Say Cheese! It’s time to take a selfie … or even better, have someone take your picture. Yes – that includes you shy ones out there. Your customers want to see you. Really! Because people do business with people they know, like & trust and seeing a picture of who they’re dealing with is one of the fastest ways to earn that “know, like & trust.”
This is especially true if you’re a one-man show or it’s you and your spouse or a partner. Your customers want to know who’s the face behind the company. It doesn’t matter what gender you are. Your race, color of hair, glasses, facial hair, etc. doesn’t matter either. What does matter is that your customers can see who you are. YOU! If you can add a little blurb about you, even better!
What makes this even more important is if your customers will be working directly with you. When they come to your store, will they see you? Will you be the one behind the counter? If so, if they see your picture ahead of time on your website, you’ve already made a connection. You’ve helped establish a sense of familiarity, which of course, leads to trust (which leads to more business!).
What if you’re in the service industry? YES! A thousand times yes! This is the most important industry in which you need to have ypur picture on your website. Why? Because the customer is going to be working with you!
Remember, having a picture of you on your website makes it personable. It humanizes your business. It allows customers to relate to you and that helps them to develop the know, like & trust factor.
EXAMPLES:
Osburn Irrigation is a family run business here in Hamilton. They have their family picture on the homepage of their website along with a button to “learn more” and read more of the history of this family run business.
Peter Goulet Builders: Peter is a remodeling contractor in the Bitterroot Valley. When hired, Peter will be working in your home. Wouldn’t you want to know a little more about Peter before you hire him? Of course! So it’s good that Peter has not only his picture but a short bio about himself as well.
Finally, there’s my website. Because I’m in the service industry (creating websites and videos), it’s important for you – the client – to know more about who will be creating your website and who will be behind the camera of your videoshoot.
Are you getting the picture? (No pun intended 😉
One other example. I order my shampoo from an online company called Outlaw. There’s something about having my shampoo smell like gunpowder and leather. It’s a fun company too; very down to earth. They’re a bigger company so you won’t see the owners on the homepage. But they are on their About Us page … and they also include their picture in their packaging. They look fun. They look real. It adds to the buying experience. There’s a face (or in this case “faces”) behind the company.
Where do you put that gorgeous photo of you on your website? It depends. If you’re a small business with 1-2 employees, it’s best to have it right on the homepage of your website. From there, you can create a link to an About Page where they can learn more. Bigger businesses might not need to have a team picture on their homepage, but they should at least have an About Page to “learn more” and establish that trust.
It’s important to note as well that your picture should be somewhat recent. You might have been a knock-out in high school but if that was 20 years ago, you might want to get how your phone and take a new picture. The more authentic, real and current it is – the more relatable you are.
