Read the About page of ten local businesses in a row and you’ll find the same sentence on most of them: “We pride ourselves on delivering quality service and exceptional results to our valued customers.”
It isn’t wrong. It just says nothing, and it could belong to a mechanic, a lawyer or a dog groomer. Customers skim straight past it, because they’ve read it a thousand times.
Brand voice is the fix. It isn’t about being quirky. It’s about writing the way your business actually talks, so people get a sense of who they’ll be dealing with before they pick up the phone. You can define it with three or four “this, not that” rules, a short word list and a few before and after rewrites, all on one page.
Why everyone ends up sounding the same
Most small business copy is written in a hurry, by someone who isn’t a writer, who copies the tone of bigger companies because that feels professional. AI writing tools have made this worse, because by default they produce exactly that polished, empty style.
The result is a kind of corporate fog: “solutions”, “committed to excellence”, “tailored to your needs”, “one-stop shop”. All safe. None memorable.
Your customers don’t talk like that, and neither do you. Listen to how you explain your work to someone at a barbecue. That’s much closer to your voice than anything on your current website.
Defining your voice in four rules
Skip the long list of adjectives. “Friendly, professional, approachable, expert” describes everybody. Instead, write three or four rules in a “this, not that” format. The “not that” half is what makes them useful.
For a residential electrician it might be:
- Straight, not salesy. Say what it costs and how long it takes. No “amazing deals”.
- Practical, not technical. Explain in plain terms. “Your switchboard is old and can’t handle modern appliances”, not “your board lacks sufficient RCD protection” (unless the customer asks).
- Confident, not cocky. “We’ll sort it” rather than “We’re the best in the business”.
- Local, not folksy. Mention the suburbs you work in. Skip the “G’day mate” routine.
For a psychology practice, the rules would be very different:
- Warm, not gushing.
- Clear, not clinical.
- Reassuring, not promising. Never suggest outcomes you can’t guarantee.
- Calm, not cutesy. No exclamation marks in the booking confirmation.
Same exercise, completely different businesses. That’s the point.
Words you use and words you don’t
Add a short word list. This is where voice becomes practical, because anyone writing for you can check it.
Example for a builder:
| We say | We don’t say |
|---|---|
| your home | the property |
| quote | proposal |
| we’ll ring you back today | your enquiry will be actioned |
| renovation | transformation |
| on time and on budget (only if it’s true) | world class |
Also decide on the small stuff: Do you write “we” or the business name? First names or “Dr”? Australian spelling throughout? Emojis on socials, and if so, which ones? These details drift fastest when several people are writing.
Before and after
Applied to real copy, rules like these look like this.
Homepage headline, plumber
Before: Providing professional plumbing solutions for residential and commercial clients.
After: Blocked drain, burst pipe or a hot water system that’s given up? We’re on the road across Ballina and Lennox Head most days by 7am.
About page, accountant
Before: Our team of experienced professionals is dedicated to providing tailored financial solutions.
After: We’re a small practice in Alstonville. Most of our clients are farmers, tradies and small retailers, and most of them have been with us for years. You’ll deal with the same accountant every time.
(Only write that if it’s true. Voice doesn’t excuse made-up claims.)
Email reply to an enquiry
Before: Thank you for your enquiry. A member of our team will be in contact with you in due course.
After: Thanks Sarah, got it. I’ll call you tomorrow morning to talk through the job. If it’s urgent, ring me on 0491 570 156.
Social caption
Before: Another successful project completed for our valued client! #quality #excellence
After: New deck in Wollongbar, finished on Friday. Spotted gum, hidden fixings, and a step down to the lawn so the kids stop jumping off the side.
Bad news
Before: Due to unforeseen circumstances, your appointment has been rescheduled.
After: Sorry, I need to move your Thursday appointment. I’m unwell. Can you do Monday at 10 or Tuesday at 2 instead?
Notice what the “after” versions have in common. They’re specific. They name real things: places, times, materials, people. Specificity does most of the work in a voice. A business that writes specifically sounds like a real business, and a business that writes generally sounds like everyone else.
Applying it across channels
Your voice should be consistent, but the volume can change by channel.
Website: the most considered version. Clear headlines, short paragraphs, every service page answering what it is, who it’s for, what it costs or what affects the cost, and how to book. If the website copy is the hold-up, our guide to getting website content done has a practical process.
Emails and quotes: shorter and more personal. Use first names. Sign off as a person, not “The Team”.
Social: the loosest version, but the same personality. If your website is calm and straight, a feed full of exclamation marks and memes will feel like a different business. If someone else handles your social media management, the voice page is the first thing they should get.
Phone and front desk: voice isn’t only written. How the phone is answered, and what the voicemail says, are part of it too. Write the greeting down so everyone uses the same one.
Keeping it on one page
Put your voice rules, word list and two or three before and after examples on a single page. Add it to your brand style guide and give it to anyone who writes for you, including staff, a social media manager or an AI tool (paste it into the prompt before asking for a draft).
Then, every few months, read your last ten social posts and your top three web pages out loud. If anything sounds like a press release, rewrite it.
Voice matters most for businesses where the people are the product, which we cover in branding a service business with nothing to photograph. Working out how a business should sound is part of the brand work we do, and the homepage is where we usually test it first. Send us the link to yours and we’ll start with the opening lines.