What do your customers know about you?
Is it that you sell X product and that your website is located at example-domain.com? That’s not enough to build a brand identity that resonates with buyers and establishes your brand as the right choice.
Creating a compelling company profile will help your customers understand your company beyond the basics. Ultimately, your company profile is what intrigues a new visitor to check out your products or services in more detail, and nudge potential customers into choosing your business over competitors.
In this article, we’ll discuss:
- What a company profile is
- Company profile examples
- How a company descriptions fit in
- Company description examples
- How to write a company profile with all this in mind
- Company profile templates to help you out
To illustrate, lets’ take a look at two famous examples.
We all know about the infamous rivalry between Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks. At the end of the day, they both sell coffee — but they’ve each cultivated strong, unique brands, and have attracted very different audiences as a result.
You can often overhear heated arguments regarding the topic, with people vehemently claiming one coffee chain to be better than the other. But let’s say you didn’t know about the rivalry, and you’d never heard of either Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts before.
Instead, you stumble across these two very different company profile statements:
From their opening paragraphs alone, I’m willing to bet you’re persuaded to check out one brand in more detail over the other. It isn’t just the language itself that gives you a sense of their business — it’s the design, the font, and the color.
That’s why having a company profile is so important.
Why Company Profiles are Important
It’s quite easy to skip over company profiles and simply write a cut-and-dry “about” page that doesn’t tell much about you.
Company profiles go a step beyond the standard “about” page by sharing how your company got started down to where it is today — and why you continue to serve customers.
Here are some of the reasons why having a company profile is important:
A company profile will differentiate your brand.
A company profile will naturally describe what makes your company unique. It will automatically differentiate your brand because no other company has the exact same founding story and reason for existing that you do. Your history and values are integral parts of a brand positioning strategy, and a company profile is the one place where you can mention these pieces of information without it feeling extraneous or out-of-place.
A company profile may justify a higher price point.
If you go into detail about your production values or ethically sourced materials, you may be able to justify a higher price point for your products and services. For instance, Starbucks’ coffee may not necessarily be better than Dunkin’ Donuts’ coffee — but because Starbucks goes into detail about its high-quality ingredients, it immediately creates the sense that you’ll be paying a premium for its goods.
A company profile will build your reputation.
What do you want to be known for? As the company that started as a small family-owned shop but then grew into a billion-dollar enterprise? As the company that places sustainability and ethics at the forefront of its efforts? You can build your reputation through marketing, service, and sales campaigns, but it all begins with the company profile.
Who you are, where you come from, and why you exist will create the groundwork needed for fostering a positive reputation.
The importance of creating a company profile can’t be overstated, but if you’re not sure how to write one, don’t fret — below, we go over what you should include in your profile.
Your company profile shouldn’t be a regurgitation of your “about us” page — though your company profile can certainly be part of your “about us” page. The truth is, a company profile is less about what you do than about why you do it and how you got started doing it.
Here’s a handy list of things you should include in your company profile:
- Your business name
- The year you were founded
- Your founder’s name
- Your original business name, if you had one
- The original reason your business was founded (or the former vision or mission for the company)
- How that reason, mission, or vision changed over the years
- A description of your products and services
- Your current mission and vision statement
- Your motto or slogan
- Your company values
In your company profile, you should strive to describe how you solve for customers’ pain, what problems you seek to solve, and why you’re different from the competition. Those three pieces of information should be infused into every section of your company profile, as opposed to having dedicated sections.
If you’re not sure how to get started, below we’ll explore some of the most creative company profile examples. That way, you can create a company profile that will attract and engage the right audience. Once you’re done perusing these impressive examples, take a look at our template to get started designing your own.
Company Profile Examples
1. Starbucks
Starbucks’ company profile has it all — the company’s mission, background story, products, store atmosphere, and even folklore regarding the name. Best of all, they somehow manage to pull off sounding both genuine and grandiose. I don’t know many other coffee stores that could claim that their mission is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit.”
Starbucks’ company profile is a fantastic example of a store with a common household product — coffee — managing to stand out from the competition through their mission and values.
2. Wales Bonner
If your company has an interesting and intellectual history, you might consider creating a company profile like Wales Bonner’s. The profile reads like an essay from the very first line — “Informed by broad research encompassing critical theory, musical composition, literature and history, WALES BONNER embraces a multiplicity of perspectives, proposing a distinct notion of luxury, via a hybrid of European and Afro-Atlantic approaches.”
After sharing the brand’s intellectual background, it then describes the owner’s path to founding it, starting from the time she was a college student. With a good balance of image and text, the timeline serves as a reminder of Wales Bonner’s stability and growth.
3. Diehl Group Architects
For both cleanliness and ease-of-use, take a look at Diehl Group Architects’ company profile. The web page uses clickable boxes to separate topics, allowing users to choose which subject they’d like to learn more about. Additionally, the entire design — including the page’s background, which displays a floor-plan — mirrors the company’s purpose.
4. Bloomberg
Nearly nine out of ten people report wanting to see more videos from brands, so you might consider using a compelling video to convey your company’s story, like Bloomberg does in their company profile.
Additionally, Bloomberg’s profile proves the company knows its audience — they offer a few quick statistics, and then link to other areas of the site, such as Careers and Tech. While another business might do well offering a creative, long-form story, Bloomberg’s typical demographic is likely more analytical.
5. Nike
You can get a sense for Nike’s two primary purposes almost instantly — fitness and people. When you first open their company profile, you’re greeted with videos of people of different ages, gender, and nationalities playing sports.
Additionally, their initial introduction is this: “Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.” Below, beside the asterisk, it says, “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” As you scroll, you’ll see information on their internal diversity and inclusion initiative, their global community impact, and their sustainable business program, with very little mention of their products.
Nike’s company profile portrays a larger, grander vision, compelling an audience to believe in their brand even before they purchase a product.
6. Seattle Cider
Seattle Cider Company’s profile is minimal and engages the user through compelling animations that demonstrate the company’s cider selection. The page flows seamlessly, and provides critical information regarding the product before displaying the company’s mission and values. This profile is a good example of a company that understands its users’ concerns (in this case, quality ingredients), and addresses those issues while still displaying personality and flair.
7. Delta
Delta’s page is well-organized by topic, and showcases the company’s values, including efforts to engage with the community and promote sustainability. They’ve included brief meta-descriptions below each category. The design allows for users to click-through if they want to learn more. Overall, Delta’s company profile is simple and uncluttered, but includes all the necessary information to demonstrate why Delta is unique.
8. Roam Loud
Do you have a personal story behind your company’s founding? Roam Loud’s example is one you may just want to copy. The brand’s company profile is simple yet effective, starting with a friendly greeting (“Hey there!”) and ending with a list of values. In between, the founder makes it clear why she created this brand — and why its existence is so important to her and prospective buyers.
9. MAD Architects
For simplicity and informativeness, take a look at MAD Architects’ company profile. The profile isn’t shy about the firm’s numerous accomplishments, and it gives readers the opportunity to dive deeper by listing the firm’s exhibitions, lectures, awards, and publications, all visible on different tabs within the same page. If your business is a leader in its field, it’s important to establish that in your company profile. Consider creating one similar to MAD Architects’ profile.
With this in mind, the description serves to align with the prospect as they are evaluating which providers are right for them. By leaning into a strong brand voice and providing details about what makes your company unique or superior to the prospect’s alternatives, customers will believe in your brand and want to do business with you.
Examples of Company Descriptions
Here are some examples of company descriptions that enhance their organizations’ company profile.
1. HubSpot
On HubSpot’s company profile page, you can find a quick description of the company’s mission and what it does. In just a few words, HubSpot explains that the company’s goal is to help businesses grow through its specialized inbound software.
2. Landed, Inc.
Landed, Inc.’s About Us page starts with their vision statement: “If we want stronger schools and safer communities, we need to support those who make it possible.” From there, they talk about their history before launching into their mission statement and company description. The latter is summarized succinctly in bullet points in its own separate section, making it easy for prospects to find and understand.
3. H&H Wealth
In the “Why Us” page of their website, the founder of H&H Wealth calls out what makes her different from other certified financial planners and leans into why her customers benefit from her unique perspective. She also makes a promise to her clients, which sets the expectations and the tone for the service being delivered. As a result, the tone comes across as that of a partner rather than a vendor.
4. Tesla
In this description, Tesla explains when it was founded, the company mission, and what types of products it specializes in. It also gives added information about the history of the company and how it has continued to grow with the same values.
5. Authentique Agency
Authentique Agency provides a lot of information up front for their customers because they know that partnering with an agency (and choosing which one on top of that) is a big decision for scaling businesses. It not only provides information about its values, but about its long-standing experience in the industry and primary goals when they work with clients.
6. The Cru
The Cru is a service that connects members with like-minded women to fuel personal and professional growth. They use an “Our Story” page as a company profile, where the founder details how the organization was formed and how she now has her own “Cru” (a play on the word “crew”). This summary is a testament to the value of the service. The “letter from the founder” style also feels very personal and welcoming.
7. H.J Russell & Company
H.J Russell & Company opens up its description with its history and specialities: “H. J. Russell & Company, founded over 60 years ago, is a vertically integrated service provider specializing in real estate development, construction, program management, and property management.” It also makes its values clear in the last sentence, so that you get a snapshot of the company’s values, key value proposition, and leadership status in just a few sentences.
8. Carol H. Williams
Carol H. Williams, an advertising agency, doesn’t have an “about” page or a formal company description. But it does include a snapshot of what the company is all about in its “Team” page. It emphasizes its core values and uses trendy language (“#squadgoals”) to establish that it keeps up with the current trends.
Company Profile Templates
Download These Templates for Free
- Company name
- Established date
- Physical address per location
- Contact information
About Us / Our Story / Our Beginning
Here, you’ll want to include a brief introduction to your company, including where, when, and by whom the company was founded, the company’s mission statement, and/or the company’s vision and purpose. In this section, you don’t necessarily want to include products or services — instead, focus on your bigger meaning, and how you stand out from competitors. Tell your story in a compelling way — for instance, HubSpot starts their About Us section with, “More than ten years ago, we had a vision — an inbound world”. HubSpot doesn’t mention their products until further down the page.
If you want to add your company history in a more compact way, consider adding a company timeline, like this one:
Our Mission / Values
Here, you’ll want to say what your company stands for on a larger scale. What is your ultimate goal, and what do you hope your products or services will give people? Take a look at these inspiring company vision and mission statement examples for ideas. Here’s an example:
Our Team
Provide a picture or brief paragraph describing your team — you might focus on leadership, or provide an explanation of your company’s culture. Ultimately, this section should help users understand how your employees can uniquely serve them.
Our Product / Services
Describe a high-level overview of what your product is, and how you hope it will positively impact the user’s life. You can link to a Product page if necessary, so keep this section relatively general.
Start Your Company Profile Today
There are a few elements that can contribute to a stellar company profile, and by adhering to a template, you can build one quickly and effectively.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in January 2019 but has been updated for comprehensiveness.
