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Has your agency got a voice?

June 20, 2013  /   No Comments

Kerry Dennison

Think about how you communicate with clients and candidates – do staff offer a consistent reflection of your agency’s brand? Marketing expert Kerry Dennison explains why finding a common voice can help your business stand out.

Throughout my career I have frequently used agencies both as a candidate and as a client. The experience I have had ranges from great to the terrible, and I’m not just talking about the quality of service. The brand experience you get also varies widely from agency to agency. Some really have it bang on and clearly understand their market, whereas others don’t.

When it comes to branding, one of the most frequent things I hear from clients is, “I want to stand out, and I want to look different”. Companies from all industries want to create differentiation and develop an image that gives them the edge over their competitors. That’s great but as we start working through the branding process they suddenly realise that making themselves really stand out comes from more than just a new logo and a clever creative; it also comes from the words you use; both verbally and when to you write about the business.

Tone of voice is a crucial element of a truly successful brand. It can make a huge impression on your audience and give them a real sense of what you’re like to work with. Too formal or corporate and they may think you’re not approachable, too friendly and chatty and they might not take you seriously. So, how do you create the right tone of voice for your brand that best reflects your personality and gives you the edge?

Identifying your tone of voice can sometimes be just as difficult as creating your visual identity; you know what you want to do but you just can’t visualise it. It’s not an easy journey but there are some key tips…

Think about the personality of your brand and the values that underpin it. Don’t go using a tone of voice that is too serious and formal if you’re a more fun and quirky agency.

Next, look at where you use your tone of voice; write a list splitting it between written and verbal (email, meetings and the like). Once you’ve done this, carry out an audit by carefully reviewing examples of all your written communications including proposals, brochures and presentations. Be thorough and even drill down to the messages you write in your email signatures or the headlines you might use in a piece of advertising. Read them all and ask yourself:

Do they all sound like they come from the same place?

Do they give the right impression of your business?

Do they use unnecessary jargon or business speak?

Put yourself in the clients’ shoes, could this be written by any other agency out there?

Be critical, do you honestly feel they are well written or do you think there is room for improvement?

Then, look at your verbal communication…. Listen to others’ conversations; not in a covert ‘secret operation’ way, but tell people what you are doing. Listen in on calls and conversations between colleagues to how they talk about your brand with each other and your customers.

We don’t want everyone to sound like robots reading from a script, devoid of any of their own personality, but it’s important to get your colleagues to all write and talk in a consistent way that reflects your business and where you sit in the marketplace. You can do this by creating a ‘tone of voice’ section in your employee brand guidelines that gives some practical examples of different scenarios and the words or phrases to use. For example, when a colleague makes that all important first call to a new client give them some direction which they can then make their own.

There’s no one size fits all answer, and many corporate businesses will want to adopt a very formal approach, but you need to work out your position and have confidence to live and breathe that vision. No matter what sector you work in, use language that appeals to your market, make it personal to them and drive culture that ensures your team is your biggest advocate. In summary, your brand needs to sound as good as it looks. 

Kerry Dennison is marketing director at Studio North

 

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  • Published: 11 years ago on June 20, 2013
  • Last Modified: August 8, 2013 @ 6:39 am
  • Filed Under: Archives

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