“About Us”: Kikkoman Corporation Gets a C Minus

Kikkoman Corporation, best known for soy sauce, is also the world’s leading wholesaler of Oriental food. The present company, founded in 1917, developed from a group of family-owned Japanese businesses that were producing soy sauce as early as 1603. The main About Us page is here.

OVERALL GRADE: C Minus

Products/Services: D

We like the illustration of early soy-sauce production, but the blank space on Kikkoman’s main About Us page could be used to entice us into other pages on the site. For example, the headings under Corporate Profile could be accompanied by a brief description and an image: “Message from the Chairman. Yuzaburo Mogi, Chairman and CEO, talks about his goals and his vision for the company’s future.”

We’d also like to see a statement of the company’s products, since most English-speaking readers associate Kikkoman’s only with soy sauce. The information that Kikkoman is the world’s leading wholesaler of Oriental food is buried halfway through the Global Vision page. Though heavy with corporate-speak, this page also reveals that Kikkoman has goals it plans to implement by 2020, its 50th year in the U.S. market. We applaud the use of the anniversary as a benchmark.

Personality: D

The History page is among the worst we’ve examined in this series of About Us evaluations. The first entry is 1925, even though the roots of the company stretch back to 1603. The 38 entries include such events as mergers, acquisitions, and the establishment of production facilities, without any explanation of their significance. No illustrations relieve the text. Kikkoman has a long, proud tradition of producing and distributing quality products: the History page completely fails to convey that.

Kikkoman also misses a great opportunity by not including the story of the Kikkoman logo as part of its History page. The Corporate Brand page describes the logo in detail, explaining the choice of color and font for the word “Kikkoman”--but it refers only in passing to the “traditional hexagon.” Only in the third paragraph of the Overview page (the fifth item on the main About Us table of contents, hence a page hasty viewers will never reach) is it explained--without an illustration!--that the “traditional hexagon” is in fact a representation of a the shell of a tortoise (long-lived) with the symbol for “10,000” superimposed on it, together suggesting the longevity of the company. The story is colorful; it deserves a more vivid presentation.

Accessibility: C

Finding the right contact information on Kikkoman’s site requires several steps. The Directory page (listed as a subhead under Corporate Profile) shows a map of the world that highlights the names of continents where Kikkoman’s has a presence. Click on one and you reach another full-screen map that shows locations on that particular continent. But the locations aren’t clickable: you have to scroll down to see a printed list of contact information. (Curiously, it’s only on these pages that we learn that Kikkoman makes soy sauce at two U.S. locations—in Wisconsin and California.)

The Contact Us link at the upper right of every page on the Kikkoman site links to an online form, which means the sender won’t have a record of when he contacted Kikkoman, or where the message went. We understand the usefulness of these forms in reducing spam, but we appreciate it when a company tells us they’ll send a copy of our message, or at least offers us the option of having a copy sent.

TAKEAWAY

For a company whose roots go back 400 years, the Kikkoman site is singularly lacking in history--which makes their corporate personality considerably less tasty than their soy sauce. More than most, a foreign company’s About Us page in English must be aimed at people who know little or nothing about the company’s products, traditions, and operating principles.

Does your Web site’s “About Us” section accurately convey your organization’s history and capabilities? Every two weeks we evaluate one example, grading it in three areas that are key to potential customers: Personality (Who are you?), Products/Services (What can you do for us?), and Accessibility (How can we reach you?). Contact us if you’d like to have your site evaluated—there’s no charge and no obligation.

Today’s example was chosen at random; CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company.

10 Commandments of "About Us" Pages (continued)

Commandment 4: Don’t take your own name in vain. Readers may find all kinds of things about you on a Web search. That’s why, on your About Us page, you should refer visitors to outside sources who can testify to the value of your products, your management, your expertise, and your good works. When objective third parties confirm what you’re saying, your credibility is increased.

Fourth in a series; for the series so far, click here. Commandment 5 will be posted in mid-April.

“About Us”: Knob Creek Gets an A

Knob Creek is a small-batch, 100-proof bourbon. Although no one at CorporateHistory.net is a bourbon drinker, the company caught our attention with a striking full-page ad in Forbes. Their About Us page is here.

OVERALL GRADE: A

Personality and Products: A

The About Us page (cleverly called “Heritage”) presents Knob Creek as the brainchild of master distiller Booker Noe, who was enjoying a glass of bourbon and asking himself how he could produce a liquor that wasn’t “just another bourbon.” Then we read what’s unique about the way Knob Creek is produced, how it tastes and smells, and even how to drink it. We love the tie-in with Abraham Lincoln: although tenuous, it brings positive associations and a sense of history.

The “Did you know?” panel at the right of the Heritage page is another way of bringing a sense of history. It displays dozens of facts about bourbon whiskey, dating back to the late 1700s. The history panel makes Knob Creek part of a long tradition.

The only other About Us page for Knob Creek is on the Beam family. Again, the emphasis is on tradition. We’re told that the Beam family first produced whiskey in 1795, and that seven generations have continued the tradition. We’re shown a vintage photo of the family.

Nowhere on the Heritage and Beam Family pages is it mentioned that Knob Creek has been produced for only 20 years. Nor is it mentioned that it’s produced by Beam Global Spirits and Wine, which has annual sales of $2.5 billion and is owned by Fortune Brands, a Fortune 500 company. The target audience for Knob Creek is people willing to pay a premium for distinctive bourbon that’s not mass-produced. The Knob Creek site is narrowly focused to attract that clientele.

We like the fact that the layout of the whole Knob Creek site is rich reds and browns a black background. It sets a warm, cozy mood that’s appropriate for this product. The same text set using the color scheme of EMC’s About Us page (for example) would be far less effective.

Accessibility: A

In a clever, reverse-accessibility twist, the main page of the Knob Creek site states, “You must be of legal drinking age to enter this site.” If you leave the date at the default of 1/1/2011 and click “enter,” you’re sent instead to the website of The Century Council, a group of distillers fighting drunk driving and underage drinking. Of course, no one will know if you lie about your age--but then, you can’t reach into your computer monitor for a shot-glass of bourbon.

We give Knob Creek’s site an A for accessibility despite the fact that we can’t order the product from it or get a phone number for a sales person. The right kind of accessibility varies from one product to another. For this particular product, this level of accessibility is perfectly adequate.

TAKEAWAY

The information and tone of the Knob Creek pages match the product. Sometimes less really is more.

Does your Web site’s “About Us” section accurately convey your organization’s history and capabilities? Every two weeks we evaluate one example, grading it in three areas that are key to potential customers: Personality (Who are you?), Products/Services (What can you do for us?), and Accessibility (How can we reach you?). Contact us if you’d like to have your site evaluated—there’s no charge and no obligation.

Today’s example was chosen at random; CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company.

Kinda Chintzy, Starbucks

A cake pop? A little cake pop given only to anyone who buys a drink from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. today, tomorrow, and Saturday? Couldn't Starbucks, whose tagline is "It's bigger than coffee," think of a more robust way to celebrate its 40th anniversary at the retail level? A free drink to every 40th customer? To every customer age 40 or 80? To 40 customers daily per store at random? Even a free cake pop offered beyond those three slow midafternoon hours?

Oh well--I'm strictly a tea drinker anyway. Have never drunk a full cup of coffee in my life. Now that's one of the world's smallest clubs, but I do know other members.

100 Years in 128 Pages

Communication Design, Inc., came up with this beautiful coverage of the centennial anniversary book we worked on together last year for Virginia-based energy company Dominion. CDI's stellar Tim Priddy designed the book, shepherded the massive photo research, and oversaw the printing. The folks here at CorporateHistory.net wrote, edited, and project-managed; author Heidi T. King tackled the narrative thematically rather than chronologically--a huge risk--and made it look easy. Everyone on the client side pitched in and kept the project moving. I'm smiling at CDI's photos and waving back at Reddy Killowatt.

http://www.communicationdesign.com/postscripts/post52.html

10 Commandments of "About Us" Pages (Continued)

Commandment 3: Reveal thy personality. Photos are good. Quick, solid info about the people in the company is better. Who was your founder, and what DNA did he or she impart? (From Walt Disney on down, I’ve yet to encounter a company that didn’t reflect its founder’s interests and quirks.) Where is your current CEO steering the company? Who’s on your management team? What are your employees’ aggregate strengths?

Third in a series; for the series so far, click here. Commandment 4 will be posted in late March.