Keep it simple, stupid: how to make sure your brand's voice is understood

Most professional jobs are primarily about communication. Email, instant message or face-to-face, most of us will spend much of our day talking to colleagues, customers, business partners and suppliers.

Some of these conversations will be simple, others will be more technical. Some conversations will get the desired message across, some will not.  

These same colleagues, customers, partners and suppliers go home at the end of the day and talk to their families and friends. They’ll speak differently, leaving the language of business behind.

But does your brand speak differently to different people?

Is its communication consistent? And, most importantly, is it being clearly understood?

Some people are better at communicating than others - for all Trump's failings and foibles, it's hard to deny that his communication is direct. He delivers his messages clearly and uses simple language. “Great”, “win”, “sad” and “believe me”.

His views are widely known in part because they are easy to understand. This also means that they are easier to communicate, share and report (although shock value didn't hurt, either).

Most brands don't have the luxury of being as shocking as Trump, but can learn from how straightforwardly he presents his points. Speaking more simply doesn't make what you're saying less impactful. It's quite the opposite – you will be making things clearer and easier to understand.

This can have a big impact on your business. For example, educational and readability technology start-up Wizenoze report that more than 41% of users leave websites because the text is too difficult to read.  They also estimate that in the UK, up to 70% of professional text is written at a reading age which is higher than the average person can read.

If people can't understand it, it's safe to say that you won't be having the desired effect. So before you write your next company email, article, tweet or post, consider who you're talking to, and how you want your brand to talk.

Shaping a brand voice isn't easy, but start by making your language straightforward and easy to understand. More people will listen, more will respond, and your communications will have a bigger impact.

Believe me.

 

If you think you might need some extra guidance or resource to get you started, why not...

Contact us using the form below

Submitting...