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How to Know if Your Company’s Communication is Good or Bad

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 10:14:00 +0000

Excluding the cases of obviously bad and improper ways of expression, in the business environment communication itself mostly is neither good, nor bad. It is the matter of whether it is good or bad for your company. If it is effective. If it does its job for you. Meaning – is it working for you or against you. Another question to ask yourself – is the way your company communicates good enough.

Here are 4 questions for self-diagnosing your company’s communication.

Question #1
Does your company have a set of verbal communication principles, guidelines, do’s and don’ts, or “red lines” for your team to follow?

Good for you if you have those – you have a smoothly paved road ahead of you. If you don’t have those just yet, then your communication probably is not as good as it could be for the sake of your: employees, partners, customers, profit.

Having a set of principles on what kind of interaction is and is not acceptable specifically for your company will structure this aspect of your business once and for all. For the sake of illustrating the significance of this, I like to draw a simple example on the way ordinary person’s brain functions.

Do you know that feeling when you catch yourself overwhelmed and your head is spinning because of all the tasks, meetings, enquiries, family issues etc. that you have to deal with today, this week, or this month? Those seem excessive, overbearing and cause additional stress when you’re trying not to forget any of those. Thankfully, there is this simple method of writing all these points down, and it works like magic. You can write those on a post-it note, in a digital or paper notebook, or add to the calendar on your phone. Choose your preference – just get those things on there and out or your mind.

After writing these things down some may realize that, in fact, it’s not that many, and it puts you at ease. This relief reduces your stress level, frees up space in your mind, makes you more focused. As a result of all that you can function more efficiently and get more things done.

Writing down and structuring ground principles for company’s communication works pretty much the same. The main difference is that it affects the motivation, wellbeing, and output of every single member of your team. To realize the magnitude of this – recall that feeling of relief we just discussed… Now multiply that feeling by the number of your company’s employees and you should get the idea of the importance of this matter.

Question #2
Does the superior management have a clear vision on the image of the company that they want to portray?

Presumably, there is one or two people that are guiding your company and that have a clear idea of its desirable image in the world. Having such clear image makes it easy to answer such questions as

What is its purpose?
Why does the world need it?
If it was a person – what kind of person would it be?

Fixing, organizing, and perfecting any company’s communication is only possible if the superior management has such image in their head and is able to express it in actual words. Few CEOs have it on the spot, as far as I’ve seen. Yet, it’s quite simple to get it out of them – it is a matter of asking them the right questions. They might have it as a feeling, not an image or exact words. Yet, it’s the very foundation of building company’s public image.

But how to transfer this feeling to your employees so that all of you would be on the same page? You need the right – precise and unambiguous – words for that. And explanation, for those words to mean the same thing to everyone.

A four-fold question #3

Does every single person in your team know:
– the purpose of this company that they can relate to,
– the impact their work has on the world/people/global or local processes,
– if their personal values agree with the values of the company,
– what image precisely do they have to make of your company and how to do it?

This deals entirely with the internal communication. But the thing is – through your team all this translates into the impression of your company.

Moreover, don’t underestimate the motivation of your team and the reason they wake up and go to work even on the days they wish they wouldn’t have to. Sure, you give them a chance to lead a decent life for the remainder of their time, or the feeling of being cared for, or even some bonusses.

But other companies can give that too, in one form or another.
Give them PURPOSE. Not instead, but on top of it.

What does it have to do with the communication you may ask? Everything! Giving team a clear focus of what your company is, where is it going and what’s their part in that – is the foundation of company’s proper internal communication. So to say – before giving your employees a uniform and tools, get their mindset right, first.

Question #4
Does everyone representing your company leave THE SAME image of your company to the outside world – partners, customers, and prospects?

Whatever the method of interaction – a one-to-one meeting, an exchange of e-mails (the initial e-mail AND the following correspondence) or a post on your company’s social media platform – the overall impression should always be the same.

Don’t fall into the trap of being super kind, friendly and open on your website and turning into something completely different when actually facing your customers. That can have disastrous effect on your company’s image and future sales.

How to get it right every time and for each member of your team? Well… I imagine you know the answer by now – by having verbal communication guidelines or a set of communication principles detailed specifically for your company. It’s like your company’s bible – the foundation of your company’s culture, values, and direction guiding all members of your team.

There are layers of this, and I always recommend going all the way. Yet reaching the final destination starts with the first steps. Even you thinking about this aspect of your business, analysing and looking for ways to improve is a huge step.

Catch up on my other articles, since I have a basket full of ideas on how to move forward and make great turns for your company that you can start doing by yourself.

I hope this helps! ❤

– – – – – – –

Are you managing a company; are you the owner, strategic manager, HR manager, or a communication specialist?
Then you are my audience. I need your hand for raising the level of quality of communication in companies. Together we can accomplish so much more.

Come back here for more, follow @Anita_Brand_Language on Instagram or follow BLUE CAT EDIT in the top social media platforms.

New Trend: Make Your Business Personal (in the Sense of Communication)

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 10:13:00 +0000

By Anita Eglīte @BlueCatEdit

There was a time when designing a company logo seemed useless, when websites seemed a short-term trend that will blow over, and a company’s colour palette – a minor detail. We are now witnessing another shift for representation of a business – it is given a personality.

The audience is changing. Always and endlessly. So are the habits, social norms, and the way we perceive things. The new generation of currently active consumers is used to a saturated market, overwhelming offerings, and abundance of everything. Against a previous belief that this will be the most impersonal and anti-social generation of consumers, we see that they might be, in fact, the ones making this world more humane and personal.

Besides high tolerance towards the different and a deep-rooted care for the nature, they also have a distinct way of choosing companies they buy from.

This is the most educated audience there has ever been. They know so much! Moreover, they can sense things that are not obvious, read between the lines, guess the implied attitude, and feel the honesty and depth behind a brand. If put in front of a similar choice, the new generation consumers will often opt for the brand with shared values, high standards on sustainability and a personality that resonates with their own.

This is not a beast your company should fear and avoid. This is the one you adapt to. From the angle of communication this means the end of an era of brands who are soulless legal entities. Companies already have a face (logo and colours) and brains (employees). Now they will have a personality, too.

It is great news for us all, although it is hard to predict, where this will take us. I can only imagine that this will open a door to an amazing, colourful, diverse corporate world. Just like the social transformation we have already gone through in the global history. If the best option is to BE YOURSELF, and preferably – stand out from the crowd, we might see a lot more of authenticity and daring to be different also in the corporate world.

What Does It Mean to Give Your Business a Personality?

It means making an image or portrait of your company (like that of a person) that your team and your audience can associate, resonate and build relationship with.

The right place to start is for the owner or CEO to decide what vibe do they what this company to have, what image should it create and what kind of relationship should it build with its audience. If you have a brand book and you had an attentive expert making it for you, you should have at least a general idea of who your company is or who you want it to be.

For smaller companies it is common that the personality of the company is the same as the owner’s, founder’s personality. Or even this person’s wannabe personality. That is a good place to start. You should take your time to outline the desirable personality as precisely as possible. And write it down using actual words – the image you have in your head or the feeling you have in your gut is not enough.

Just imagine – if your company was a person, what kind of person would it be? How would this person look? Talk? Dress? Behave? What songs would be on this person’s playlist? And so on, and so forth.

Why Should You Put It on Paper?

Detailing this part of your business means being strategical. It ensures a continuance. New employees will join your team, many will leave. Telling your story in such a detail takes a lot of time; it is inefficient and there is a good chance that important facts might be left out.

Having it written down in clear, easily understandable words and making your people read it will ensure that every person representing your company is on the same page as you – exactly where you want them to be. An actual document (or even a video) containing words is the best way to transfer a message with the least room for interpretation. This is one of the basic onboarding materials and one of the first filters for potential team members.

Having a detail outline of your company’s personality together with other communication principles and guidelines, is a framework for a high-quality communication for your company. Moreover, those give your team and your external agents a focus and – in its turn – a shortcut to a desired result for you.

How Does It Happen?

There is hardly anything you cannot do yourself nowadays if you have an internet connection and the right way of thinking. Yet, to do this properly and comprehensively, you need an analytically and strategically thinking copywriter and an expert in brand representation.

The process might differ depending on an agency. Some of our clients describe it as a psychotherapy session for their company since it involves a lot of thinking, talking, listening, and contemplation.

The first step is knowing where you stand. For that you ask your team, partners, or even your audience to describe your company if it was a person. Analyse the answers and draw conclusions. This should give you an idea of the size of your battlefield.

Besides the outline of your company’s personality, you should describe also your company values, culture and specific brand’s language and tone of voice. Basically, everything related to internal as well as external communication.

The secret ingredient for this all to work, bring your communication to the next level of quality and bring monetary value to your business is devotion in ALL levels of the company. From owners and superior management to freelancers and external partners. This can only work if implemented strategically and holistically. And if induced in the everyday life of your people.

Although, the idea of a personality for a company might seem some kind of voodoo nonsense for the more conservative and traditional type of entrepreneurs, numbers speak for themselves – brands with a defined personality (or even a soul, if you can handle such a powerful word) own the key to a chest of hidden treasure. It is waiting for you. It’s all yours. Tell me when you’re ready for it, and I will lead the way.

I hope this helps! ❤

– – – – – – –

Come back here for more, follow @Anita_Brand_Language on Instagram (sorry, Latvian only) or follow BLUE CAT EDIT in the top social media platforms..

NB! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Contact me directly for the details.

5 Tips for Improving Your Company’s Language and Image as a Brand

Thu, 23 Mar 2023 10:12:00 +0000

By Anita Eglīte @BlueCatEdit

Companies spend millions of dollars every year on advertising campaigns, logos, and branding for creation of a recognizable image or identity. However, in the digital age with so much information available at everyone’s fingertips, companies need to be constantly aware of their public image as a brand and check if they’re on top of things.

This is particularly important for smaller businesses that cannot compete quite so easily on price or product range. After all, potential customers will be researching your company before they choose to spend their money with you. It’s not just about the logo and the advertising – how you communicate, the words and tone you use as a brand can make all the difference in attracting your best customers and for keeping them, too.

In this blog post I will share five tips for improving your company’s language and image as a brand.

Know exactly what image you want to build – brand personality
Be authentic
Dare to experiment
Be useful and worth their time
Be consistent in all touch points

1. Know exactly what image you want to build

Being mindful of the language your company uses online and in the direct, present-moment communication is more than just a good idea – the pace at which the circle of your loyal customers and consequently – your company – grows depends on it. You should always be mindful of the following:
✔ tone,
✔ voice,
✔ implied attitude, and
✔ impression your team is making on your customers.

The first step is to know WHO YOU ARE.
The best route here is to give your company a personality. Namely, turn a legal entity into a relatable person that your audience, and even more importantly – your team, can relate to. The best reasoning behind it that I have come across until now is the story about a dinner party:

This “all-way-round” option might seem tempting for those wanting to make friends with everyone. Yet endless amount of research show that going down this path will not take you where I think you want to go with your business.

Similarly to the human life, the company without a clear and focused personality is like a person who doesn’t know who he or she is. It is someone without a clear focus or goals in life, and who goes wherever the wind blows. Thankfully, people are different, and we need all sorts around us, yet for a business this would be like walking on thin ice.

If your followers are certain of who you really are, they know what to expect from you and, most importantly, they know if you are the right match for them. And once you have that connection, you have an amazing foundation for close, loyal long-term relationship with your audience. This way, instead of talking to everyone, you are talking to your people. They feel it and love you even more for it. This makes your communication more focused. In fact, the list of benefits of turning your company into a personality goes so much further than building a loyal audience – although, that alone is such a great deal.
The top four benefits of knowing who your company is:

2. Be Authentic

What makes your company special and different to others? What can you do that other companies cannot? I assume you know the answers to those when it comes to your professional field of operation. Yet, authenticity sticks out also in your communication and is the most obvious to your current and potential customers.

You should always be authentic to your brand, and I would strongly advice against trying to resemble or copy other successful companies out there. Getting inspired by them? Sure. But that’s it! Because your uniqueness will be the one flooding money in, not the resemblance of someone else.

Trying to be something you aren’t, consumes more of your resources – including time. Authenticity requires you having a very, VERY clear image of what you (your company) actually are. You should have that clear after processing the Item One above. The next step is staying true to that personality of yours.

Firstly, you do that by defining every aspect of that personality:

What does this person look like?
What does he sound like?
What is his temper like?
What are the main characteristic features?
What is his style?
What is his sense of humour?
What are his interests?
And so on, and so on…

Secondly, you should stick to it in every interaction: be it eye-to-eye conversation among co-workers, with a client, an e-mail, a greeting card or a Facebook post.

It’s so much easier for each of those to seem authentic if the person delivering the message has impersonated your company. It is like a secret key to the hearts of the audience, in fact available to every company, yet at this time so few use it to their advantage.

The key ingredient here is getting every single person in your company (as well as external agents, sub-contractors and freelancers) on board. Make sure they truly know and feel the personality of the company; they know what to do with it; and they do it all the time, always and every single time.

3. Don’t be afraid to experiment

Once you have the first two items covered, and when you [your team talking and writing on your company’s behalf] feel confident and natural in all that, you can start playing around with it.

It doesn’t necessarily mean joking around and sharing funny cat videos. Depending on your industry it might include those also, but I’m thinking more along the lines of playing with words and tone. Certainly, experimenting with logo or your brand colours is hardy ever a good idea. But when it comes to communication and brand language, those might seem like a breeze of fresh air for your audience.

At times, giving your audience something new is a good idea. It is another way of showing respect for them and proving that you’re not taking their time for granted – all that by giving them a fresh and well thought-through content or message. One way of doing it is changing some of your keywords. I’ve seen things really turning around for many of my clients after this slight shift. For those using Writesonic for their external content this is as easy as one-two-three, if they work with keywords in this or similar AI assistant, which comes up with new topics, titles and even articles.

Another method is using behind-the-scenes videos or images. This might mean opening up more to your audience and showing more of your human side, and who doesn’t like that! You can also try mixing your current external content with delivering your message through infographics, instead of a text. If you’re not doing that already.

I encourage you to test the waters and play around in your communication and the channels you use. That might come naturally as the next step if you have been working on your communication for a long time and you have reached a point where every way of expression seems boring to you. It is natural – the need for constant growth and change is human, it is encoded in our DNA. This slight change and experiments with your business communication might open some unexpected doors for you.

There are two nuances to this, though.

1. The natural moment for change and experiment can be easily missed in an organization with a high rate of employees’ rotation. For a newcomer everything is new, and it will seem new for some time.

2. Experimenting is good, overstepping the limit – dangerous. It is important to know the red lines for your brand language, checking the immediate response and adjusting.

Human instinct is to avoid change, yet for the sake of your business maybe it is worth allowing yourself to loosen up, be reasonably brave and experiment with your brand’s communication.

4. Be useful and worth their time

Your company’s communication is like a magic wand for all sorts of magic and using it for obvious salesy messaging is boring if not irritating. A better way for getting under the skin of your potential customer is making them smarter and their lives better even before they have bought anything from you.

When dealing with brand language for companies, I say this a lot – it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. It is always true; yet at this point I want to make sure we’re on the same page on the content – what you say plays a really big role here, too.

Let your Sales team do the selling, rather than your social media profiles. People will buy from you anyway, if they’re convinced that you are the real expert in this field. Therefore, consider changing the mission of your external corporate communication from raising sales numbers or views to making the world a better place, or making people happier, smarter, safer, more peaceful, or whatever noble appeal which falls under your field of work.

You don’t have to take all your pans off the stove if you have been cooking at full speed until now. Changing the narrative in one of your channels is a good place to start. Try it and see where it takes you.

5. Be consistent in all touch points

Just like with being a consistent person, consistency is crucial throughout your brand’s language and communication strategy. You want to be consistent in your marketing, and you want to be consistent in all your touch points.

This means your website, your social media, your email, the way you present yourself and the way your team converses with clients should always have the same feel, sound, and look.

For example, let’s say you’re a real estate agency and you want to use storytelling as an effective marketing tool. You should make sure your entire website is written in story format, and you should also use stories in your email marketing. You should use stories in your social media posts and even on your voicemail message. This helps to make your brand recognizable, and it also helps to build trust with customers. They know what to expect when they’re dealing with your company. They know what to expect when they click on your website, or when they click on a link from your email marketing.

Consistency also helps raising the top-of-mind awareness (TOMA) among your audience, because if used intentionally and strategically, not only logo and colours, but also words, style, tone, and the way of expression my become associated with your brand. The more separate items your audience have to associate with you, the more you are present in their mind and sub-consciousness.

In conclusion I couldn’t stress enough how beneficial a strategic brand language can be for your business. Although to a great extent these tips are related to external communication and directed outwards, as we know – everything starts at home. So, keep your home “clean”, and internal communication is the best place to start for a superb overall result.

I hope this helps! ❤

– – – – – – –

Come back here for more, follow @Anita_Brand_Language on Instagram (sorry, Latvian only) or follow BLUE CAT EDIT in the top social media platforms.

NB! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Contact me directly for the details.

Would Your Company Pass the Brand Communication Test?

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 11:21:00 +0000

By Anita Eglīte @BlueCatEdit

My standard working process with companies starts with their communication diagnostics. I have my own process of testing a company’s communication, which goes beyond posts on social media platforms. However, when it comes to a basic health-check – you can do this yourself.

I mostly work with companies with a strongly established position in the market, so most of them agree to this test being sure they will pass it in flying colours. It is rarely the case.

Keep reading for guidance and a checklist if you are serious about your company’s communication and if you are ready to face the truth.

Why should you test your communication?
I always assume people are doing the best they can. So, if something is not as exceptionally good as it could be, I’m assuming it is due to lack in perspective, insight, or knowledge; never – an intentional wrongdoing. In most cases, people are just not aware there is something wrong and they should change a course.

If company’s money is on it, it is always a good idea to follow up, look back and adjust. Besides, I always encourage changing for better, especially if every day of staying put costs your company dearly.

For whom is it relevant?
✔ For a good communication specialist who is sincerely devoted to brining excellence in communication for the company.

✔ For owner and CEO of the company who is close enough to the everyday dealings of the company and who knows the power of words and its effect on their paycheck.

✔ For customers, yet they don’t need to take this test to have a clear picture. They are far enough from your company, so they have their intuition and sub-consciousness doing the work for them. For your current or potential customers this analysis is automatic, which may be risky for your company, because the report their sub-consciousness is submitting to their brain about your brand responsible for making the purchasing decisions is out of your control.

You are here, so I assume you’re on the right path and have every intention of making this right.

What do you need for this test?
Here is the list of items I most commonly use for diagnostics.

✔ 5 random examples Facebook posts published by your company within the past year.

✔ The main block of the company’s websites text.

✔ 3 lastnewsletters sent out within the past year.

✔ The last edition of the brochure outlining the essence of your company or your products/services.

✔ The last 2 internal company’s newsletters, if you have any.

✔ 10 random e-mails sent out by the Sales co-workers within the past year.

✔ Internal rules of procedure of your company.

✔ The last 4 [greeting or thank you] cards (printed or digital) your company sent as an official greeting to clients, partners and/or employees.

Get to work
Now you read all of those.
Preferably, without interruptions, to get the whole picture. Or even better, if you have that opportunity, ask someone neutral outside your company to read it for you. Or even several people to get a more comprehensive insight.

When the reading is done, here is the checklist for the person who was actually reading all that. Note down the number of “yeses” you get from these
6 questions.

What does it all mean?
Plain and clear – this test reveals:

✔ Whether your company’s communication has a focus.

✔ Whether your company has a specific brand’s tone of voice.

✔ Whether your company’s communication is working towards building the image you were supposed to build for your company.

✔ Whether your company’s communication isn’t sending mixed signals to the audience.

✔ Whether your company’s communication is consistent.

✔ Whether you are using the full potential of your company’s communication.

This is a good time to pause and reflect on the foundations of your corporate communication.

How to use the results?
If you got the maximum number of “yeses”, which is 6 – good for you! You are a rare animal in this prairie. If you got 3 or more – the above (and even
more – the below) questions could be useful to guide you back on track.

If you got one “yes” or none – pick up the phone and call me for an immediate assistance because it means your communication budget is draining.

Either way, you got it right – now it’s time to go from words to action.
The next step is to go deeper by asking yourself additional questions to get to the bottom of the issue. Focus specifically on the pain points.

Where all texts written by your own people or were any of those outsourced? Could the issues be avoided if all the texts had been written by a single person? Which one is the faulty one – internal communication, external, or both? Is there a quick remedy on top of your mind to improve your communication? Can this be solved on a department level or does it require an overall strategic approach?

Leaving all writing to a single person seems an exaggeration if not even an inefficient solution in these modern times. The new technologies can come in handy for a big chunk of this. For example, my favourite latest discovery – Writesonic. I’ve seen so many companies saving their time with this AI tool! The future of copywriting is now! In the latest version it even offers choosing the tone of voice for your texts. The results are quite impressive. Yet it can do just as much as it can if the one giving the task does not have a framework and a clear focus.

We have all the remedy for that at BLUE CAT EDIT. Besides a priceless consultation, my team gives companies an extensive brand language guidebook. Basically, we give your brand a personality. And we give it an individual, authentic voice and a set of everyday tools for building a consistent image (essential for your in-house team and for outsourced agents) and for speaking in one voice, whatever the size of the company. Yes, it really works. And it may even be easier than you imagine.

My ultimate goal is to ensure the highest quality of communication for companies, and I hope this article along with my future posts on this subject will help us all get there.

– – – – – – –

Are you managing a company; are you the owner, strategic manager, HR manager, or a communication specialist?
Then you are my audience. I need your hand for raising the overall level of quality of communication in companies. Together we can accomplish so much more.

Come back here for more, follow @Anita_Brand_Language on Instagram (sorry, Latvian only) or follow BLUE CAT EDIT in the top social media platforms.

NB! This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you. Contact me directly for the details.

What is brand language? (Yes, you have it also in your company)

Tue, 07 Feb 2023 15:46:00 +0000

By Anita Eglīte @BlueCatEdit

⇉ If you prefer video to reading – check out my YouTube video on this topic.

Do you own a company or work for one? Do you have employees? Colleagues? Do you have a website? A shop? An office? Some customers? If you have at least one of these, then brand language is relevant in your company.

The profit of your company depends on it. Also, the image of your company; but those are intertwined.

Brand language = verbal communication. Its is a message delivered orally or in writing by company representatives. It refers to anything involving words: from a conversation among co-workers or a discussion with a client to a daily post on Facebook. Globally strategic approach towards company’s communication and conscious content is way ahead; yet many European companies are just stepping on this adventurous path.

Intentional and coordinated communication is the first sign of quality for your customers. Firstly, it shows that you have a systematic approach towards your business and leaves an impression of healthy order of internal processes. Secondly, it affects psycholoy of consumers. Consciously and sub-consciously a well-thought through and accurate language and rightly targeted expressions make an impression of the quality of goods or services your company is selling. So does a poor message and faulty communication.

The explanation is self-evident: “If you are careless in our interaction, what reason do I have to assume that you haven’t been careless in making your product or providing your service.”

To make it right and get the most potential out of your company’s communication, you need a strategic approach to every aspect of communication in your company. Both – external and internal.

What do we mean by “strategic approach”
Any active company is unimaginable without a language. Language is always present. For internal as well as for external communication. Both are equally essential for atmosphere within a company and for raising income. Basically, strategic approach in terms of language means conscious and intentional communication. It means setting out exact and clear communication principles, outlining company’s standards and establishing its tone of voice and “red lines” in terms of communication.

It’s not all about punctuation marks and spelling errors. Brand language is much more nuanced. It includes the use of the company’s signature words and phrases, consistency, unified manner of expression, language style, attitude expressed via words, the length of sentences and even a use of emojis.

Pick a random company (or your own), check out even its outgoing content, analyse it from the perspective of consistency and the image it portrays, and it becomes obvious if proper brand language tools have not, in fact, been used. Mostly, due to lack of knowledge, rather than an intentional sabotage.

How to do it right?
Getting this fixed depends on the vision of the owner or the CEO of a company. Of this person’s idea of WHAT is this company LIKE or what it SHOULD LOOK (and feel) like for outsiders.

If a company was a person – what kind of person would it be? What would be his or her most characteristic personality traits? What would his or her public image be? For basic start on this you can check it out in Google or on Youtube. That should give you a basic idea of what you’re actually aiming for.

As we see it – what you really need is a proper set of professionally structured guidelines covering these aspects:

Next step is to get EVERYONE in your company on board with this. Otherwise, don’t event spend your time and money on this. Understandably, co-workers tend to be reluctant to novelties at work. Moreover, for companies dating back many years such fundamental transformation might be a matter of months, not days or even weeks. It is like rebranding when you ask everyone to forget the previous name, colours or logo and set one’s mind on a totally new image. It is like that, but to some extent it is much bigger and deeper.
No pressure.

Shift in the communication means changing one’s mindset and perspective.

Therefore, drawing up such standards for any company is the easy part (well, at least for me it is – not to brag…), getting it to work is the main part and it requires a strong will of the top management.

For companies such communication mindset shift is like an exam in change management. From what I have seen, the best course of action is involving company employees in this process in a way that they feel crucial for the success of this venture. They are steering that train of transformation. An emotionally intelligent management practice requires explaining why it is important for them (I’m puting finishing touches upon an article on that subject just as you’re reading this. So stay tuned.), instead of blindsiding and choking them with the new order of things.

Help me! I need it!
You have the intention – that is a good start. Let’s assume you have superior management of your company on board as well. Now it is time to get you the right pro to get this all done.

The stakes are high; therefore, you should choose your brand language strategist wisely. The number of people who can do it well is scarce as it requires a rare combination of skills. You might recognize those people by the topics they cover: brand language, company’s tone of voice and similar topics.

On a global scale the hunt for such experts is in fact not that hard; there are great options. Make sure to check reviews, through. Ask for recommendations and of all the many options feel your right mach. The use of the word “feel” and involvement of feelings here was intentional, because strategizing on your brand language usually requires turning your company into a personality. To do it properly and to get the best result out of it, it may, at times, resemble a psychotherapy course for your business.

Brand language strategist is someone who meets this description:

This specific combination of skills is a rare thing. Especially the nuanced feeling of language and the implied attitude.

There is a bunch of exceptional professionals: branding specialists, communication specialists, content specialists, PR experts. If you’re lucky, you might even find someone who has such an exquisite sense and knowledge of language that would fit the above description, but make sure not to attribute them such skills by default.

Weigh out this decision well, consider the best timing for implementing it and do your due diligence. I hope you got the idea of how essential your specific brand language and brand personality guidelines are for your business. How it gives a clear focus for the company, for the co-workers and even makes the daily work of the above specialists so much easier, if you have those in your team or outsourced. I love questions, so if you have any, let’s connect on some social network and sort it out.

Our customers are already aware that we know how all this brand language strategizing thing is done. If you know someone else, who does it well, don’t waste your compliments on them – they deserve it. And tell us who they are so that we could also forward our gratitude to them for working towards a shared goal – to improve the quality of communication in companies of any type, shape and size.

For a brighter future! ❤

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Are you managing a company; are you the owner, strategic manager, HR manager, or a communication specialist?
Then you are our audience. We need your hand for raising the level of quality of communication. Together we can accomplish so much more.

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