In our previous post, we discussed the importance of tone when it comes to creating, developing, and changing your brand voice and strategy. Although we might not consciously realize it each and every time we speak, the inflection and intonation of our speaking voice plays an enormous role in how we communicate with others – in fact, we can completely change the meaning of a basic sentence without changing any of the words, simply by speaking in different manners and with different tones. While there are obvious differences between interpersonal communications and accurately developing and marketing your brand voice, your target marketing will perceive and judge your brand based on the tone of your brand voice in the same manner that another party may perceive and judge you based on the tone of voice you utilize in a conversation.
Confidence Starts With Believing In Yourself
We would all like a boost in confidence, especially when it comes to our professional lives. We perceive confident people to be more successful in many aspects of their lives, and we admire confidence in entrepreneurs most of all. This makes sense – if we don’t believe in ourselves and the product or service we’re selling, who will? In much the same way that we admire confidence in individuals, we admire confidence in brands as well, and consumers are extremely loyal to brands they admire. No matter what message a brand means to convey, there are very few brands that succeed by failing to instill a sense of confidence in their own identity to their target market. If you own a discount store, you can’t attract customers without promoting a sense of confidence in your ability to deliver the lowest prices, and you can’t operate a successful auto parts store if your target market believes your employees aren’t experts in automobile maintenance and repair. With your brand voice and strategy, are you successfully and honestly promoting the most positive aspects of your brand in a confident manner?
True, Sustainable Confidence Is Rooted In Honesty And Self-Assurance
The most important element of any brand voice, confident or not, is honesty. Simply put, you can’t fake your brand voice because no matter how confident you may appear to be to your target market, the illusion will fall apart the minute they interact with your company. Instead, the root of creating and maintaining an effective and self-assured brand is to honestly and impartially determine the strongest elements of your identity as a business and base your brand voice and, by extension, your confidence as a brand on those elements. Every business has a positive aspect to promote, something that differentiates you from your competitors in a positive way (if you don’t, you may want to reevaluate why you’re operating a business in the first place!). If you offer better prices than your competitors, promote that aspect of your business in your brand and begin building your self-confidence as a “low-price leader.” If you offer a better, more personal level of customer service and expert advice on product selection and usage, then your target market should “trust the experts” at your company. A discount retailer might not offer the best customer service, and a specialty or boutique retailer might not offer the lowest prices, but in both cases those negative attributes can be downplayed in the minds of your target market through a self-assured, confident brand voice extolling the positives.
Don’t Go Overboard
We all know from our personal lives that there is a fine line between being self-confident and being a braggart, and it is possible to go overboard with self-confidence in your marketing. Just as your target market may be turned off by a brand that is too wishy-washy or timid, they may also believe your brand is too aggressive or even question your authenticity or honesty if you go overboard with your brand voice. Finally, you may even open your company up to legal liability if you go overboard with claims of superiority over your competitors. The path to making your brand authentic and likable involves properly balancing your confidence in your ability to deliver a superior experience to your target market with a professional and self-assured attitude.