’ uses these images of its impressive, unique office space to further personalize the page.
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    Ceros keeps the text on the page short-and-sweet, with powerful statements like “We exist to unlock creativity”. The Culture section further demonstrates Ceros’ playful brand voice, with core values like “We wear our chicken suits”.

    11. Marketive

    Rarely have I seen a more powerful opening statement than the one Marketive uses in its About Us page: “Got a solid product? We tell your target audience that you exist.”
    Additionally, Marketive’s About Us page displays original designs rather than photos to support the text, and the page is simply fun to scroll through. Marketive’s layout tells a story in itself — starting with what the company does, moving into which types of industries it serves and ending with the company’s earlier milestones.
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    The interactive milestone calendar at the bottom is especially impressive. It authentically represents some humble beginnings (including two unsuccessful startups that inspired present-day Marketive) and features a fun scroll element that highlights various dates throughout the calendar.

    12. Sweet Loren’s

    Start-to-finish, Sweet Loren’s About Us page is playful, engaging, and colorful. The page starts with a 60-second video and even incorporates cookie dough-scooping gifs. As you scroll, you’ll move through some of Sweet Loren’s impressive values, including inclusivity and refusing to compromise.
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    Sweet Loren’s yummy products are last on the page, ensuring you’re fully primed to purchase only after learning about Sweet Loren’s mission and differentiating factor: creating non-GMO, gluten-free, plant-based, and delicious cookie dough.

    13. TalEx

    TalEx has an interesting origin story, in which two women left a major recruiting firm to build their own and ended up landing AOL as a major client of theirs — which was previously their old employers’ client.
    TalEx has since seen unprecedented growth at 4,900% in the three years since it began. You’ll learn all this and more on the company’s About Us page.
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    What makes the TalEx About page stand out is the company’s emphasis on social responsibility, which takes up nearly half the page and explains the company’s dedication to giving 5% of its net profit annually to various philanthropic organizations. People who visit the website will know that giving back and paying it forward are important to the people at TalEx.

    14. SkinnyDipped

    SkinnyDipped’s About Us page features a few sweet, polaroid images of the employees (including three of the co-founders as young children), and a moving nod to Josh Dickerson, a family friend whose death inspired the family to start the business.
    This About Us page is well-written and inspiring — for instance, the page reads, “We decided to start a business … That it would be centered around food was obvious. For us—family, friends, food, and love are all tangled up.” By the time you finish reading the story (and the individual employee bios), you’ll be as impressed by SkinnyDipped’s brand values as you are by its delicious products.

    15. LoveBug Probiotics

    LoveBug Probiotics’ About Us page features an image of the founder’s four young children wearing “Chief Fun Officer”, “Chief Giggle Officer”, “Chief Silly Officer” and “Chief Humor Officer” t-shirts. I’ll admit — there aren’t many About Us pages with cuter introductions than that.
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    The page effectively includes all the information you’d need on the company to make an informed purchasing decision — including how the founder came up with the idea, her personal ties to the vision, the science behind her probiotics, and even an opportunity to find local stores that carry LoveBug probiotics.
    Plus, while the products are science-backed, the About Us page doesn’t confuse visitors with difficult-to-understand facts: instead, the page is simple, straightforward, and helpful.

    16. Brown and Coconut

    Sometimes, simpler is better — as is the case with Brown and Coconut’s About Us page, which features a photo of the two co-founders alongside a few paragraphs of text, outlining the purpose and vision behind Brown and Coconut.
    The opening sentence is incredibly relatable and draws the reader in: “After years of suffering from severe acne and frustrated by the lack of effectiveness and further damage they experienced with popular skincare products, Brown and Coconut founders and sisters, Letisha and Zeena Brown embarked on a journey to heal their skin from the inside out.”
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    Brown and Coconut’s About page uses no-fuss language to describe the business. Rather than ending with a CTA directing visitors to its products, the co-founders instead choose to include a CTA to follow the business on Instagram, promoting a more effective, long-term lead generation strategy that starts with brand awareness.

    17. Kuno Creative

    Kuno Creative’s About Us page effectively focuses on what makes the company different: its people. While the first paragraph describes the origin of the digital marketing agency, the majority of the page is taken up by black-and-white shots of all its employees along with descriptions of each member, like a modern-day yearbook.
    Why this About Us page rocks:
    The page looks sleek and clean, with plenty of white space and large blue lettering to draw attention without overwhelming visitors. If you’re unsure what you want to include in your About Us page, consider taking note of how Kuno Creative focuses on its people, rather than its product, in the About Us page — a great way to humanize your brand.

    About Me Page Templates & Examples
    About Me Template
    About Me pages vary in detail, but most great pages include a few standard elements. Below is a template of the most common elements of an engaging About Me page:
    Your Purpose – This describes your purpose for doing the work you do. What gets you out of bed each morning? Try using the Ikigai map for guidance here.
    Vision Statement – Who are you and where are you headed? Believe it or not, people are looking to you for leadership in some way. Show them how you’re leading your life and what inspires you to move forward.
    Personal Core Values – Personal core values help the reader connect with you and find common ground.
    Brief Personal Statement – Whether you share your hobbies, family life, or fun facts, a brief personal summary helps the reader relate to you on a personal level.
    Next, you’ll see these elements in action on the best About Me pages examples on the web today.

    1. Joe Payton

    About Us pages might encompass the values of more than one person or entity, but they’re no more important to the image of a business than your personal about page. Take Joe Payton’s About Me page, below.
    Not only does Joe’s illustrative self-portrait give him a personal brand that customers will remember, but it also demonstrates his expertise as a designer and animator. His website visitors can learn not just what he does, but why he does it, in an easily digestible way.
    Why this About Me page rocks:
    Joe freely expresses his values as a creative professional succinctly on a well-organized page. He tells a story that guides the reader through each section of the page without having them scroll endlessly to the bottom of the page.
    2. Kero One

    Kero One is a hip-hop artist and DJ from San Francisco, and his About Me page carries a valuable lesson to personal brands who cater to more than one audience — especially if those audiences speak different languages.
    Kero One’s story starts in his childhood, when he was six years old and first discovered a passion for hip-hop. Knowing how old and genuine his love for the genre is adds tremendous value to his own music in the eyes of his listeners.
    Why this About Me page rocks:
    While this entrepreneur’s childhood interests help to deepen his audience, the second screenshot below helps Kero One widen it. His About Me page first tells his story in English, then in Japanese, then in Korean, then in Chinese. Accommodating these Southeast Asian audiences makes his brand more inclusive of all the audiences he identifies with.

    3. Aja Frost

    Alright, we might be biased in highlighting this professional, as Aja is our very own Head of English SEO at HubSpot. Nonetheless, the ingenuity she brings to the company isn’t lost on her website’s About Me page.
    Being a data-driven professional, Aja knows her clients are looking for more than her writing skills — they want to see how her content has performed. With that in mind, her About Me page tells a story of her career growth, which peaks — no pun intended — at an impressive line graph showing the result of an SEO strategy she implemented for the HubSpot Blog. (The graph’s sharp decline in September indicates when she stopped collecting data.)
    Why this About Me page rocks:
    Aja understands the value of being personable even in a digital space like an About Me page. She closes out her about page with a personal note on what she does in her spare time — a great way to humanize yourself in the eyes of your potential customers.

    4. Madison Butler

    Madison Butler is an HR change-maker “committed to deconstructing the status quo and rebuilding corporate America, one organization at a time.” She does this through her DEI work and her advocacy.
    The About page, which doubles as the site’s homepage, calls this out at the very top in one bold statement: “I’m here to ensure organizations know how to make space for everyone.”
    Why this About Me page rocks:
    Madison’s About page is effective because it stays true to her mission while being simple, effective, and to the point. The second sentence in the headline, “You belong here.”, underscores the inclusivity of Butler’s mission and work. It’s even emphasized further where the phrase is repeated in the footer.

    5. Sara Dietschy

    This professional YouTube content creator has an eclectic collection of videos related to technology and cultureand expresses that diversity all over her About Me page.
    In addition to the vibrant self-portrait at the top of the page, Sara’s first sentence tells you just how many people subscribe to her channel: 780,000. This is an important number to know for her potential video advertisers and collaborators who want to know how much exposure they’d get by working with her or advertising on her channel.
    Why this About Me page rocks:
    The colored tiles lining the page — starting with the red one, as shown below — do a terrific job segmenting her work by the types of projects she takes up and for whom she’s done them. This helps the reader navigate the page and understand what’s important for them to know.

    6. ShaDrena

    ShaDrena is a graphic artist whose mission is to “visually build creative rebellious brands beyond a logo.” She exemplifies this mission for her own brand on her About page.
    In three sections — About, Bio, and Random Facts — the audience gets the full ShaDrena experience, which is more than just design. It’s also about voice and personality. As a self-described “creative hustler,” “rule-breaker,” and “designer of dope brands,” the language ShaDrena uses on her site comes across as edgy and authentic, a perfect way to make her copy mirror her personality.
    Why this About Me page rocks:
    ShaDrena’s About page is intriguing because it’s counterintuitive to what someone might expect from a graphic artist. Most of the content is presented in black, white, and gray which puts all the focus on the composition of her design.

    7. Marc Ensign

    This branding expert does two things incredibly well on his about page: He takes his work seriously without taking himself too seriously. Marketers know there’s value to keeping a casual tone in the content they create, but to attract customers, you need to prove you have discipline and integrity. This often proves to be a tough balance to get right.
    Why this About Me page rocks:
    Marc Ensign nails the balance between friendly and formal with a confident opening statement. This not only draws the reader in but also establishes Marc as a relatable partner to work with.

    8. Miracle Inameti-Archibong

    With an excellent design that emphasizes her copy, Miracle Inameti-Archibong’s site is a masterclass on how to do a one-page website well. The content is presented with large clear images, cool and bold colors, dynamic angles and blocks, and simple typography.

    Why this About Me page rocks:
    This structured design supports the story in Miracle’s About Me section, which spans over a decade but is laid out in just four sentences so that the reader understands her career span without being overwhelmed with too much information. That’s when she dives further into her expertise and the meat of the About section which is thoughtfully paired with testimonials on the right that provide social proof for it.
    Tell the World All About You
    We hope that creating an About Us page doesn’t seem like a daunting task. Take the best practices, templates, and examples you’ve seen so far, and have some fun with them. With a good story to tell, creative copy, humility, and digestible visuals, you’re on your way to an eye-catching user experience.
    You’ll be standing out from a sea of About Us and About Me pages in no time. So, tell us, What makes you different? We’re eager to learn more… about you.
    Editor’s note: This post was originally published in October 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
     

  • The Simplest Answer to, “What Is Product Marketing?”

    Pop quiz: If you had to define product marketing right now, what would you say?
    A lot of folks have difficulty answering this question, but it’s not your fault. Although product marketing is a prominent department across both B2B and B2C companies, it’s pretty hard to find a good definition of it anywhere — even on Google.
    What makes it especially difficult is that it’s one of the few job functions that touches product, marketing, and sales. It all comes down to knowing the target customer and testing to find ways to learn more about them and how best to interact with them.

    Product marketing doesn’t stop once the product has gone to market (if it did, well, product marketers at a one-product company wouldn’t have much to do after the product’s launch). The process of marketing a product as the final step is to ensure the right people are aware of the product. Those people who know how to use it, according to the needs and feedback of customers are being listened to over the product’s lifecycle.
    Let’s talk about where to start in product marketing and what other aspects of your business can support this product as it grows.
    A good way to begin brainstorming your campaign is through implementing inbound marketing methodology into your strategic plan. We mentioned before that product marketing is continual, and your approach should be the same. Inbound marketing is a strategy that focuses on attracting your audience and turning them into loyal customers that advocate for your product.
    This is demonstrated in our “Attact, Engage, Delight” model below.

    You can attract, engage, and delight your customers with other aspects of your business including strategies that identify your target audience, provide a clear positioning or marketing message, and countless other ideas. But in short, starting your product marketing plan with this model and an understanding of inbound methodology can set your business up for success.
    Now that we have a sturdy foundation to build upon, let’s get into it.
    What does a product marketing process look like before, during, and after a product is launched?
    Product Marketing Starts With Your Customer
    HubSpot’s early years faced a challenge that many small businesses face: product ambiguity. Except for the slight majority of people who perceived HubSpot as “marketing services” — which is indeed part of our product stack — our perception consisted of numerous other terms that our audience used to describe us.
    This is a primary reason businesses implement a formal product marketing operation, and it starts with your buyer persona.
    A great product means nothing if it doesn’t get the attention of the people who would benefit from it. So, who’s your audience for this product? How (and where) are you reaching them, and what’s the story you’re telling to present this product to them? When preparing to launch a product, working with the rest of your marketing team to identify your customer and develop the messaging is critical.
    Seven Critical Steps of Product Marketing
    When product marketers know exactly whom their product caters to, the marketing can begin. Here are seven things product marketers may do before, during, and after their product enters the market:
    1. Product Research: A helpful and well-made product isn’t made in a vacuum, and it also isn’t marketed in one. In the weeks and months before a product launch, product marketers work with the product’s developers to test the product both internally and externally through controlled beta environments.
    2. Product Story: Products are also brought to market in the form of a story. What problem does the product solve? Who’s facing this problem? How does it solve this problem? What does it do that competitors don’t?
    3. Product-Focused Content: Product marketing’s next stop is at the desks of the content creators. Here, product marketers may create and A/B test various marketing copy, blog content, case studies, and landing pages on their website — all dedicated to describing the product.
    4. Product Launch Plan: No product marketing team is complete without a written launch plan, spelling out every last stage of the marketing process and who’s responsible at each point.
    5. Product Launch Meeting: When the product is launched, everyone involved meets the day it’s rolled out. Much like a rocket launch, this is the product marketer’s finest hour — it’s the climax of a product marketing campaign.
    6. Community Engagement: As product marketing generates enough buzz around the product within the industry, it’s common for the marketing team to capitalize on what the market is saying about them. This includes reaching out to partners, influencers, and existing customers for commentary.
    7. Sales Enablement: As a product is being prepared for the marketplace, the sales team is waiting in the wings to develop a sales strategy around this new business opportunity. It’s the product marketing team’s job to meet with sales staff before, during, and after the product is rolled out to the public. This ensures the messaging created for this product is consistent through to the first sales call.
    With all of this in mind, you may be wondering what exactly a product marketer has to do to see these projects to completion. Let’s dive into it.
    Product Marketer Job Description
    A Product Marketer, or Product Marketing Manager, promotes products and their features to an organization’s target audience. Their duties include studying the company’s products, highlighting key features to attract customers and creating marketing campaigns for products.
    Product Marketer Responsibilities
    A product marketer’s main responsibility is to promote a product’s value to the target audience. This goal is achieved through a combination of strategy and ideation such as:

    Determining the mix of marketing content for creation and distribution
    Creating and managing budgets for marketing campaigns
    Working with content creators to make content that reflects the product and brand image
    Managing a calendar of content and creating the schedule

    Product Marketer Salary
    A product marketer, or product marketing manager’s salary in the United States varies greatly depending on the experience and tier. According to 2021 industry averages, the median salary of different tiers are as follows:

    Entry-Level Product Marketer or Product Marketing Assistant: $43,630

    Product Marketer or Product Marketing Manager: $111,890

    Director of Product Marketing: $166,928

    Promote Your Product with a Plan
    As you develop your product marketing team and strategy, think about how the elements above might take shape, and who you’ll need to work with to make it a success. Take these questions into consideration in your next great product marketing plan.

  • 8 Tips for Writing An Effective and Compelling Email

    Have you ever had to hype yourself up to send an email? Because, same.
    There’s something that feels monumental about sending an email that you don’t always get with other forms of communication. And if you’re a non-native English speaker, that task can seem even more daunting.

    This article will provide some helpful tips to help you improve the overall quality of your emails, no matter your perspective. Once you’ve applied these simple strategies to your writing, you should be able to confidently send emails to anyone and get rid of that post-send anxiety.
    Let’s get started.

    How To Write An Effective Email

    Have a compelling subject line.
    Start with an appropriate greeting.
    Have a strong attention grabber.
    Keep your message short and concise.
    Be consistent with your font.
    Write a simple closing.
    Schedule your emails.

    Do a final spelling and grammar check.

    Email Writing Tips for International Teams

    1. Have a compelling subject line.
    Subject lines can make or break your email’s success. It’s often the deciding factor on whether someone will open your email.
    Unfortunately, a lot of people struggle with this part.
    Take a look at this example:

    This particular subject line (real-life example by the way) is vague, indirect, and does not hint to me at all what the content of the email will be about.
    The result? I might delete or ignore it altogether.
    Here’s a better option:
    It’s descriptive, specific, and tells me that this is an introduction.
    Subject lines are especially important if you’re reaching out to someone for the first time. The recipient doesn’t know who you are, and can only judge you from your subject line.
    Even if you’re sending emails internally at your company, it still pays to write a great subject line so your recipient has an idea of what to expect. Like any busy person, your teammates receive a ton of emails every day, and would certainly appreciate the extra effort of a descriptive subject line.
    So, how do you write a good subject line?
    Be clear, direct, and describe the content of your email. Don’t be afraid to take up the whole subject line. Here are some good examples of subject lines:

    [Action Required] Monthly Marketing Meeting
    FYI/Informational
    Request for [Insert here]
    [Reminder] Survey to Complete | Will Take 2 Minutes
    [Name] suggested I reach out to you
    I’m going to be in town next Tues – are you available?

    If you’re sending a promotional email, avoid deceptive subject lines like:

    RE:
    FWD:
    Urgent
    Order confirmation
    Account Status

    There’s no need to resort to sneaky tricks or clickbait titles just to induce an open. They make recipients feel cheated and tricked, according to a 2019 Litmus survey. You’ll lose trust and may end up in their junk mail as a result.
    You want to associate positive feelings with your email, not anger and disappointment.
    2. Start with an appropriate greeting.
    To kick off the email, you should begin with an appropriate greeting. There are two components to the greeting: the salutation and the opening sentence.
    The appropriate salutation actually depends on the situation. If you’re writing a formal email to a bank or government institution, it would be better to start off with “Dear [X].”
    If you’re sending an email to someone you know, or work in a casual environment, then it is perfectly fine to go with a “Hi [name]” or “Hello [Name].”
    There’s also “To Whom It May Concern,” when you’re sending an email to a group email and not sure who will be reading it.
    One thing you want to avoid is using gendered and non-inclusive terms like “Hi guys” and “Mr./Ms/Mrs.” in your salutation.
    To help you out, here is a list of salutations you can open in your emails:

    Dear [First Name]
    [Name]
    Good morning/afternoon
    Hi team

    Hey
    Hi there

    3. Have a strong attention grabber.
    Once you’ve gotten the salutation out of the way, it’s time to start your email.
    While the subject line determines whether your email is opened, your opening sentence determines whether your email is read till the end.
    If it’s an introduction, you can open with something you know will interest your recipient. You can find this out through a little research on their social media profiles. Perhaps they Tweeted something interesting or recently posted something on LinkedIn you can reference.
    This will help you build rapport and show that you’re not sending a generic email to multiple people.

    Of course, this is not necessary if you’re emailing a colleague or someone you know, but it is still important to establish some kind of context so that they know what’s happening.
    With a colleague, start with the “why.”

    No one has the time (and patience) to guess what an email is about. The sooner you answer the “why,” the faster you’ll capture their attention.
    Quick tip: If you’re sending out sales emails and need inspiration of exactly what to say, take a look at HubSpot’s free email templates. With this tool, you can access a library of built-in templates designed for each stage of the customer journey.
    4. Keep your message short and concise.
    According to Statista, we send and receive roughly 319 billion emails a day worldwide.
    This statistic makes one thing very clear: We spend a lot of time reading emails. And because of this, many people simply scan emails to get the essence of the message and move on to the next.
    With this in mind, you want to optimize your email for readability and scannability. This will look like:

    Keeping paragraphs short.
    Adding bullet points.
    Using visuals to break up the text.

    While you may feel like you need to tell them everything in one email, don’t.
    No one is eagerly awaiting a three-page essay arriving in their inbox. Think about it this way: What’s the main takeaway from your email and is there a particular action you want your recipient to take?
    From there, draft your email and when you re-read it, make sure every line you add is helping you meet this goal. If it’s not, remove it.

    When you need to include a lot of information in an email, it’s probably better to suggest a phone call or a meeting instead. You can use this free meeting tool to schedule your meetings faster and avoid back-and-forth emails.
    5. Be consistent with your font.
    If I get an email like this, I’m immediately deleting or assuming it’s a scam.

    Emails can be fun. You can add images, GIFs, and colors. However, there’s a way to do it that’s not too jarring or distracting.
    This is an example of what not to do. There are several fonts used in the email, different font sizes along with different colors. As a result, the eye doesn’t know where to go and it’s a bit overwhelming.
    Furthermore, the message gets lost, as your recipient is too distracted by all these elements fighting for their attention.
    So, as a rule of thumb: Stick to one font. If you want to use a secondary one, use it sparingly. Follow the same rule for color.
    If you’re using a non-English keyboard, your fonts may not show up properly on the other person’s device. Instead, use web-safe email fonts like:

    Arial
    Courier
    Georgia
    Helvetica
    Lucida Sans
    Tahoma
    Times New Roman
    Trebuchet MS
    Verdana

    In fact, this is the exact list Gmail gives:

    This will ensure that your recipient will receive your message in a regular font, regardless of device or operating system.
    6. Write a simple closing.
    Once you’re done with the content of your email, it’s time to close it off.
    You don’t have to make it fancy – just keep your closing simple and straightforward.
    So, nothing like this:

    Instead, stick to the safe, proven closing lines and you should be good.
    You can choose from some of the most common closing lines below:

    Sincerely
    Best regards
    Best
    Warm regards
    Warm wishes
    Kind regards
    Kind wishes

    Thank you
    Take care

    7. Schedule your emails.
    One 2020 survey by Sleep Advisor found that around 54% of Americans check their work email immediately after or within an hour of waking up.
    Another study by Litmus on the State of Email Engagement in the United States in 2021 supports this. It reveals that the most popular time for reading emails is in the morning. Open rates start around 6 a.m. but usually peak between 9 a.m. and noon local time.
    Given this information, you can follow one of two strategies: Send your email in the morning when you know they’re scrolling or wait for a less busy time.
    On one hand, your email runs the risk of being buried if you send it in the morning. However, if you wait for a later time, your email may never get opened.
    It takes trial and error to figure out what works best when emailing with your team.
    If you’re writing an email to someone in another state or country, you also have to factor in time zones. Noon for you may be 7 p.m. for someone else. As such, keep in mind who your recipient is and when they would be most receptive to your email.

    Pro-tip: You can use our free email scheduling tool to ensure that your emails are sent at the right time.
    8. Do a final spelling and grammar check.
    You’re almost there – don’t mess up at the last stretch.
    Imagine spending time crafting a perfect message, only to be ignored because the email riddled with spelling and grammar errors.

    Here’s how you avoid this: Once you finish drafting your email, copy and paste it into Microsoft Word or Google Docs to give it a quick grammar, phrasing, and spelling check.
    Alternatively, you can also use free checkers like Grammarly to automate the process while you’re drafting.

    Image Source
    In addition, read the message out loud to make sure the sentences aren’t too long, sound clunky, or robotic. You want your email copy to sound human.

    All of these tips help the reader focus on your message, not the other elements of your email.
    Email Writing Tips for International Teams
    Most people won’t tell you this, but crafting a good email begins even before you put down a single word. It starts with your mindset.
    When you’re in the correct frame of mind, you’ll be able to write effective emails that communicate and persuade.
    Sounds logical … but how do you enter the “correct frame of mind”? Well, there are two ways: Put yourself in the recipient’s shoes and write the way you talk.
    More on that below.
    Imagine receiving the email you’re writing.
    Have you ever received an email that it was so incoherent you couldn’t even finish reading it, let alone even consider replying? Or included a completely irrelevant proposition?

    Image Source
    Ahrefs is an SEO tool, yet they received an email from a fishing company.
    One of the biggest problems when it comes to email writing is the lack of empathy for the recipient. Ask yourself these questions:

    Why am I emailing this person?
    Is this the right person to contact, considering what I’m trying to achieve?
    Is my message clear and to the point?
    Would this be better discussed in a meeting?
    Does each line help or hurt my goal?

    This is especially important when emailing someone new but still valuable when contacting a colleague.
    Write like you talk.
    If you’re not a native English speaker, it’s normal to feel like you should be more formal when it comes to your email writing.
    However, this results in emails that are too formal, and come off as awkward or stiff. For example:

    Native English speakers write more informally — their writing sounds like one person talking to another.
    Here is a quick grammar tip that will always help you sound more native: Write in an active voice and avoid the passive voice.
    An “active voice” shows that a subject is performing the verb’s action, e.g.: “Marilyn mailed the letter.”
    In contrast, the “passive voice” shows that the verb is acted upon by the subject, e.g.: “The letter was mailed by Marilyn.”
    Instead of writing “your feedback would be much appreciated”, try saying “I would appreciate your feedback.” Instead of writing “your request has been received”, try “I received your request.”
    Notice how writing in an active voice sounds more human.
    Writing an email shouldn’t be daunting. With these simple tips, you’ll make sure your email is effective every time.
    Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

  • 5 Tips for a Great Social Media Customer Service Strategy

    A good call center leader understands the importance of customer service. So what if you have an incredible product or service? That means nothing if your customers are displeased with their experience with your brand.  

    If social media part is not part of your contact center’s customer service vision, you’re missing out on valuable business opportunities, like: 

    promoting sales; 
    improving customer satisfaction; and 
    enhancing your business processes. 

    Creating a Customer Service Strategy that Drives Business Growth

    If you’re not leveraging your social media channels to engage and support your customers, now is the time to start. Keep reading to discover the essential role this tool can play in your contact center’s success.

    Why every business needs a customer service strategy. 

    Customer service strategies are a key contributor to your business’ long-term revenue. A well thought-out customer experience will guide your users towards a purchase faster than good marketing. In fact, PwC reports 73% of customers cite customer experience as a top influence when making purchasing decisions.  

    How to Develop a Customer Service Strategy for Your Contact Center

    How social media fits in with customer service. 

    Social media is one of the top communication tools for support  — in fact, 75% of customers use social media to engage with their favorite companies.

    What’s more, 47% of customers expect companies to use social media as well. If you’re not responding to them, fair warning: they won’t be satisfied with a one-sided conversation for long. 

    FACT:
    75% of customers use social media to communicate with businesses.

    When it comes to building a customer service strategy, social media actually offers many benefits to call centers.

    Cost savings.

    In the US, the average cost per call is $6 USD, while the average cost per social media interaction is only $1 USD. This makes sense, as paying an agent to solve an issue one-on-one with a customer is more costly than hitting “reply” on a social media post.

    However, it’s important to remember that these free platforms have their limitations  — while they’re great for addressing simple queries, complex issues will need to be escalated to the voice channel. With that said, social media is a great way to take pressure off your phone lines and reduce the cost of addressing basic customer questions.

    3 Tips to Reduce Cost Per Contact in the Call Center

    Customer loyalty.

    Call centers can use social media to engage with their audience and improve customer loyalty. These online platforms let you to have real time conversations with your users and humanizes their interactions with your brand.

    By responding to their queries promptly in a friendly and professional manner, your customers will maintain a much more positive perception of your brand. Of course, this can backfire if your team doesn’t respond in a timely manner — much like leaving them on hold. If you are able to keep your customers engaged on your social channels, you stand a much better chance of retaining them in the long run.

    Be wary of negative customer feedback.

    Despite all the benefits, social media can be a double-edged sword for businesses. Any customer service professional knows that given the opportunity, customers will take every chance to complain about a poor experience.

    The public nature of social media brings the risk of negative word of mouth. On top of that, it’s possible for your brand to go viral for all the wrong reasons. This risk alone should speak volumes to call centers: customer experience and satisfactions must always be a top priority!  

    How to Create a Great Customer Perception Survey

    5 Tips For a Great Social Media Customer Service Strategy 

    1. Use an omni-channel approach.  

    Phone communication and instant messaging aren’t enough for customers these days. 66% of customers prefer to shop at businesses that use multiple channels to provide customer service. 

    A true omni-channel contact center incorporates the many different channels your customers use to contact your business and creates a seamless customer experience, regardless of any escalations or transfers that may occur during the interaction. Social media is one of those channels — others may include chat support, email, phone channel, etc.

    Make sure you provide the same quality of customer support across all channels. Adopting tools like Scheduled Call-Backs and Visual IVR can help you ease transitions during a customer interaction, bridging them to the voice channel if needed without risking call abandonment.

    2. Seek and reward customer feedback.

    Customer satisfaction surveys and customer satisfaction scores (CSat) are integral to the success and performance of your contact center. Customer feedback offers valuable insight into the state of your service, and can help your team identify successes and areas for improvement.

    Contact centers should collect this information across all channels, and social media is no exception. Expand your efforts by sending customer surveys through direct messages, or sharing polls where customers can vote for a particular answer. This lets your customers know they are valued and that their opinions matter.  

    TIP:
    Psssst. Voice Call-Backs are another great way to show customers that you care. Don’t leave them on hold during high call volume periods!

    If you’re not getting the level of engagement you need, consider promoting a reward program to encourage customer feedback. For example, you could offer a small discount on their next purchase over $50.

     

    Report on social media activities.

    What kind of metrics do you include in your call center reporting? Most call centers choose to focus on KPIs like abandon rate, average speed to answer, and first call resolution. 

    But are you reporting on social media activity? Your customer service strategy should measure two areas: engagement data (views, clicks, comments, etc.) and customer behavior (what kind of messages they’re posting, positive vs negative feedback, etc.). Using both quantitative and qualitative data will give you a more holistic view of your social media efforts and how your audience is responding to your efforts.

    Compare with your competitors.

    There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. If you’re stuck on your strategy, start looking at your most successful competitors’ social media channels, and start taking notes. Here are some questions you can ask yourself as you explore their online presence:  

    What kind of posts do their customers share with them?
    What type of tone or language do their use when communicating with their customers?
    How frequently do they post?
    What do they do well, and what can you do differently? 

    Business coach Elise Mongomery puts it nicely: “…By looking to other industries, we step out of old patterns and set new standards.” 

    Stay on top of customer activity.

    When customers have an issue, they won’t simply call your call center. More often, they’ll go straight to social media to report their experiences and demand answers.

    This is especially challenging because your agents will often need to address their issues in a public forum. As stated earlier, customer feedback is essential for your call center reporting. Not only should you collect it, but you should acknowledge it as well — especially if the feedback is negative.  

    If a customer provides positive feedback online, be sure to thank them. If they provide negative feedback, apologize and communicate your plans to rectify the issue.  Close the loop by responding promptly and kindly, whether it’s on a public thread or private message. Your public responses should not only satisfy your customer’s need for attention or information, it should also promote your brand positively for all onlookers to see.  

    Responding to customer inquiries and complaints on social media not only helps your customer — it also publicly demonstrates your strong brand values! #ContactCenterLife #CustomerServiceStrategyClick To Tweet
    The post Blog first appeared on Fonolo.

  • And when is the shift over?

    If you sell your time as the measure of the work you do, the work is over when the shift ends. Clock in, clock out.

    If you sell your output as the measure of the work, your work is over when the inbox is empty. Once you’ve made all the pizzas that were ordered, you’re done.

    But more and more, our work can be endless. One more sales call might lead to one more sale. One more cycle of innovation might lead to the breakthrough we’ve been looking for. One more post might get you the traffic you’re on the hook for.

    In a competitive marketplace, self-regulating the length of our shift is a lot to ask. Given that the list of things to do is intentionally endless, it’s on each of us to decide what ‘enough’ looks like. Because more time isn’t always the answer.

  • Turning your employees into organizational culture and brand ambassadors

    Employees have the power to be a company’s best supporters or its worst detractors. You’ve likely read positive posts from employees on LinkedIn celebrating their company’s values, commitment to diversity and inclusion. However, you’ve surely also noticed when employees share negative reviews and experiences on sites like Glassdoor and their social media profiles.  Employees are surely essential actors of any marketing and communication strategy. Corporate leaders have…
    The post Turning your employees into organizational culture and brand ambassadors appeared first on Customer Experience Magazine.

  • How to Put Together Interesting Abandoned Cart Emails (and Examples)

    Online shoppers are notoriously fickle, and why shouldn’t they be? There are so many options and avenues at their fingertips that there’s no sense in wildly committing to the first products they see. The multi-step checkout process allows them to toy with potential purchases — chalk certain items down as likely buys while they look…
    The post How to Put Together Interesting Abandoned Cart Emails (and Examples) appeared first on Benchmark Email.

  • 50 Newsletter Ideas to Keep Your Email Calendar Busy

    Keep your email marketing calendar busy all year round with these fresh and creative newsletter ideas + get inspired by some fantastic examples from our inboxes