The biggest mistakes I see in B2B tone of voice

I saw a post on LinkedIn recently that said B2B tone of voice guidelines aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. In the poster’s experience, B2B tone of voice guides are so generic that they’re completely pointless.

And they weren’t wrong. Tone of voice guides that waste valuable ink and paper telling you to be professional, friendly and knowledgeable (or a variation on the same) are pretty pointless. Who wants to sound unprofessional, rude and stupid, after all?

But having similar tone of voice goals isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Not every brand needs to sound wildly different from the next. Not every brand (especially not B2B brands) want to stand out as hard as SurrealSurreal.

The difference between a pointless B2B tone of voice guide and a useful one is that a useful one will address your brand’s specific needs and goals. Let’s say your brand is currently giving aloof when you want to give loyal companion, your tone of voice guide can help you fix that. Or say customers can’t make head nor tail of your website copy, tone of voice can help you there too.

With that in mind, today’s post is about the most common mistakes I see in B2B tone of voice and how to fix them. For each, I’ve included a real-life copy example from a real-life brand and given my suggested edits.

1.    Using long words to sound smart

I see this one all the time. Many of us believe that if we use elevated language and long words, we’ll automatically sound cleverer and be taken more seriously. In fact, the opposite is true.

A study entitled Consequences of Erudite Vernacular Utilized Irrespective of Necessity: Problems with using long words needlessly found that readers’ perceived intelligence of a writer increased when the language was simple and clear.

It can often be a huge uphill struggle to encourage your company to drop the lengthy language. But why would you want to write something that your customer struggles to understand?

This can be as simple as going through switching Latinate words for their Germanic equivalents: so require becomes need. Commence becomes start. Inform becomes tell. It instantly feels easier to read.

Before:

By utilizing our cutting-edge technology, you can confidently mitigate environmental impact while optimizing your bottom line. 

After:

Using our new technology, you can manage your environmental impact and protect profits.

2.    Using internal language in external comms

Whether it’s the DPA or the FW or the RTW, so many B2B companies are so wrapped up in what they do that they forget not everyone is as versed in their world as they are.

You can instantly make your copy more user-friendly by whizzing through and changing any acronyms or industry terms your customers might not understand. Not sure? Err on the side of caution and replace it or give a quick explanation.

Before:

We stand behind our word that, no matter what size or what substrate, the colour and curation of our prints will match your exact specifications. 

After:

Whatever your chosen size, base material, colour or choice of print, the result is guaranteed to match your specification.

3.    Using the third person

Writing about your business and your customer in the third person is a super common B2B tone of voice trope that makes your writing (and therefore your brand) feel cold, detached and alienating.

Writing in the first person and addressing your customer as though you are speaking to one person instantly makes your writing feel more natural and warm without diminishing your professionalism.

Before:

{Redacted Company} transforms business by simplifying how their customers process data.

After:

We transform business by simplifying how you process data.

4.    Forgetting the user experience

Like many B2B businesses, you can be so keen to share your invaluable information that you forget about the reading experience. We’re talking huge swathes of text, no subheadings, no breaks. No air.

There’s nothing that turns readers off more than huge impenetrable walls of text. So break yours up. Use shorter paragraphs and signpost those paragraphs with useful subheadings. (Note, ‘Introduction’ is not useful.)

5.    Using buzzwords

When writing isn’t your favourite or you don’t have a strong tone of voice guide to support you, it’s really common to rely on those quick and easy buzzwords we see too often in copy. “Elevate your experience”. “Transform your approach”. “Our cutting-edge technology”. It’s like how water always finds the easiest path. Our brains hit a buzzword and think we’re sorted. But we’re not.

Buzzwords are bad because they’re empty. They’ve been used so often by so many businesses that they don’t actually mean much any more. A quick Google search of the phrase “our innovative solution” produced results including a plastic recycling bin, a SaaS platform, an incident and problem analysis firm, a scheduling tool, a technology consulting firm, a bottle system that reduces plastic waste, a tool that treats sight issues and a teaching scheme. That is to say it’s generic and it teaches your customer absolutely nothing about you, your product or your brand.

Buzzwords can even make your writing feel less trustworthy. Many of your readers will feel you’re just trying to fob them off with airy, empty language.

Before:

The innovative solutions provider.

After:

Procurement and project management for the energy sector.

If you’d like to chat more about writing for your business, I’d love to hear from you.