There are a million and one things to think about when starting a business.
Applying for an ABN, drafting a business model, hiring employees or leasing an office or warehouse, ordering and managing stock...
Then, usually towards the bottom of the list, marketing starts to creep in. A logo, website, signage, business cards, maybe a letter box drop to announce your grand opening.
But as you started to write out these pieces of marketing, did you ever stop to think about what voice your business would use to speak to your future customers and clients to convey your business’ message in the most effective way?
Granted, in the initial start-up phase of a business, the priorities certainly (should!) lie in getting money in the bank. As you get settled and have the basics covered, however,
spending some time to work out the best and most effective ways to communicate with your target market will help in setting your business up for success in the long-term.
What is tone of voice for businesses?
Imagine your business as a person. What tone of voice do they speak in? What sort of words do they use? For example,
Are they very formal, or casual and conversational?
Do they geek out with industry-speak, or do they prefer layman’s terms?
Are they nurturing and compassionate, or are they bold and provocative?
There are no right or wrong answers, but there can be voices that are a better fit for your business than others.
Why is it important to define the tone of voice of your business?
Identifying and implementing a clear tone of voice is an important building block for creating a business that appeals to the right customers.
As a marketing agency that specialises in industrial and construction businesses, many of our clients use a tone of voice that is professional, knowledgeable and helpful, yet personable.
These characteristics appeal to their target audiences, who are often owners of other businesses and are looking for experts in highly technical fields, however they are also ‘real’ people who value a real conversation. These customers want to know that the businesses know their stuff, while feeling understood and not just like they’re being sold to!
If those businesses employed a voice that only ever used slang terms, cracked jokes and rarely used industry-specific language, the people they might want to be customers will probably think they are bizarre, unprofessional and difficult to take seriously and trust.
Of course, you can still be knowledgeable and helpful while also employing a more casual tone of voice. This is often the case in creative industries, where flair and uniqueness are seen as a sign of talent, rather than unprofessional.
How to find your business’s tone of voice
If you’ve never thought about your business’s tone of voice, it’s not too late to start. Here are three ways to find a tone of voice that will suit your business.
Think about your own voice
Many people unconsciously use their own voice as the voice for their business. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as many business owners often know intuitively what will appeal to their customers. Just be sure to sanity-check this against your ideal client’s tone of voice, too!
Document your findings, because without a clear description of your business’s tone of voice, anyone else who does marketing for your business may accidentally use the wrong voice, sending muddled, confusing messages to your audience.
Look at other businesses in your industry
By researching the voice your competitors are using, you can see what people may expect from businesses in your industry.
Once you have established the norm, you can match the tried-and-true formula, or you can choose to stand out by using a different voice – casual when everyone else is formal, or visa versa.
What will appeal to your customer?
Picture the exact person you know will want to buy your product when they walk in your doors. It might already be someone you know!
What voice would appeal to that person and convince them to choose you over your competitors?
At the end of it all, finding the right balance between your own voice, the industry’s, as well as your ideal client’s, is what will give you the perfect outcome for your brand!
Implementing your business’s tone of voice
Once you’ve thought about what kind of tone of voice will fit your business the best, try to distill it into three words, for example:
Professional, Trustworthy, Authoritative
Sophisticated, Elegant, Luxurious
Youthful, Energetic, Trendy
Create a short document for your business explaining your chosen words. Make sure to provide example sentences that use your tone of voice. If possible, these sentences should come from real locations, such as a product description or front-page text from your website.
Use this document to ensure that anyone creating marketing materials for your business can easily replicate your business’s tone of voice accurately and consistently.
Attract customers with the right tone of voice
The right tone of voice is an invisible but essential way to attract warm leads and foster long-term loyalty in your customers.
Need help defining your business’s tone of voice? Get in touch! You can book a 100% obligation-free call with us at any time that suits you.
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