Rebuilding the Brand Voice of a Business That Has Evolved

Back in the 90s, I met Erykah Badu at a Show and Prove in the auditorium of a Harlem high school on 127th St. She walked in with the same alchemical energy she carries today. Grounded. Clear. Full presence. Just authenticity in motion.

She spoke the way she sings, layered in a way that makes you lean in. That moment shaped how I see creative expression because she’s definitely one of them ones who sounds like herself everywhere she goes. Such a Queen.

Most business owners do not carry that level of authenticity in their marketing, which doesn’t chase but attracts.

In private, their work is powerful. In public, their words feel mismatched, missing the magnetism they want. Often, intentional messages are absent, while the language they use shrinks the weight of their work. Their audience senses it, even if the owner can’t name the problem.

Verbal branding with a focus on brand voice is the bridge. It’s the bridge between who you are and how your business speaks when you are not in the room. When language stops matching the truth of the work, confusion grows. It’s like a song with the right beat but the wrong verse.

Many wellness entrepreneurs feel this mismatch. The juice maker crafting functional blends that heal speaks online like a discount beverage brand. The yoga instructor guiding transformation speaks online like a hobbyist. The hairdresser whose chair is an emotional ecosystem speaks online like a generic salon. Their work is layered like Neo soul. Their message hits the public like a single note on low volume.

This gap widens when a business evolves, but the verbal identity stays stuck in an earlier version. Internal clarity sharpens. External message stays muddy. Target audiences feel the misalignment even if they can’t articulate it. Owners notice this tension when they read or listen to their own content and realize there’s more work to do. The work is powerful, but publicly, the words are misaligned.

Brand confusion grows when a business shifts identity without shifting language. A business may start with basic services and grow into advanced, culturally grounded, or trauma-informed work. If verbal identity doesn’t grow, the public description becomes outdated. Target audiences sense the disconnect. They meet a business that does precise work, but the brand doesn’t communicate its value effectively.

To rebuild verbal alignment, three anchors matter.

• Anchor 1: The core method. Every owner has an internal logic behind their work. That logic needs language. Naming the method clearly makes the value visible.

• Anchor 2: The emotional outcome. People respond to thought and feeling. Owners often fear naming emotional impact, but specificity builds trust. Target audiences want to know how their life improves through the work.

• Anchor 3: The worldview. Every business has principles shaping how it serves. Articulating them creates resonance. Target audiences choose businesses whose values align with their own.

Verbal branding protects a business from being misunderstood and helps audiences make informed decisions. It functions like the production layers in R&B: the drums matter. The bass matters. The harmonies matter. But the real magic is in how they lock together.

In essence, clarity is the system that carries your story to the people who need it. If your words don’t reflect the truth of your work, all the strategy, all the effort, all the craft will feel hollow. Investing in verbal alignment isn’t optional. It’s the difference between a business that speaks and a business that resonates, attracts, and converts effortlessly.

When your message mirrors your mastery, your audience doesn’t just hear you—they recognize themselves in your work, and they can’t help but respond.

To master your brand's verbal branding, check out the Messaging Strategy Engine™.

A messaging strategy is a source of input that other strategies depend on, and you actively use to inform what to say and how to say it to your audience. It locks in your core message, positioning, voice, and value, so every piece of content you create (or delegate or generate with AI) stays aligned and has the best chance of converting into wins for your business.