What does your brand’s voice inspire? Do you need to change that?

When your brand speaks, do people listen? And if they listen, what do they do after you finish? I can tell you one thing for certain: customers want to get the gist of what your brand is before engaging and the way to familiarize them is by talking…with your brand voice.

What is brand voice?

Before telling you how to analyze - and potentially change - your brand voice, let’s talk about what that term actually means.

Brand voice is how your marketing sounds to people. Most of that tone comes from the marketing itself; i.e., the words used and stylistic choices. But marketing collateral isn’t the only contributor. Other contributing factors can include your company’s design choices, user experience, historical reputation, and much more.

A few examples of this type of holistic look at brand voice can be seen every day on TV:

• Taco Bell’s zany, fun marketing reflects their vision. They provide cheap, indulgent fast food for a young crowd on a budget

• IBM commercials explain that they’re analytical with a powerful digital interface. The IBM Watson AI is their company representative whose cultural relevance extends back a decade

• Coca-Cola’s brand reputation exudes the company’s complete integration in “classic” advertising. Whether it’s the simple, retro can design or the hallmark Polar Bears around the holidays, Coca-Cola exemplifies familiarity and American culture

Your brand might not be as old or wealthy as these extreme examples, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t speak to customers with the same methods. Whether intentionally or not, you’ve accrued a particular image in people’s minds, or are in the process of doing so every time they hear about you.

In short: brand voice is the style of your marketing. Now let’s look at the ways your brand voice carries to the people hearing it.

How do you speak to your customers?

Even if you’re as big as Pepsi, there’s always new people unaware of who you are and what you sell. Since everyone, everywhere is constantly bombarded with advertisements, it’s important to convey your message as quickly and succinctly as possible.

The first thing anyone will see, even before reading your company name, is design - color schemes and stylistic elements. Color theory tells us that consumers associate certain feelings with specific colors. It isn’t a perfect science to live by, but it stands to reason that you’ll sell more camping equipment with a green+brown color scheme than an orange+pink one.

Your color scheme should reflect your company, but it isn’t the only factor. What else does your brand convey? What about your interface? Does your storefront, your advertising, and your website accurately portray you?

When someone has taken the next step to getting to know your brand, they’ve walked into your store or logged on to your page. Is there a cohesive look and feel to what they’ve experienced prior? Greet them with messaging that reflects who you are and what you’re about. If your brand voice is not consistent, there’s a good chance that consumers will opt for a competitor.

All of this, however, is just influencing what ultimately matters: what do people think of your brand? The more they interact with you, the more nuanced their view may be, but honing your voice as consistently and narrowly as possible will make that process easier and more conducive to converting sales.

Want to change your impression?

So, now you know what your brand voice inspires… but do you need to change it? Brands change their voice all the time, some with better success than others.

Brands with a loyal following or strong message might not need updating, but would benefit with a refresh. Refreshing your brand focuses on changing the appearance without affecting the core values of the organization or company manifesto.

Think of Pepsi’s brand refresh in 2008, which kept the company’s core values in place, but significantly changed the branding. It replaced the classic symmetrical logo and bold capital letters for a more modern and understated look to bring it into the 21st century. Everyone needs a change to keep up with the times and excite new consumers without abandoning a good core.

Maybe you need more than a refresh, however; in that case, you might be ready for a complete rebrand. A rebrand changes everything from the ground up. Logos, names, marketing tones – It just depends on how severe a change your brand wants (or needs) to take.

An example of this would be Taco Bells 2016 rebrand from the 90’s era “think outside the bun” look to the dramatic (yet silly) “live más” organization. They still sell the same assortment of food, but changed to a much more minimalist look that allows them more freedom to experiment.

No matter what change you decide to take, it’s important to have a strategy early on and follow through with it. Changing your brand voice can be tough and plenty of experienced businesses have to go through several tries to find a voice that sticks.

If you want someone who can help you craft that marketing strategy and bring your vision to life, contact me! When people hear your voice, they should come away with exactly what you want them to hear.