A large part of marketing your business is the way that you talk to people. Whether through your web site, in your brochures, e-newsletters, marketing collateral or trade show displays, the way that you phrase your messages sets the tone for the verbal conversations that follow.
How many times have you read a web site so full of jargon that you weren’t sure *what* exactly the company did? How many times have you received an e-mail so devoid of any human feeling that you wondered if the computer wrote it on its own? Whether you’re a company of one or a company of one thousand, there’s value in speaking to customers, clients, vendors and others in a human voice. Why? Because at the core of it (and without intending to be cheesy) we’re all human beings. Talking like a faceless corporation doesn’t do anything to build relationships…if anything, it alienates your clients.
Does this mean that you need to be unprofessional? No way. But there’s a big difference between being unprofessional and being stale, boring, stoic and emotionless. The latter is eventually bad for business…business karma, in a sense. Want proof? Here’s an example, with the names removed to protect the guilty:
Company A is the industry leader. They have a great product, have been around for eons, and spend obscene amounts of money purchasing online and offline advertisements. They probably paid their ad agency a massive chunk of change to write the copy on their web site that is guaranteed to be non-offensive, devoid of humor and to the point.
Company B is a startup in the same industry as Company A. They’ve spent 0.01% of Company A’s budget on advertising, but are now recognized as a serious player in the industry, actually beating Company A in a recent ‘users choice’ competition sponsored by an industry publication. Company B has created buzz, and has turned its customers into evangelists. How? By realizing and admitting to their customers that they’re not solving world hunger issues or curing cancer…that like many businesses, they’re carving out a niche in the world in which they might be able to make a buck or two. As a result, the tone that they take in all of their writing, whether it be press releases, web site copy, marketing collateral or even story pitches to reporters, has humility and humanity and humor. It has a conversational tone that people respond to and want to be involved with, rather than keeping the arms length approach of Company A.
Think about your web site and your marketing collateral. Would a person reading those items ever have reason to smile or chuckle to himself? Would they have a reason to forge a personal connection? If not, it’s time to rethink the way that you’re communicating.
RELATED LINKS:
The Cluetrain Manifesto–you can actually read the whole book online…if you can bear reading a whole book online. For me there was an eye-opening moment on every page. Markets consist of human beings, NOT demographic sectors. (http://tinyurl.com/niyq)
The Purple Cow–Gotta love Seth Godin. The same guy who coined the term ‘viral marketing’ now tells us to ‘toss out everything you know and do something remarkable.’ Like talk to your customers in a human voice? Right on. (http://tinyurl.com/niyw)
Someone Who Agrees With Me on the Whole ‘Tone of Voice’ Thing–She’s the executive director of a five-hospital health system in California, and even *she* thinks that companies need to take a ‘personality test.’ (http://tinyurl.com/niz2)
Amy Hooker is President of maven communications, inc., a small PR/marketing firm based in North Carolina. Since 2000, she’s written newsletters and other marketing collateral, secured speaking engagements, placed stories and helped companies plan, implement and measure marketing and PR efforts. Prior to starting maven communications, Amy handled PR and marketing for North Carolina’s oldest history museum, Cape Fear Museum. She can be reached at 910-362-8004 or at amy@mavencom.com.