Independent businesses generally invest time and money on what their brand looks like. On the whole, they invest less in the words. Maybe because speaking and writing is something we do without much thought in our daily lives. Yet finding the right voice for your business is every bit as important in building your overall brand.
Why finding the right voice for your business is so important
Your brand and how your clients feel about your business is built up from every single contact they have with you, in person, on the phone and online. Think how many of these interactions are verbal: from emails, phone calls and meetings to social media posts and talks. We often speak to people first before they’ve had chance to see anything visual. Take a networking meeting for example, when the first thing someone often asks you is ‘So, what do you do?’.
Our words are often the first impression a client gets of our business. Click To Tweet
What is the right voice for your business?
The right voice for your business is the one that connects with your clients, expresses your personality, helps you stand out from the crowd…and one that’s authentically you.
Finding the right voice for your business takes a little thought and planning. Once you have defined it, you’ll use it every time you speak and write about your business – helping to build up a consistent brand image.
10 tips you can follow to find the right voice for your business
1. Know who you’re talking to
- Be clear who your audience is – your ideal client. You’re looking to build a relationship with them. What problems do they have? How do you solve those problems. And what words do they use to talk about this? Using their language will give you the best chance of making a connection.
2. Know what you want to achieve
- How do you want your audience to feel when you’re communicating with them? Reassured? Inspired? Educated? The outcome you want will impact the language style you choose.
3. Tap into your personality
- Be individual and aim to stand out from the crowd. It’s totally possible to be you AND be professional. Are you fun, serious, conversational, funny, even a little bit cheeky?
4. Consider what you’re talking about
- Use your common sense applying your tone and personality to your subject matter. Topics such as finance or health might require a more serious tone than fitness and travel, for example.
5. Keep it simple
- Steer well away from industry jargon. Just because you use certain words every day, it doesn’t mean your clients will understand them. Your audience are likely to be very busy people. They want to be able to understand what you say and write as quickly and easily as possible.
6. Write like you speak
- We’re all natural storytellers. But when it comes to writing for business we lose the art of conversation. The right voice for your business sounds the same whether you’re writing or speaking. If someone has only ever read your writing, when they speak to you for the first time, they should feel like they already know you.
7. Be authentic
- The words you use should come naturally to you and convey the ‘real you’. This means using language that’s true to you, what you believe in and your values. If you pick a voice that’s not natural, you’ll never keep it up. And worse still, your clients will soon see through it.
8. Test it out
- Once you’ve chosen what you think is the right voice for your business, test it out on a trusted group of clients. This will give you a sense check of whether you’re hitting the mark. For accurate feedback, make sure you pick people from your target audience. Don’t be tempted to ask your friends and family, unless they also fit that profile.
9. Be consistent
- Once you’ve found the right voice for your business, use it every time you speak and write. This will help your clients get to know, like and trust you. If there’s more than one person representing your business, or you outsource some of your content, make sure everyone is clear on the language they should use. Consider creating some simple ‘tone of voice’ guidelines.
10. Don’t be afraid to refine it
- You might not nail your voice on the first attempt. Listen to feedback and refine it until it feels truly natural AND connects with your clients.
Get started with finding the right voice
Once you’ve considered these 10 steps, choose three to five words that describe the voice that you will use for your business.
What have you decided is the right voice for your business? I’d love to know. Why not share your thoughts, comments and challenges below?
Image credit: Unsplash