Ideal Industries, founded by J. Walter Becker in 1916, was by
1949 America’s largest producer of wire nuts. Headquartered in Sycamore,
Illinois, the company (still privately owned) produces connectors, hand tools,
testers and meters for the electrical and telecommunications industries. Ideal
Industries’ main About Us page is here.
OVERALL GRADE: B
Products/Services: B
On the About Us menu, the first item is a page of Featured Stories,
which cover the product that brought Ideal Industries fame (wire
connectors) as well as more recent innovations (a DC
power connector that reduces energy costs). The second page on the menu, Our Story,
has a good 2-paragraph summary of the company’s products and the breadth of
applications they’re used in. We especially like this crisp example of
corporate storytelling: “We’re best known for our wire connectors, which have
become the go-to standard for electrical connections around the world, but our
innovations also touch the sky -- where nearly every commercial jet flying
today was made using IDEAL wire strippers. We’ve reached the moon, as part of
the critical equipment on NASA missions. Best of all, we touch the daily lives
of skilled tradesmen around the globe….”
Why not add links from there to the various featured
stories? It’s such an easy and effective way to guide visitors to other content
on the site.
The Our History
timeline has a good selection of milestones, including products, awards,
acquisitions, and leadership. Each has a logo or another type of
illustration. Well done!
Our Commandment 6
of About Us pages is, “Honor thy visuals.” Why not include images such as
those on the timeline on other pages? The first 3 images on the main About Us
page (Our
Story) seem to be from a school tour of the company’s plant--an odd choice
of illustration. One is a link to a video that we’ve never been able to play. Even
if it’s brilliant, the other images need to stand on their own, which they
don’t.
Personality: A
The company’s founder, J. Walter Becker, is frequently
mentioned as being the inspiration for the values that still drive this
family-owned business. On the Executive
Staff page, each officer has a bio plus a sentence or two on his or her
strategy, and a quotation. This is an excellent way to convey the aims and
personality of the current leadership.
Accessibility: D
Our Commandment 8
of About Us pages is, “Remember to make yourself and your organization
easily accessible.” Because Ideal’s pages stress their commitment to
collaborate with the professionals who use their products, we were surprised
that the Contact Us page has no email address or online form for contacting the
company--just a mailing address and telephone.
TAKEAWAY
As Ideal Industries approaches its 100th business
anniversary in 2016, it has a strong history base to build on. But if you
advertise yourself as being responsive to customer feedback or proud of
collaborating with customers, be sure to make it easy for them to get in touch.
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?). To talk about your About Us page, contact us!
Today’s example was chosen at random;
CorporateHistory.net has no ties to this company.
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