This was taken from a recent mailer that went out to modcomms contacts.

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In today’s straitened economy, marketing and communications teams need to squeeze value out of every campaign. In this edition, we’re going to focus on a quick win which is available to every campaign; whatever the medium, and whatever the budget.
I’m talking about Tone of Voice - one of the key components of your brand, and one which is all too often ignored.

Many companies spend a fortune on CRM systems in order to intricately manage each customer interaction - and then entirely forget to communicate in a way which engages with those customers.

Good copywriting doesn’t cost any more than bad copywriting; so it won’t break the bank to put some effort into getting your staff and customer-facing communications right.

Tone of Voice in a nutshell

Your Tone of Voice is part of your brand - as much a part of your brand as your logo or mission statement. Think about your brand values: does the way you talk to clients match those values?

Managing Tone of Voice creates a genuine uplift in response rates for newsletters and other customer communications, because it improves customer engagement and perceived relevance. Like your logo, your Tone of Voice can be written down. Think about the vocabulary you use with clients and staff.

Could it be improved?

Could you be more:

• - Helpful
• - Knowledgeable
• - Responsive
• - Enthusiastic
• - Sympathetic

Your Tone of Voice is everywhere: from the copy which appears on product packaging to the way call centre staff answer the phone. It’s not just marketing or brand management staff who have something to gain.

And Tone of Voice has become particularly important online. Just because you’re working on a blog, a podcast or on Facebook doesn’t mean the rules of effective communication go out the window.

Five things you can do right now to improve your customer-facing communications:

• - Banish those internal words which creep into customer-facing usage! You may be proud to be working on Project Weasel, but customers haven’t got a clue what that means.
  - Rediscover your brand values. They differentiate your company from the competition; and therefore attract a defined target audience.
  - Encourage peer-review of copy. The Modcomms editorial team tell me that they always read each other’s copy. That way, they can hone down Tone of Voice issues every time.
  - Perform an enforced sanity check for each new communication. Ask some basic questions: is this the sort of thing out customers would expect?
  - Get everyone involved. Communicators and marketers should become evangelists for effective customer engagement.

Pepping up your communications:

ModComms recently helped a major high-street retailer to capitalise on the new economic climate by changing their priorities.

Not only did they alter their product lines and promotional schedules; but they also re-assessed their brand values and Tone of Voice guidelines.

We tailored a Tone of Voice Workshop to the client’s specific needs:

• - Explaining the value of Tone of Voice to both marketers and non-marketers alike.
  - Introducing the Tone of Voice guidelines and their application to real-life situations.
  - And then solving specific problems identified by staff.

Maybe you’re in a similar position? Just get in touch for more information.

Signing off

With consolidation taking place across many industries and sectors right now, the need to differentiate has never been greater. How you address your customers and staff is more critical than ever.

Do feel free to get in touch if re-evaluating your voice is something you need!