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This article was originally published on Business 2 Community.
A company voice is more than just a spokesperson talking during a commercial; it’s what people hear when your company name crosses their mind. A singular voice for a company is vital to branding and brand recognition. A singular company voice lends a feeling of stability and consistency to your company. In turn, this encourages your clients to become repeat customers. People like to know what to expect when it comes to purchasing, and your singular voice is a great way to earn – and keep! – their confidence and business.
How your company voice can influence perception of the company
Companies usually want to create an emotional attachment between the brand and the client. You want someone to say, “I love this product/company!” This type of feeling and emotion can be gained, in part, by starting with a strong company voice. The emotion felt when listening to the voice of a company has a deep impact on the perception of the brand. Would you remember Dos Equis if it used a different voice? The voice of “The Most Interesting Man in the World” gives you a certain sense about the company. The marketing campaign with that voice has been received positively and consistently over the past few years. Consistency is key!
What sets the good voices apart from the bad
Humans can detect many subtleties in the voice of a person, which can trigger several different feelings. Humans can even determine whether a person was smiling or not, just by listening to his voice! A good voice is a combination of multiple things: engineering skills, a lack of background noise, constant volume levels, etc. For example, have you noticed that professional recordings usually don’t have the noise of the artist inhaling or exhaling? That’s because such noise is manually removed by professional voice over actors. They use skills such as speed, authoritativeness, and excitement to give more presence and believability to your company voice. A good voice over actor will learn about your brand, and the two of you will determine how they should read and act in your commercials, based on the perception you want people to have of your business.
How a company finds the right voice for its brand
Most of our clients don’t realize that this is a very subjective process. Fortunately for them, we do, and our voice over artists know as well. After millions of auditions, we have developed an instinct for what works – and doesn’t work – well. My suggestion is to post a project on VoiceBunny.com and let our voices show you how they think your brand should sound. The more voices and choices you have, the better idea you will have of exactly what you want. A fresh set of minds can only help you expand your field of choices and find the most authentic voice for your company.
Keep your voice consistent
Once you find your company voice, always use the same one! When that’s not possible, you can use services like Voice123 and VoiceBunny to find voices that sound similar. For example, Home Depot recently used VoiceBunny to find a voice that sounds similar to the voice used in their commercials. If voice is so important to a company the size of Home Depot, it should be of even more importance to a company trying to build its customer base and carve out its section of the marketplace. Your company voice is one of the very first impressions potential customers have of your company. You must focus your attention on finding what you want the voice to say, feel, and sound like. Find a voice and use it as long as you can. Build your customer base through trust and consistency, and you will build a business that ensures your voice is heard.
