Why Your Experience Causes Problems

The X-years

The very first company I wrote for was a contractor. On his original site I saw one of the most common and most annoying blunders that I find in in marketing writing- the “x years of collective experience” blunder. Why is it a blunder? Let me break it down for you.

Collective experience is a way to hide inexperience

Saying that “we have 50 years of combined experience” may sound okay at first, but it actually hides the real issue. You could have 25 people with an average of 2 years of experience each. And your audience has no way to know. Far too often the companies that use the combined or collective experience tag, are using it to hide their lack of experience.

Narcissism

Quoting statistics that no one asked for displays textbook narcissism. When your statistics are all about you (or come across that way), all you will do is alienate potential clients.

Collective experience doesn’t address the issue

The ultimate reason why “collective experience” is a blunder is that it doesn’t address the issue it was meant to. It doesn’t answer the question, “Is this company reputable and trustworthy?” Most of the time I see any reference to number of years in business, it is offered as fact about the company that you should know. If you really want to address the issue of trust, there is a better way to do it.

Addressing the Question

If you really want to address the question of trust, you do need to mention experience and years are a good indicator of experience. But years do not necessarily equal experience. You have to draw the line between the two. For instance, you could say, “We can answer any questions you may have. After all, we have rarely had any questions we couldn’t find an answer for in our last 15 years in business.” In this example, the number of years in business serves as proof of knowledge. It demonstrates why the company is able to answer questions.

In Conclusion

Most people who write for their own websites don’t put their content through a thorough thought process. They don’t know that they need to look at their content and ask questions like “Why does this need to be included?” or “How will the reader understand this?” But these questions are essential to getting good content that converts people to clients. If you are thinking about having your website redone, take a moment to consider whether you are equipped to do the writing yourself. And if you need some help looking at you site, feel free to give us a call, our consultations are free.

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