Communicating with customers used to be very easy. They used to be a bit like a visit to the doctor; They only happened when it was strictly necessary. One on one with the signature as the doctor who disseminates his knowledge and/or solution and the patient (client) who receives it (usually without referring a specialist or a third party, sometimes without fully understanding what is being said).

The business landscape of the 21st century looks quite different. It’s a bit like being at a big and noisy lively party with a wide range of stuntmen who are not hesitant to brag about their skills and successes. You, as one of the seniors here, know better than to feel disadvantaged. You have a lot to add, but you don’t really know how this party works. It seems that there are a lot of witty and well-informed people here who are speaking just as you are preparing to speak. They might think that you, the professional type, are a bore. Maybe you play it safe. Hide out in the kitchen with the socially challenged and the downright weirdos.

Here are an idea or two to turn you into life and soul a little more and they don’t have to be ridiculous or scary if skillfully applied:

Think like an artist or a musician. What is the adjective that best matches your company or product of art or music? finely crafted? Multitone? And do your customer communications do you justice? Are your annual reports longer? Are your client newsletters a little too muted or one dimensional?

Imagine the reader of these communications as your boss. Or your potential lover. How will you surprise them? woo them. Give them a piece of the best of you, the ‘pure you’. Showing the heart of the business is like showing the heart of a person. Don’t be shy (or too bound to convention) and you’ll get a much better response.

Borrowing from another art form, how will you leave the stage? What will be your grand finale that will live in your reader’s memory?

Be radical for digital.

If you’re a business-to-business service provider, yes of course SEO is going to be extremely important, but it needs to be high-quality, well-researched stuff that blends seamlessly with your services to the right degree and with an authoritative tone. Don’t just rely on a keyword-filled home page. HTML (and its more mobile heirs in newer marketing platforms) don’t have the magic trumpet that will attract your customers because, in the meantime, they’re being courted by rivals who have had the foresight to bring them the unexpected, the informative. or even funny. Yes, it might provide A* pension coverage, but portraying the amazing demographic changes taking place in both China and Japan could provide the perfect backdrop to capture your interest and most important contact details.

You may be making non-analog, non-digital, futuristic TVs with the parent company based in Taiwan. That doesn’t mean you’re doomed to talk to your customers in a pidgin of reverse literal translation. Tune in to the spirit of the times. Yes, a video on your website and social media would be wonderful, but write it carefully and for God’s sake don’t let yourself be hosted by one of the techies. In other words, don’t let your business message fall on the last fence. Keep your message clear, modernize, yes of course, but keep it professional… professional.

Think idiots. Analyze how you yourself read a web copy page. The received wisdom is that online you need half the copy of a brochure. For professional services I would recommend much less! Use bullet points and summary headings

Spark their interest in benefits, and then amplify this with IPs. Don’t get too bogged down with online features

Remember that people have low boredom thresholds and busy lives. Be incisive.

It’s about having an advantage. If two companies offer the same range of services, with only the narrowest price margins to distinguish them, the one that does it better will, of course, be the one that offers the defining difference: the USP. Understood. But if you can’t present that USP well or the opposition can present just as well to the client without such a killer USP, then that advantage may be lost.

I’m not suggesting that you “load each crevice with ore” (necessarily!). No, you don’t have to turn your brochure into a symphonic poem or end every blog with an excruciating cliffhanger. Although (top pro tip alert: reading it out loud helps a lot). Imagine it as a speech. The link between oratory and the written word is indissoluble. Just like printing an eraser in a different color or font, it can help you correct mistakes.

But think like you are a B2C business. Think about how this type of company would sell, say, the components of a summer wardrobe. How does your favorite outfitter do it? As a friend? A fashion expert with an eye for wearing/combining looks? Each one has a definite personality. The best ones keep that strong, consistent, and recognizable personality, even in their AdWords ads, marketing email headlines, and reminder emails.

It’s really a pretty simple formula to follow. Just make sure every word of your communications has been thought through and paid attention to detail.

Color, tone and personality to tip the balance

One or a combination of the following can work wonders to gain your customer’s attention and retention:

An emotional word or phrase fell very softly on an insurance document “your home, your comforts, even your own children are covered.” Or perhaps to illustrate that there are no hidden extras: “that means everything: from the foundation to the ceiling beams is safe.”

a metaphor. “Our human-powered call center is the touchstone of client engagement. Each person who handles calls is a product expert looking forward to guiding you through the roadmap of our legal services.

A powerful and alliterative headline in a press announcement. One that will live in the memory of the reader “Hold for the theft of human resources?”

Far from going overboard, they add color and tone to your material. Make them worthwhile, make them go further.

But above all, it is to remember what your customers want. Clear, incisive and understandable copy, copy that doesn’t baffle you, doesn’t blind you with science (or technical details you don’t need), that doesn’t waste your dwindling time. Copy written in crisp, clear English that will grab your attention, address your concerns, appeal to your motivating emotions (because, yes, choosing a professional service will be an emotional choice at some stage in the transaction).

But if you’re afraid your prose will turn purple at the mention of all this, or you like it in principle but aren’t sure how to achieve it, just call a professional!