Like a fingerprint, your brand’s voice is unique. When people hear, read, or see your marketing, they immediately know it belongs to your brand because your message has its own special quirks.

It could be lighthearted and humorous, as in the case of food company Oatly, or professionally polished, like the CRM juggernaut Salesforce. These companies are memorable because they speak to their audiences with an authoritative voice that is still unique to them.

But if your company doesn’t have a clear brand voice, you risk people not understanding what your business represents, which can lead to a host of issues.

Erratic or inconsistent tone

Part of brand personality involves having a uniform tone. Your business’s tone is conveyed through attitude and word choice. As an example, let’s see what happens when discussing staying late with a colleague to work on a project.

If they said to you, “You need to stay late today. We have too much work,” this would come across as more aggressive than, “Hey, could you stay a bit later today to help finish up this work? It would really help.”

You’ll probably have a more negative impression of your coworker in the first example versus the second, which could affect your relationship moving forward. Now, imagine if they kept switching between these two tones. You would probably feel pretty irritated.

The same goes for your audience. Switching tones can be jarring for readers, leaving them unsure about how to interpret your message.

The fix?
Decide on one tone for your brand voice and include it in your company’s style guide. This explanation doesn’t have to be long. Instead, it should briefly explain the brand’s written tone and how it needs to be expressed in various print and digital channels.

Lack of clarity

What’s the fun part for most businesses when they’re creating a new brand or updating their old one? Designing the visuals, of course! Picking out which colors should make up the palette and deciding what the logo should look like are usually the things people enjoy most during a rebrand.

However, the part that often gets sidelined is the stakeholders’ getting clear on the brand’s messaging. It’s not uncommon for smaller businesses, especially new ones, to make up things as they go without first sitting down and working out the details of the brand like:

– Why does this business exist beyond making money?
– What is it that the business really offers to its customers?
– What is it about the brand that sets you apart from competitors?

Without the answers to these questions, your messaging can fall flat because it cannot communicate what the business truly offers its customers.

The fix?
Spend time on your own working through the questions above. Go deep with it and beyond surface-level answers since the more clarity you have about the business’s values and mission, the easier it will be to share it with your audience. If you need help, you can engage in a brand discovery session, which scrutinizes and breaks down your existing brand to understand what makes it tick.

Inauthentic communication

Piggybacking off of the last point, if you aren’t clear on what your business stands for, it’s difficult to really capture your brand’s true vibe. This can lead to marketing and advertising that just doesn’t feel genuine, which occurs when:

– Trying to capitalize on a new trend that uses language or styles that don’t fit the brand
– The messaging in your marketing doesn’t match the actions of the company
– Using “tone deaf” messaging that doesn’t empathize with your audience

Your message should speak authentically to your audience, whether trying to sell them a product or apologizing for a company mishap. Since it does so much in a short period to convince people to make a decision, insincerity erodes whatever trust and goodwill your audience gives you.

The fix?
Take a step back and remember your brand’s original purpose. This mission guides how you present yourself to your audience visually and through your communications.

Ineffectiveness in storytelling

Good stories bring us together, entertain us, and, the best ones, inspire us to change. But it’s tougher to tell those stories when your voice isn’t fully realized.

When your brand has a clear voice, it helps your audience connect with your marketing message. However, when your brand voice is disjointed, people will disengage, making it difficult for them to see themselves in your story.

The fix?
Understand what motivates your audience. Your story has to align with what your buyers want and how they perceive themselves. Establishing your voice means that you can weave these essentials into the overall brand story.

Your one-of-a-kind brand voice

With a strong brand voice, your message consistently incorporates the business’s core mission. Whenever people come across your messages, whether online or offline, they recognize it’s from your brand. It shows what’s important to them and genuinely conveys your story.

But more importantly, it can’t be replicated.

One of the best ways to ensure this voice remains unified across all your channels is to spend the time upfront creating brand guidelines that accurately state how your messaging should be written and designed on print and digital media.

By standardizing your brand, you can give your internal and external team the tools to keep it consistent as the business evolves.