Why Does Brand Voice Matter Anyway?

If you’ve been hanging around here a while, you’ve probably heard me talk about brand voice before. Or maybe you’re working with a marketing company that has told you to define yours, but you don’t really know what it is or why you’re doing this strange grown-up homework. So today we’re going to dig into why brand voice matters, and what difference it can make to your business.

Consistency In Your Marketing

Ask yourself this. If I were to say, hey, let’s go meet for coffee, what would you suggest? Maybe a Costa, or a Starbucks?

Don’t worry, most people would. The reason for that isn’t necessarily that you prefer their coffee over anywhere else’s, or that it’s more convenient. It’s because you know what you’re going to get.

Brands like Costa and Starbucks have poured thousands of dollars into making sure every cup of coffee they serve at every single one of their branches is exactly the same. So whether you’re in Newcastle or Southampton, you know that a cappuccino from Costa is going to be the same size, with the same flavours and even the same designs on top.

As humans, we like knowing what we’re getting before we commit. A customer who’s never used you before will be hesitant about using you if they don’t know anything about you. Even more so if your social media feels different to your website, and different again to your blogs and your brochure.

Having a well-thought-out brand voice means you can be consistent across all of your marketing efforts, and paint a very clear picture about who you are and why people should work with you. This gives buyers more confidence in choosing you since they already know what they can expect. It’s one of the big reasons brand voice has been linked to higher conversion rates time and time again.

Speak The Language Of Your Audience

Brand voice also helps you to speak the same language as your audience. Here, your brand voice is acting as a bridge between the customer and the business and helping build a connection that could lead to a sale. Research has shown that people want to connect with brands on an emotional level, with 59% of customers only buying from brands they trust. You build that trust by having a consistent brand message and brand voice that customers learn to recognise.

A lot of things can affect the language your audience may speak. Things like time, place and intent narrow down what your tone of voice should sound like to have a greater impact. For example, if you want to educate your customers, then you need to create content with a voice that exudes expertise and authority. If you want to connect emotionally, warm and inviting might be more appropriate. It’s all about understanding how your customers communicate and what they expect from you so that you can become the brand they trust, by speaking their language.

Attract The Right People, Drive Away The Wrong Ones

This one’s always a little controversial, but it’s my job to be honest! You’ve probably heard that marketing is about finding and attracting your ideal customer, right? Well, that’s really only half the battle. You see, it’s also about making sure that your least favourite clients don’t find you.

Now, I’ve always been very open about the fact that I’m not the right copywriter for everyone. Copywriting is a very personal service, and you need to really gel with the person who will be representing your brand. And I know that as a younger woman with brightly coloured hair, piercings and tattoos, I will not be everyone’s cup of tea. And that’s fine! I love working with business owners who don’t really care about all of that, or who actively embrace it because they know that I have at least some creativity in my bones.

But there are plenty of people out there who really don’t like those things. They might not avoid hiring me for work, but they will be distrustful of me and not feel very aligned with me as a person, which will make my job incredibly difficult and probably produce poorer results.

So why would I want to waste my time and theirs? The best way I’ve found to stop ending up in meetings with that kind of business owner is with my brand of voice. When you visit my website and read my blogs (like you’re doing now), you will find the way my copy is written is very much ‘me’. It’s how I speak and how I think, and you won’t be surprised when I rock up to a meeting with you.

The way your brand speaks helps customers identify if you are the right fit for them or not. So being clear and consistent with it means you’re going to get more leads from the kind of people you want to work with, and fewer from the nightmare clients you would rather avoid.

Put Your Personality On The Page

The way you present what your brand is, what it does, and how it can solve a consumer’s problem will ultimately reflect your brand’s personality, and that in turn guides how you communicate with your customers. Take a look at Disney – wholesome family fun, right? When you think of Disney, you know what to expect, and everything they communicate is done in the same style. From their theme parks and cruises to their films, all of it exudes wholesome family fun, and it has for decades now.

If you’re a one-man band or a very small business, your brand personality might well just be ‘you’, and that’s OK! I once met with a lady who explained that her business’s brand voice was essentially her own but ‘a bit less sweary’. But as you grow and employ more people, or outsource your marketing, it’s easy for that core personality to get lost. A solid understanding of your brand voice will help you hold onto it through growth phases, and make sure you’re always communicating that personality to your customers.

Not sure what to do with all that info? Need some help deciphering the maze of brand voice and applying it to your business? Give me a call, and let’s have a chat.