Voice Marketing – what you need to know

Why you should be

For those who are not familiar with this, voice technology has evolved from becoming a source of fun and entertainment to becoming a household staple, with Alexa, Google, or Siri, those ever-so-helpful virtual assistants that help in getting information, setting alarms and reminders, detect changes in temperatures, and a lot more. It is undeniably one of the key trends for 2020 and beyond. 

What does this mean for your business?

Well, it depends on who you are. If you’ve got the cash and the name recognition, you might be able to make yourself a devices go-to business for certain questions. If you have an Alexa, you might’ve asked her to say something funny only to find comedian Jimmy Fallon chiming in with a joke. Alexa is also likely to direct you to Amazon products if you ask it a ‘where to buy’ question – for obvious reasons.

If you’re not already a titan in your industry category, getting in on the ground floor with actual Alexa or Google partnerships might be out of reach financially, but there are still options available to you.

In the same way that you want to fill your website with key words that will get it picked up by SEO (search engine optimisation), you now want to look into formatting things for VSO, voice search optimisation. Think about the kinds of answers these sorts of machines usually give when you ask a question. You might’ve noticed they often begin with ‘according to the website…” – that’s the key to this. You want to be that website.

Ask (and answer!) The right questions

If you were asked what was the most powerful page on your website, you might say your product page, or even your ‘about us’ (if you struggle to think of any check out this blog for some tips!). Whilst those are both powerhouses when it comes to bringing in new customers, you might be surprised to learn the real secret is just 3 letters long: FAQ (frequently asked questions).

Think of the way you communicate with your Voice-enabled devices. You ask it a question. At that moment, what your device is trying to do is find that exact question with an answer that seems legitimate. It doesn’t always get it right (for the last time google I asked if Country Road is open – please stop reading me John Denver lyrics…) but when it does, being the go-to website for Voice-enabled devices can be a huge boon to your marketing. It turns your website from purely sales brochure tool into a source of information, bringing in customers who weren’t necessarily looking specifically for you in the first place.

Make sure your information is available

Although all of these devices will search far and wide to answer their users’ questions, it’s always best to lay out the information so they can read it. Remember what I said about opening hours? Of course, in COVID times things are a little more chaotic than we might like, but putting up some kind of availability in a way that devices can recognise can be invaluable in making sure your clients keep you in mind. You can add this kind of information in Google Places, be sure to update it regularly, especially now when things are changing so rapidly.

If it’s out there on the internet that you are available to take calls or reply to emails on certain dates, be available, lest your customers lose confidence and stop contacting you at all.

So that’s voice marketing, now that you know the basics, it’s time to make the sales. If you’d like to chat to someone about creating a start to end great sales experience once your customer has decided to buy from you, we’d be delighted to hear from you. You can always give us a call on +61 2 9828 0111 (Sydney), +61 3 9240 300 (Melbourne) or +64 9 263 8855 (Auckland) or drop us a note via the form below.