Why you should focus on setting your voice strategy and realizing it. The use of smart speakers and digital assistants show a record-high growth rate; 23% of the US households has a digital assistant or a voice-first device (Voicebot.ai, 2018) and the prediction is that this number will reach 55% in 2020 (Juniper Research, 2017). In October, Google Home was launched in Sweden as the first smart speaker in Swedish. The growth rate is expected to follow the same success as other markets such as the one i the U.S which will force Swedish business’ to think differently. If the growth rate is anywhere near what it has been in the US, Swedish businesses will be forced to start thinking differently.
Voice first-devices and digital assistants do not only change people’s behaviour but it also creates new expectations on brands. In this time of change, brands are not only faced with new challenges but they are also introduced to new possibilities. By showing a presence in these early stages of the voice revolution, there is an opportunity for brands to secure a notable market share; especially in Sweden, where this phenomena is fairly new. The technology also allows businesses to expand their channels of communications with their customers to create business value in the most natural way – by using something as simple as their voice. Brands have to start asking themselves; how does the shift towards voice affect our market? How can we use voice as a growth engine for our business? And most importantly, what does my brand sound like? Businesses that can answer these questions will have a head start.
Due to all of this, my advice is – put your money where your voice is. Voice technology will create one of the most revolutionary changes in recent time and it shifts everything from how we make our purchases to the way we search for information. Many indications show that this will be inevitable – just think about Amazon and how they have doubled the amount of developers working on Alexa, Amazon’s digital assistent, in the course of a year (Techcrunch, 2019). Google, also, just recently made it possible for users to make transactions through their digital assistants, which is probably only one of many functions that will make consumer’s life a bit easier (Seroundtable, 2018).
Consequently, it is important for brands and businesses to set their strategy today – because we don’t know how far the change has come tomorrow. Will you keep up?
Written by Diana Mosa
Contact: diana@talkingtome.se (+46)762099316
Talking to me is a Voice Design Agency that provides strategic guidance for brands as well as designs, develops and optimizes voice experiences that address a fundamental change in human behavior.
Links:
https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/press-releases/amazon-echo-google-home-to-reside
https://www.seroundtable.com/google-assistant-redesign-26473.html
https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/02/the-number-of-alexa-skills-in-the-u-s-more-than-doubled-in-2018/
U.S. Smart Speaker Users Rise to 57 Million
