Brand & Identity · 04 of 04
Give your brand a consistent voice
Define how your brand writes, from product messages to customer support. Give your team examples they can use.
The idea
Writing is part of the experience people have with an organisation.
A useful voice guide explains how to make messages clear and recognisable in ordinary situations, including forms, invoices, support replies and announcements.
Show examples with a reason for each choice. A marketing introduction can have more personality than an error message, where the problem and next step should come first. Define what remains consistent while allowing the tone to respond to the reader's situation.
How to see it
Terms used in this lesson
The parts
- Voice
- The consistent character of an organisation's writing.
- Tone
- The adjustment made for a particular situation.
- Next step
- The action or information someone needs after reading a message.
In practice
- Show examples from emails, product screens and support replies.
- Explain what makes each example clear and appropriate for your brand.
- Adapt the tone to the situation. Error messages should explain what happened and what to do next.
Avoid
- Adjective lists without examples
- Personality that obscures error recovery
- A guide that only covers marketing headlines
The test
Give two writers the same customer scenario and your voice guide. Both responses should explain the next step clearly and sound like they come from the same brand.
Reviewed against all forty, on your product.
The audit is the cheapest thing we sell, and it regularly concludes that you do not need the project you came for.