We’ve evolved as human beings to be highly attuned to subtle signals such as body language, gesture, and tone of voice. When writing, all those signals are carried by tone of voice, so the tone of voice you use to communicate your brand identity is vital.
Tone of voice paints a picture. It helps customers understand and connect with your brand and turns your brand identity, the way you want to be perceived. into your brand image, the way you are perceived.
Put simply, your tone of voice is how you sound. It’s the words you use and the emotional tone in your business content, including your website, letters, emails, newsletters, call-centre scripts, policy documents and annual reports.
Tone of voice isn’t the same as good writing
Tone of voice isn’t the same as good writing or strong messaging. It’s about using language to give your brand its own distinct and recognisable voice, that’s consistent across all the touchpoints on the customer journey.
When your tone of voice is consistent, your audience hears the same person speaking whenever and however they deal with your business.
The way organisations use language has a massive impact on customer experience, for better or worse. Which means tone of voice is a great opportunity to build trust, show your customers you care about their problems, appreciate their needs, and want to help them.
Here’s a list of things you can do now to get a feel for your current tone of voice:
Read some content aloud from your homepage and imagine the person who’s speaking. Describe how they sound — are they boring or intriguing, vivacious, or uptight?
Brainstorm with staff. Get people to write down three adjectives to describe your tone of voice.
Compare your tone with your competitors. Take your content and content from other companies, other housing providers and some well-known organisations and delete any references to the brand names. If you can’t identify your own organisation, it’s a sign your tone of voice isn’t making you stand out.
Hear the customer voice. Ask your customers! Based on letters, emails, newsletters, social media, and your website how would they describe you? This will highlight if you have a consistent tone.
Don’t leave your tone of voice to chance. Contact us to learn how we can help you define and embed your tone of voice.