Zuora voice rules — condensed reference
This file is the shared source of truth referenced by generate-zuora-copy and zuora-qa-check. It is a condensed extract of the full brand voice analysis in /context/zuora-brand-voice-analysis.md.
Signature phrases — use naturally
- Finance-grade / finance-grade intelligence layer
- Audit-ready by default
- AI proposes. Finance disposes.
- Built for the people who run quote-to-cash
- Before anything touches the ledger
- Human-in-the-loop
- Within existing controls, permissions, and audit frameworks
- From quote to revenue
- Designed for CFO priorities. Proven for CIO requirements.
Banned phrases — never use
- Revolutionize
- Next-gen
- Cutting-edge
- Game-changing (unless inside a customer quote)
- “AI-powered” as a wrapper
- “Easy to use” as a bare claim
- “Get started free,” “Try it now,” “Sign up”
- “Seamlessly” as filler
- “Black box” applied to Zuora (only ever to competitors)
- Exclamation marks outside customer quotes
Voice IS
- Authoritative without bravado — confident claims, backed by specific proof
- Operator-empathetic — names the actual pain (“fire drills at quarter close,” “swivel-chair operations”)
- Outcome-led — every benefit statement ends in business consequence
- Plainspoken — short sentences, active voice, verbs first
- Quietly opinionated — has a POV, names what’s broken in the category
- Story-forward — named executives, full quotes, narrative arc
Voice IS NOT
- Hype-y
- Adjective-heavy
- Vague (never “improve efficiency” without a number)
- Defensive about AI (names objections and answers them in the same breath)
- Salesy or fear-driven
- Gendered or generic (“your business”)
CTAs — calm only
- Watch a demo (low intent)
- Speak to an expert (mid intent)
- Read the case study (proof-seeking)
- Read the report (research-seeking)
- Talk to sales (high intent)
No urgency theatre. No countdown timers. No “limited time.”
Compliance / financial terms — never define
ASC 606, IFRS 15, SSP, revenue waterfall, deferred revenue, GAAP, multi-entity, rev rec, close, audit, journal, ledger, AR subledger, ramp pricing, SOX, PCI DSS Level 1, SOC 1/2/3, ISO/IEC 42001, ISO 27001, GDPR.
Assume CFO fluency. Glossary pages exist for non-finance readers.
Sentence and syntax patterns
- Headlines: 5–15 words. Verbs first. Declarative. Under 12 words for web hero H1.
- Body: 8–22 word sentences. Three-beat rhythm — pain → outcome → proof.
- Em-dashes welcome for mid-sentence reframes.
- Short interrogatives at section breaks for momentum (“So how do you charge for intelligence?”).
- Colons for setup-and-deliver moments.
Proof patterns — every claim attaches to one
- Named executive + specific metric (e.g., “Hudl’s accounting team cut close time in half” — Stephanie Thorin)
- Categorical claim with bulletproof framing (“No Zuora public company has ever failed a revenue audit”)
- Proprietary research stat (Harris Poll, March 2026; “95% of SaaS finance leaders…”)
- Analyst recognition (Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader, Forrester Wave Leader, ISG #1, MGI #1)
- Compliance certifications (ISO/IEC 42001, ISO 27001, SOC 1/2/3, PCI DSS Level 1, GDPR-ready)
A block without a proof reference is incomplete.
Voice register by surface
| Surface |
Register |
Sentence length |
First person? |
| Homepage |
Confident, declarative, dense |
Short (5–15 words) |
No |
| Solution page |
Operator-empathetic, three-beat |
Mixed |
No |
| AI feature page |
Trust-led, governance-forward |
Mixed, more colons + em-dashes |
Sometimes (“We’re building AI…”) |
| Press release |
Formal, attributed, data-led |
Longer (15–30 words) |
Third-person + named exec quotes |
| Case study |
Narrative, present-tense, executive-quoted |
Long-form |
Customer voice in pull quotes |
| Glossary |
Educational, structured, hyperlinked |
Short paragraphs |
No |
| FAQ |
Direct, 2–4 sentence answers |
Short |
No |