When it comes to customer communication, finding your business’ authentic voice is number one. It’s the crucial make or breaks for your success. Do you want to be considered professional and knowledgeable or your customer’s trusty, relatable friend?
Finding your business language, be it informal, authoritative, upbeat, or friendly, is the first step to connecting and keeping potential customers.
Here are a few tips on how to discover your business language and where to apply it.
Why is the tone of voice important?
Your company’s tone of voice is an integral part of your business language. It is what brings your business to life for your customers, and is fundamental to communicating how you operate in your business.
- It represents the people behind the business, expressing both the company’s personality and set of values.
- It lets you communicate with your audience why your product is worthwhile and why you’re passionate about it.
- It not only communicates your story but it helps customers build a relationship with your business and harvest a sense of familiarity and trust in your business.
- Lastly, in the words of American poet and legend Maya Angelou:
“People don’t always remember what you say or even what you do, but they always remember how you made them feel.”
Carefully chosen words and how you express them can persuade or influence your audience. It’s all in the tone.
Tips on how to discover your business language
1. Identify your values
Transparency is paramount when it comes to building a relationship with your customers.
A whopping 95 percent of customers say that they are more likely to be loyal and more inclined to buy additional products and services from a company they trust.
Defining your core values, such as what you stand for, the foundations of your business, and what makes you unique, can help build your business’s personality and aid customers in connecting with your persona.
2. Define your mission and create a mission statement
Take a trip down memory lane and go back to the basics of why you wanted to set up your online business. Forget the financial gain for a minute, and ask yourself what the motive is behind the idea. How does your company make a difference and offer a solution for your customers?
3. What makes your business different?
Identify what sets you apart from the rest and make it known! Your customers have a problem, and you have the solution, so let them know why you’re the best choice.
You can start identifying this by looking at your core values and your mission and make this a driving factor behind your business’s tone of voice.
4. Get to know your audience
According to a report by Salesforce, 66 percent of customers expect brands to understand their needs and expectations. However, the same number of people also felt that they were ‘just another number.’
Find out who your target audience is and cater to their individual needs to make them feel understood and recognized.
Carry out thorough research and adapt your content accordingly to your unique customers. It’s the first step in getting to know who you’re talking to.
5. Create a personality
Translate your values and your mission into a personality. It’s useful to think of a person (historical or fictional) or your own character who embodies or shares your business’ values. That way, it’s much easier to create a cohesive and consistent voice.
A word of caution: it might be easy to jump to a chatty, informal approach, but does this suit your audience and what you’re offering? Decide whether formal or informal is best for you and choose your vocabulary accordingly.
Where to apply your business language
1. New content
Apply your tone of voice to all new content. Make sure that everyone in your organization is aware of your new business language, and put it into practice. This is especially important for all content producers and client-facing employees.
2. Audit your current content
Take a look at your existing top-performing (according to your content metrics) content and communication to identify what your business sounds like right now. Does it voice your personality, and does it successfully communicate your values to your customers? Is it supported by your mission statement? It’s a good idea to sit down with your team and help assess what your business sounds like. Once you’ve done this, start channeling your business language through your content. Check out Neilson Norman’s four dimensions of the tone of voice to help break down and capture your business language.
3. Developing your business language with jdp
At jdp, we translate your business into a language that lands with your audience. Content marketing connect your sales and marketing strategy with consistent, clear, and compelling messaging. Our team at jdp is experts in perfecting customer communication. Book your free consultation today and let jdp help your business connect you with the right audience.
