91% of Brands are Investing in Voice: How to Make it Work

The last holiday season was an important litmus test for the staying power of smart speakers. Could these devices diverge from other emerging tech trends like VR and 3D TV, and become a part of everyday life? The answer appears to be yes. A recent study showed that 36% of consumers own a smart speaker (Feb. 2019), a 14 percent jump from just 6 months prior. 75% report using their smart speaker at least daily. Consumers have embraced this new platform, and brands are taking notice.

Many missed the boat when smartphones took off, and brands are trying to avoid a repeat. The Adobe Analytics team recently surveyed over 400 business decision makers, in a new report looking at voice strategy and investment. A whopping 91% are already making significant investments in voice; 94% plan to increase their investment in the coming year. Brands see incredible potential, with 66% strongly agreeing that voice can help drive conversion and increase revenue; 71% see it improving the user experience.

Voice has the potential to disrupt entire industries, just like smartphones have. Brands must move quickly but take a strategic approach. The Adobe Analytics team has been working with companies on their voice strategy, and we take some of those learnings to share how to make it work.

Early exploration and testing

Only around 22% of companies have a voice app released, meaning that many brands are in the exploration phase. When you begin to investigate the technology and identifying potential use cases, here are key considerations before deploying a proof of concept:

Launch day

Before a voice app is ready to be launched across the major platforms (e.g., Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple’s Siri), there is a long list of considerations. Here are some of the main ones:

Personalization and on-going refinement

Once a voice app begins to gain traction and has a sizable audience, brands will need to think about how to evolve the experience and keep people coming back. A few considerations at this stage:

Adobe has a voice analytics tool to help brands measure and action voice-based experiences, while connecting it to the overall customer journey across areas like desktop, web, mobile, audio, and other channels. See here for step-by-step video tutorials. Learn more here about how data will empower brands to become leaders in customer experience management (CXM).

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State of Voice Technology for Brands from Adobe