Large Business Analysis

The Body Shop, an international company that sells natural bath and body products online and in stores, follows a similar model to other large companies when it comes to formatting and wording their “About Us” page. It appears through the language that the company is very committed to their values and missions, along with creating a lasting reputable legacy and reputation. In that case, the company appeals to the audience by making their ethos and ethics known through mentioning their work in practicing sustainability, not testing on animals, and being involved with giving back to charities (par. 2, 4). The company focuses on all the previously mentioned points in efforts to inform customers and audiences of their practices and missions and to show that they are not just a big company out for profit.

Analysis of Large Business Artifacts

The “About Us” page on Festival Foods’ homepage is written in a similar manner to that of the small business People’s Food Co-op. For example, the company states some of their missions and values which are noticeably interwoven into other sections of the page. This appears as a way to appeal to and express ethics, as these concepts of service guide their practices and ways in which they conduct business with customers. The company appears to focus on their small beginnings in order to connect more with audience members. Throughout the content provided on Festival Foods’ page, the company continually puts a focus on people-whether they be customers or employees.

Starbucks’ website contains an easily accessible link to their “About Us/Company Information” webpages by including a bolded “About Us” heading on the bottom of the company’s homepage. In contrast to some of the other large companies’ “About Us” documents, Starbucks uses first person language in describing and explaining their origins, their values and what customers can expect of them. This language is likely used to appeal to the audience as the language is more conversational and inviting. Though they are a large, international company they use this language to further present the company as a humble business committed to its customers and small town connections.

PetSmart does not have a traditional “About Us” document on their website, but rather offer a “Company Information” page that gives some information and background on the company. The page itself is rather difficult to access, and contains links to several other pages as well. PetSmart’s “Company Information” page does however continually emphasize how they care for pets and their well-being by mentioning their work with animal related charities and how their stores offer any and all care needs. PetSmart really tries to appeal to its pet owner and animal lover audience by driving home their care for animals by stating that their company, “…save the lives of more than 500,000 homeless pets each year,” (par. 4).

Barnes & Noble’s website takes an interesting approach to their “About Us” page. In general, the company uses the page to emphasize all the many things they offer, from books, to music, eBooks, and discounts. In doing so, the company really uses these products and talks of discounts to “talk up” their business, instead of company values and ideas. Barnes and Noble also relies on selective emphasis to continually state and imply that they are the best place for book lovers to shop. For their page consistently emphasizes the company as “..the ultimate destination for book lovers…”, “…the ideal destination…”, and how the company “…became a leader…” (par. 8, 9). This emphasis is used in conjunction with all the descriptions of the company’s products, to appeal to their audience and customers through logos. By describing all they offer and emphasizing themselves as essentially the "go-to destination" for book needs, Barnes and Noble makes it appear as though the most logical decision is to shop at their stores for said needs. Additionally, Barnes and Noble mentions their achievements, such as their music offerings being “named Web’s best by Forbes.com” (par. 11), to further appeal to their audience and instill the idea that they are the best place to shop. The company’s “About Us” page is also very accessible to users, as it is located on the bottom of their website homepage, and it further offers a link for web accessibility/usability for users.