People Product?

How often we hear these statements from companies:

"Our people are our product!"

"Our people make all the difference!"

"Our people are what distinguish us from the competition!"

These types of claims are far too common in small business and in service industries, especially. To the people who make such statements I say: Prove it to me!

How well do you present your people, your staff ... your service providers?

I mean REALLY how WELL do you articulate the special qualifications, experience, skills and talents that your professionals can provide for customers? If your people are truly different or better, then find a way to communicate such differences. (And, by the way, if they are not truly different or better than your competition, please stop making such statements--stop bullshitting us.)

How is the language conveyed ... the writing? Is it bland? Go ahead, check your company brochure and your Web site. I'll bet the copy sounds like a bland, boring biography. Yuck!

Go check your photography. C'mon ... actually go and take a look at it. Do you even have photos? If so, are they tiny and gray? Do they look like mug shots or driver's license photos? Not good, if so. Or are the photographs of your people big, colorful, interesting and flattering?

Why would a company NOT invest the money to have great (and I mean sensational) photography of its people--especially if that company claims to be a "people" business?

Take a look at the way we present our people at Maple Creative. I'm not bragging (really I'm not). But honestly we get tons of compliments on the way in which our Web site presents our people, affectionately known as the Mapleonians. As you will see, we've create a mini magazine feature on all of our folks. We want people to see and understand the unique talents and unique nature of each and every one of our creative professionals. Feel free to borrow from our approach, if you like it.

In case anyone wonders about the source of inspiration for our people presentation, it came from a book about the TV show Trading Spaces, which features a whole cast of talented interior designers.