How to Develop an Effective Company Profile --
and Why
by Ann Hackett, Quest
Request a Company
Profile Checklist to help you develop your company profile.
What is a company
profile?
A company profile is essentially a
resume for your company that you use to establish your credibility with the
market you serve. Your company
profile helps potential customers to understand your business as well as to
understand your company’s approach, unique strengths, and relevant experience. Your company profile demonstrates your company’s ability to
effectively meet customer needs. Your
company profile also helps others who are in contact with you such as lenders,
the media, and job candidates to better understand your business.
Who would benefit from having a
company profile?
A company profile would benefit any
company wanting to establish its credibility including:
-
A consulting firm where it’s
critical for the company to establish the basis for its expertise
-
A service provider with a
service that can’t be evaluated before the sale where the prospect
assesses the company’s ability to provide the service based on its
assessment of the company itself
-
A
company that lacks a recognized name in the market it serves
How can a company profile be used?
There are many ways to use a company
profile such as:
-
Including it on your web site as
a means of establishing your company’s credibility
-
Using a print version as a sales
tool at trade shows or in mailings to prospects
-
Providing it to lenders to help
you secure financing
-
Adding
it to your media kit and including it with press releases to give the media
background information about your company
-
Using it as a recruiting tool to
promote your company to job candidates
What should be included in your
company profile?
As a guideline, shoot for a company
profile of approximately 250-400 words in length covering each of the following
key areas:
Summarize your company’s
background information
Use the first paragraph of your
company profile to summarize your company’s background information.
Include in this first paragraph the year the business was founded, where
the business is located, a top-level description of the products or services
your company provides, a top-level description of the clients and industries you
serve, and the geography you serve. Also
include details about your company’s philosophy and approach to serving
customers. Finally, be sure to
mention achievements that quickly help to establish your company’s credibility
such as awards, the number of clients you have served, or the size of your
business.
Provide more detail on your
company’s products or services
Use the second paragraph of your
company profile to list the products or services your company provides.
Use this paragraph to touch on the expertise and experience your company
has that enables your to meet customer needs in these areas.
You can also use this second paragraph to further define your target
customer for the products or services you provide.
Highlight your
company’s strengths and successes
Use the third paragraph of your
company profile to highlight your company’s unique strengths as well key
successes your company has had. To
develop this paragraph, take the time to list the top 3 competitive advantages
you feel your company has over businesses in your market space.
Weave these competitive advantages into this paragraph of your profile.
Next, list the top 3 successes your company has had and incorporate these
successes into your company profile.
Include qualifications of your
company and your staff
Use the next paragraph of your
company profile to demonstrate your company’s qualifications by emphasizing
areas such as patents, publications, business partnerships and alliances, tools
or technologies used to meet customer needs, accreditations, certifications or
the educational background of staff members.
Summarize your selling statement
Use the final paragraph of your
company profile to provide a 1 or 2 sentence closing selling statement that
explains why a client should work with your company.
Close with company contact
information
After the final paragraph of your
company profile, provide your company’s contact information including the
mailing address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, and web site URL.
Whether you use internal resources
to create your company profile or work with an outside resource, your business
will benefit from having a company profile to establish your company’s
credibility with prospects, lenders, the media, and job candidates.
Ann
Hackett is the founder and President of Quest (http://www.QuestCareer.com).
Quest helps businesses develop effective company profiles.
Quest also can help with development of professional bios for business
owners, consultants, and key executives. To
receive a copy of a Company Profile
Checklist to help you
develop your company profile, send an e-mail to coprofile@getresponse.com.
Ann can be reached at ahackett@questcareer.com
or 952-929-4197.
Additional Help
Need
help with your company profile or professional bio? Click
here.
View a sample
company profile
Request a Company Profile
Checklist to help you develop your company profile.
For a sample press release and press release tips, click
here
To distribute you press release to the media:
Send2Press™
Professional and affordable press release distribution services including placement on Yahoo!, CNET, Hoovers,
Morningstar.com, CBS Marketwatch, and many others.
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