The Importance of Being Human in Your Marketing

There’s no room for personality in business.

Really?

Are you sure about that?

If you are the type of business owner that believes all your marketing communications should be straight, professional and (for want of a better word) boring, it’s time to be enlightened.

Have a think about the marketing messages that resonate with you.

What was it that made you sit up and take notice.

I would hazard a guess at the way it ‘spoke’ to you. After all, if the message is boring and mundane it’s going to get lost amongst the many thousands of other marketing messages out there. If it’s to get noticed it must have personality.

Let’s face it, when you go into a store, if you’re met by disinterested store assistants who look bored to be there, you’re more than likely going to walk straight out the door again.

Likewise, if you land on a website in your search for that new wonder gadget you’re after and are faced with reams of boring text that tells you nothing other than it’s colour, power outage and that it’s “ground breaking” without any qualification to back that statement up, you’ll hit the back browser and look elsewhere.

That’s why your marketing, no matter what shape or form it takes, must have personality.

Brand POW or brand pop?

Every piece of marketing you put out must reflect the brand image you’ve worked so hard to build.

You do have a brand image, right?

The idea behind this consistent message is that your customers will get to recognise you from your style, colours, words and images.

OK, sure, small companies are unlikely to get the instant recognition enjoyed by the big players such as Apple, IBM, Nike or John Lewis, but a consistent message will help people identify you with the values you hold dear.

Building your personality

If you are a sole trader or an individual service provider, you shouldn’t need to work too hard on building your personality – it’s already there.

All you have to do is write your marketing materials from the heart.

When customers read your stuff, it should be consistent with the person they meet. If there’s a huge disconnect, they are less likely to do business with you.

Why?

Because from the moment they read your brochure or website, they began to form a relationship with you. They have, in their mind, an impression of who you are and what you’ll be like to work with. If, when they meet you, the real you is completely different that relationship will break down.

How do you get your personality across?

Write as though you were having a conversation with your customer. Picture yourself in your favourite pub, relaxing over a glass of wine (beer etc.) chatting about how you can help them. In real life, you’ll use simple language, no jargon and you’ll explain things in a way that makes them instantly accessible. This type of approach will make your customers warm to you and be more likely to talk to you to ask your advice because you won’t be going in for the hard sell.

It takes a bit of practice and goes against all the rules of academic writing that were drilled into you at school, but it will pay off if you persevere at it.

If you run a larger company my advice is the same.

The personality that comes through is that of your business, which means clearly identifying the values you want to reflect. Again, a simple, jargon-free conversational tone will work best in your marketing copy creating an impression of warmth and openness.

To create your personality:

• Think about the values that are important to you
• Write in a simple, jargon-free conversational tone
• Think about how you want your customers to see you

Author – Sally Ormond, Briar Copywriting Ltd