155 - Are we boring?

Discussion - Are we boring?

This discussion is another based on the book Watertight Marketing by Bryony Thomas which gives us 13 areas where we (or our clients) could be leaking potential business. With this series, we are working our way up an imaginary funnel starting first with our existing customers (Leak #1), then our on-boarding for leads (Leak #2) Now we are looking at…..

It might be a good idea (although it’s certainly not essential) to go back and listen to the following episodes with you have not already. These are the episodes which came before this one:

• 149 – Marketing funnels don’t exist!
• 151 – Are we leaking clients?
• 153 - Losing clients before you even get them

Leak #3 – No emotional connection - Your brand or reputation – what kind of people are you?

All of the elements above come together to really sum up what your company is about. It’s what will determine how it feels to be a customer of yours. 

It is what builds your company's reputation. This happens over time, but there are some foundations you need to lay. And those are what your company looks and sounds like.

If you’ve worked hard to make sure it’s easy to do business with you, and that your service is helpful and friendly – but what’s written on your website is hard to read, and the imagery you’ve chosen is cold and distant – you’re missing a trick. 

Technology companies are often a prime example of this. They think that they need to make it clear that they do technical things, and use pictures of servers and wires to illustrate this. But... people aren’t buying things, but things that help them do something.

Your company’s visual identity is built up through things like colour, typography, imagery and layout. A visual identity that expresses the real character of your business, and hooks into the emotional needs that your services fulfil will work harder for you than one that is wholly logically driven.

Your visual identity is important in getting people to understand your business. The written and spoken word are also essential, as well as the tone you use. For some reason, people often feel that when it comes to writing something official, like copy for a company website, they need to adopt a formal writing style. But, it can be much more compelling to write in a more ‘spoken word’ style. Think about how you would speak if you were in a room with the people you have in mind; write as if you’re actually talking to them.

• Visual identity checklist
• Tone of voice checklist
• Can you template it? (branding in docs and emails)
• Photography checklist
• Show some personality

I think that it's pretty clear that David and I are both pretty boring, but hopefully this chat will give you some ideas so that you don't have to be!

Mentioned in this episode:

Watertight Marketing by Bryony Thomas