The Voice Of Your Business

Today I’m going update a topic that I’ve spoken on previously.

Who is the Spokesperson for your Business?

Yes, it’s the people who answer the phone, who greet the customers, and the ones that interact face to face or online.  But that is different.

I’m referring to your advertising and marketing.

For many of the best-branded businesses in the world, one thing usually stands out and once people hear it, they immediately know what business it is.

Flo and Jamie are two of the fictional character actors that represent Progressive Insurance.  Yet, Progressive uses others too.

There’s Jake from State Farm who is just an actor.

The My Pillow Guy was famous for awhile and then when he became political, he offended a whole bunch of people with his passionate support of Donald Trump and election fraud.  I had to look up his name, Mike Lindell.  He is a classic example of how not to market your company by jumping into the political arena unless you are prepared for the consequences.

But I’m getting off track here.

Some of the most effective marketing successes in history, both locally and nationally, have involved capitalizing on the voices, faces, and personalities of charismatic and humble business owners and corporate leaders.

In decades past, nationally, you may recall Chrysler’s Lee Iacocca or Wendy’s humble founder Dave Thomas. More recently the spokesperson for Quicken Loans was  their President and Chief Marketing Officer Jay Farner.  In these cases, and many more, consumers have responded positively to the credible messages delivered by real people.

However even these three companies have diverted from what was once a successful advertising messaging campaign tactic.  5 years ago Quicken Loans launched Rocket Mortgage and pretty much abandoned what made them unique in their industry, although thru an online search, I found Jay Farner in a one minute video ad talking about what Rocket and Quicken are doing with regards to the economic hardships many faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Locally, you see and hear business owners voice their own ads, some of which are fantastically real and have moved their business from mediocracy to hometown heroes, and from rags to riches.  On my radio station WOWO radio, we have several business owners that voice their own ads.

People buy from people they trust. It’s that simple.  But if you don’t come across as real, trustworthy, and humble, the chances of you going from local to national are slim.

Two of the ten tips for being front and center in your campaigns are:

1.) Check your ego at the door. Only voice your commercials or have quotes and photos of yourself in your advertising if it is strategically correct to do so from a marketing perspective. It’s not about hearing your own voice or having mom see your picture; it’s about bringing believability and memorability to your campaign.

2.) Introduce yourself as the Owner, CEO, or President.  There is NO reason to either voice the ad or be in the video if you don’t introduce yourself.

As the owner or president, you don’t need to be better at voicing the ads than a disc jockey, actor, or actress. You simply need to serve the purpose of you doing the ad, and that is to become the voice or face of the company.  If you cannot add purpose, hire a gecko, create a fictional character, or let someone else do it!

Nothing sells like the human voice and using your own voice and words can make your campaign stand out against a hoard of ads produced by professional, anonymous sources.