# Finding your brand voice for review replies

> A short workbook to get from 'we're friendly and professional' to a voice specific enough that an AI — or a new team member — can copy it.

_Published 2026-07-22 · Updated 2026-07-22 · 7 min · By The HappyReplies Team_

Source: https://happyreplies.com/resources/brand-voice-tone-guide

Most brand voice documents fail the same test: 'friendly, professional, warm' describes 90% of local businesses, so it describes none. This workbook produces a voice specific enough to be copied.

## The six questions

1. Which competitor sounds most different from you, and how? (One sentence each.)
2. What is a word you'd never use in a reply? Why?
3. First-name or full-name sign-off?
4. When you disagree with a customer, do you say so or move it offline?
5. How long is your ideal reply — one sentence, three, or five?
6. What is one phrase your loyal customers say back to you?

## The paragraph

Stitch the answers into a single paragraph. That paragraph is the input for every AI reply-draft tool and the onboarding note for every new team member.

## The test

Show three of your recent replies (with no logo, no name) to a customer who's been in three or more times. Ask which is yours. If they can't tell, the voice needs more specificity — usually a specific vocabulary and a specific sign-off.