You’re feeling confident about your company’s brand identity. You know what you stand for and the values that make you unique in your marketplace. That’s great! But how do you communicate that brand identity to your target audience? And, with so many others vying for consumers’ attention, how can you be sure they’ll listen? The key is creating a strong brand voice for your company. We’ll explain what defines a brand voice and how to fine-tune your brand’s voice to sound pitch-perfect to your customers.
What Is Brand Voice?
Brand voice is a simple concept: it’s the tone of voice you use to communicate as your brand. That means any written communication — from company newsletters to social media posts to online ads — should use similar words and phrases so that no matter who’s speaking on behalf of the company, they present a similar brand tone. But creating and sticking with a brand voice can be trickier than it sounds. Entire marketing campaigns are won and lost on brand voice, and if you’re not careful with how you communicate, your voice will start to veer off track.
Brand Voice Example
Buc-ee’s is an excellent example of a strong brand voice. This gas station chain is so popular, it has multiple Facebook fan pages. They pair a silly, one-of-a-kind logo with a brand voice that tells jokes, makes puns, and keeps it clean and family-friendly (like their famously sparkling bathrooms!).
The mission isn’t that inspirational: they want to provide an exceptional gas station experience for motorists. The company could have chosen to talk about their mission with well-worn buzzwords like “quality,” “excellence,” and “service.” Instead, they created a brand personality that’s fun (and often funny). They still provide quality, excellence, and service, but they do it with style.
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Why Does Brand Voice Matter?
People respond to people, not companies. The companies that enjoy stellar popularity have given their company a brand personality. In effect, they’ve personified their brand. If you can create a brand voice so strong and authentic that people almost start to think of your company as a person, you’ll reach new heights of customer loyalty. Clients will sing the praises of your company: your products, your work, and your customer service. Companies don’t inspire brand advocates like these — branding does.
How Can I Create a Brand Voice for My Company?
Like gas stations, building companies aren’t necessarily warm and fuzzy. They don’t, at first glance, create devotion in the hearts of their customers. But if you can amplify your brand from a run-of-the-mill builder to a dynamic, engaging expert who provides quality structures, your customers won’t just like your buildings, they’ll love your company. And you can do that — with your brand voice.
Remember What Your Target Audience Wants from You
Anyone who’s considering your business wants to own a new shed, garage, carport, or other type of building. But your customers want more than that, don’t they? They want solid craftsmanship and a company they can trust to deliver a superior product. No matter what kind of brand voice you develop, those elements should still be a part of it. Your mission, your values, your craft — they’re all vital to your brand personality. It’s the way you communicate them that determines your brand voice.
Consider How Your Brand Voice Could Raise Customer Expectations
Another way to think of your brand voice is to ask, “What else do we offer besides excellent sheds?” Maybe you’re a family-owned business that’s built on tradition. Maybe you prioritize sustainable manufacturing practices. Those elements (called your unique selling propositions or USPs) can help shape your brand voice.
Your brand voice will emerge as you decide what you want to communicate (your values and USPs) and the way you want customers to feel about your brand. Then, just like Buc-ee’s, offer customers a little something extra that fits your brand identity but makes it feel personal and real.
Decide on a Direction for Your Voice
Now’s the time to decide whether you’re playful or professional, whether your billboard ad delivers a pun or showcases your prowess. Builder marketing agencies often use a brand matrix like this one to help their clients define how they’d like to position their branding:
Where does your company fall between informal and formal? Between bold and understated? Your answers will help you define a brand voice, and from there, you can apply that voice to all your consumer marketing strategies.
Drill Down into the Details
A brand voice has to sound authentic, and the best way to create a believable brand voice is to hammer out the details. That means considering every little piece of customer-facing correspondence to make sure it sounds like your brand. From your truck wrappers to your website to the “thank you” note you send after every deal you close, your unique voice should come through loud and clear.
How Can I Stay Consistent with My Brand Voice?
Consistency is key when you’re trying to cement your own brand voice in the minds of customers. When you’re happy with the voice you’ve created, make it official by including it in your documented content marketing strategy. Your voice should inform all your marketing tactics and play a part in all external communication. Your sales team should consider your voice as they reach out to leads, too. Support your sales teams with branded materials that speak in your company voice. Cohesive sales materials will help them look more professional in pitches.
Pro tip: Don’t leave your sales teams out of the branding process! Sales reps are your boots on the ground, who can tell you what resonates with customers. They’re an excellent resource for creating a brand voice that sells.
Assign Brand Voice Owners
If you’re just starting out with your voice, it might be wise to assign a small team (two or three members) as the go-to for brand voice. That team will check every ad, social post, and website page to ensure the voice is unified. As the company becomes more comfortable with your voice, you could extend the team or be more open with how your voice is interpreted. But at the beginning, it doesn’t hurt to keep a close eye on it.
Make a List of Approved Words and Words to Avoid
Write a list of the words you want to use when describing your company. Then, create a list of words you don’t want to use. Both lists are useful when coaching your teams on how to communicate as your brand. Make these available to anyone who creates branded materials or posts for your company. That way, your teams can write and create with a steady, dependable brand voice.
Don’t Give Up
Branding takes time, but if you’ve honed your brand voice and you stick to it consistently, you’ll start to gather a following and inspire customer loyalty. Before you know it, your customers will be bona-fide brand advocates, telling the world about your craftsmanship, quality, and unique personality.
Stay within the boundaries you’ve created for your voice, but feel free to have fun, too! And above all, be genuine. Your customers are real people, and they want to connect with the real people behind your company.
Phillip Atwood, founder and principal of Vessel (choosevessel.com), leads a boutique marketing agency that caters to industries ranging from manufacturing to non-profits. With a focus on delivering personalized, custom-tailored solutions, Vessel specializes in branding, website development, and marketing strategies designed to elevate businesses and set their brands apart. With over 20 years of experience in marketing, sales, and technology, Phillip’s expertise and infectious positivity are game changers in the marketing world, ensuring no cookie-cutter approach — just personal attention and impactful results for every client.
