Brand and tone of voice

To be honest with you, there’s a lot of marketing frippery about brand. You’d be forgiven for thinking it’s just a way that advertising agencies make money from big businesses.

vintage, weathered sign saying Sea View bar, Tea and coffee, open dailyBut behind all the gloss and glamour, brand is actually really fundamental to what you do and how successful your business is.

Brand is what your customers think about when they hear your business name or see your logo. It’s based on what they’ve seen and heard, what their friends have told them – good and bad. It’s about your reputation.

People like to buy from brands they know, like and trust. With the right brand, you hardly need to say what you do. Customers know your business, what you do and what you stand for, and if you get it right, they recommend you without even thinking about it.

How I can help with your brand

I can help you develop, and talk about your brand, so that you and the people in your business really understand what it is and why it’s so important.  I can debunk the myths and show you how you can make your brand really work for you.

Ask me about brand development and training workshops 

So what’s tone of voice then?

Tone of voice, is simply what you say about your business and how you say it. It’s a big part of your brand. And it’s my speciality. Let me explain…

Think about emails you get from businesses. They might be from a supermarket; that nice bed and breakfast you stayed in last year; or the latest offers on stationery supplies.

a photo of a page in a dictionaryDo they start with ‘Hi Matilda…’ (or whatever your name is)? Or, ‘Dear Valued Customer…’? How does each of those make you feel?

Those are only two or three words, but already you have a feeling about how much that company values you, don’t you? And that can make a big difference when you’re choosing who to buy from.

You might want to think about tone of voice as being a bit like a personality. Is your business friendly, personal and caring? Professional, smart and focused? Crazy, outgoing and inspirational? Or something else altogether?

Your tone of voice helps your business stand out from the crowd and can make it more memorable than your competitors.

  • If you don’t know what your tone of voice is, I can help you find it, develop it and write copy that shows it in action.
  • If you do know what your tone of voice is, I can adopt it to keep your communications consistent, and help train your employees in how to use it.

No business is too big or too small to have a tone of voice.

I’ve developed tone of voice guidelines for a FTSE 100 company and delivered training workshops to hundreds of people including financial directors, lawyers, marketing teams, sales, support and technical staff.

Find out how I can help your business with brand and tone of voice