Key Takeaways:
Understand what messaging, tone, and voice are.
Learn about five common messaging mistakes to avoid.
Discover six ways that AI Can improve your messaging.
Is your brand sending mixed signals? Even if customers can’t quite put their finger on it, a scattered message kills trust instantly. Consistency, on the other hand, makes buying from you an easy “yes”. The good news? You don’t need a massive team to stay aligned. You just need the right approach (and a little help from AI). Let’s look at how to master your messaging with less stress.
“Messaging is the complete language system of your business that shapes how customers perceive your business long before they ever meet you in person.”
– Jennifer Shaheen
President and Founder, Technology Therapy® Group
What Messaging Is (And Why It Matters)
Messaging isn’t “just copy”. It’s the complete language system of your business—every word customers encounter. It includes your website, your product descriptions, your emails, your social posts, your packaging inserts, your receipts, your automated texts, and even your in-store signage. All of these shape how customers perceive your business long before they ever meet you in person.
Good messaging creates clarity. Confusing or inconsistent messaging creates friction. And friction is the #1 reason people leave a site, abandon a cart, or disengage from a brand.
This is a great reminder when training your team on brand messaging: make sure everyone on your team says the same thing. This prevents customer frustration and improves the overall customer experience.
Clear and consistent messaging is important not just for customers but for you. When you’re consistent with messaging, you can increase revenue by up to 33%, as a recent Lucidpress report indicates.
Voice vs. Tone: The Difference Retailers Often Overlook
Many retailers use “voice” and “tone” interchangeably, but they’re not the same – and mixing them up leads to inconsistent messaging.
Voice
Your brand voice is who you are. It’s rooted in core statements and creates an emotional connection with your customers.
Tone
Your brand’s tone is how your voice adapts based on context, audience, and channel. Understanding this distinction is key to maintaining consistency and clarity across your channels.
5 Common Messaging Mistakes Retailers Make
Retailers rarely make messaging mistakes intentionally. They happen slowly, over time, as more people contribute content, more products get launched, and more channels need fresh copy. Here are the biggest pitfalls retailers face, and why they matter:
1. Inconsistent Voice Across Channels
Per Lucidpress data, 47% of brands publish off-brand content at least a few times each year. Maybe your home page speaks formally, but your Instagram captions are full of emojis and slang. Or your in-store team is friendly and conversational, but your emails sound stiff. These shifts confuse customers and break trust. Shoppers shouldn’t have to decode your personality depending on where they encounter your brand.
2. Generic Copy That Mimics Competitors
Copy that “sounds like everyone else” is one of the biggest reasons businesses blend into the background. When your messaging leans too heavily on clichés or formal language, your brand loses its emotional connection. And customers skim past instead of engaging.
3. Focusing on Features Instead of Benefits
“100% cotton, machine washable” matters on a product description—but what matters more is how this feature makes your customer’s life better. Messaging that doesn’t answer “what’s in it for me?” misses the emotional layer that drives purchases.
4. Messaging That Doesn’t Match Reviews or Customer Expectations
If your reviews say “friendly, attentive service” but your communication feels cold, there’s a disconnect. Reviews reveal your real brand through the eyes of customers and your messaging should reflect that.
5. Outdated Positioning That No Longer Reflects Who You Are
Many retailers still rely on messaging written years ago. But your products, your customer base, and your brand personality have evolved. If your messaging hasn’t evolved with you, it’s no longer representing your business accurately.
“Once you define your brand voice, you can train AI to check your content against it. This ensures consistency even when multiple people, tools, or automations generate copy.”
– Jennifer Shaheen
President and Founder, Technology Therapy® Group
6 Ways that AI Can Improve Messaging While Staying True to Your Personality
AI tools can help keep your messaging tuned, consistent, and emotionally aligned with what your customers actually care about—without replacing the human creativity behind it. Here are six roles you should leverage it for:
1. Content Reviewer
Paste in any piece of copy, and AI can instantly tell you whether it matches your brand voice and where it drifts. It spots inconsistency faster than humans can. This is especially valuable if multiple team members contribute to your content.
2. Clarity Checker
If your product descriptions, policies, or FAQs are hard to skim or loaded with jargon, AI will rewrite them in plain language. This is especially helpful when you’re trying to explain complex information in a customer-friendly way.
3. Customer Simulator
This is a game changer. You can ask AI how a Gen Z shopper, a budget-conscious customer, or a luxury buyer would interpret your message. It surfaces misunderstandings, emotional reactions, or unclear points you may never have noticed.
4. Voice Alignment Guide
Once you define your brand voice, you can train AI to check your content against it. This ensures consistency even when multiple people, tools, or automations generate copy.
5. Customer Review Analyzer
Paste 50, 200, or even 1,000 customer reviews into AI and it will identify patterns instantly: values customers express, emotional triggers, recurring words, and praise that should influence your messaging strategy. Compare these findings against your current content to see if they match.
6. Copy Comparison Tool
Trying to improve old content? AI can compare past messaging with your updated version and tell you which is clearer, more engaging, or more aligned with your brand voice.
A Simple, Sustainable Routine for Using AI in Your Messaging
You don’t need an AI-heavy workflow. Instead, aim to establish a rhythm. Do a short check-in weekly when creating new content, a quarterly voice and messaging review, and an annual refresh to ensure your brand voice is still aligned with your audience. Small, steady improvements outperform massive once-a-year overhauls.
Protect What Makes Your Brand Yours
When you align your voice, you ground your customers. AI makes that alignment effortless, ensuring every interaction reflects the true, confident version of your brand – no matter where the conversation happens.
Does Your Messaging Need a Makeover?
Take advantage of a customized digital audit from TTG.
