Voice is marketing’s most significant paradigm shift this decade — one that has far-reaching implications for how brands engage customers and prospects. Read Forrester’s latest report on voice to learn why voice will flourish, what that means for your brand, and how to get ready to win in the world of voice.

Get Ready For The Voice Revolution

If you think you are hearing more voices, that’s because you are. We are at yet another juncture where technology is poised to create even more human brand experiences. What started with Siri blossomed with Alexa. Smart speakers are everywhere: Forrester predicts that 50% of US households will have smart speakers by 2022, accounting for 68% of all smart home devices.
Voice will be much more than assistants and speakers. It will fundamentally alter how consumers and brands interact. Voice will drive discovery and purchase. Voice will drive engagement and relationships.

It’s Time To Move On Voice

We have crossed a threshold of consumer adoption and brand engagement, and voice strategy has moved from being a twinkle in the CMO’s eye to a rapidly unfolding reality that will define the brand experience in the near future. While the everyday implementation of voice may not yet have the ease of human conversation, the pace of change is rapid and the leaders have already moved. If you don’t have a voice strategy in the making today, it’s time to move now or risk falling behind.

You Need A 3V Strategy For Voice

  1. Value: Understand how the advent of voice and its concomitant channel intermediaries affect the discovery and purchase process, then build a strategy to be discovered and to land in the shopping basket, and build engagement by being useful.
  2. Voice: Find your literal voice, infuse it with your brand’s essence, and architect every aspect of communication.
  3. Vision: Be available where your customers look for you by anticipating their needs and journeys, then provide a seamless and intuitive offering.

Key Takeaways

  • Create a new identity: Incorporate a fully fledged, carefully crafted sonic identity into your brand and ensure that it aligns with your brand’s core essence.
  • Craft new experiences: Completely rethink your customers’ experience for a world where voice is a common medium of interaction. Design engaging, emotional, and memorable voice interactions for your brand.
  • Embrace the ecosystem: Understand how best to deliver your new brand identity and experience through an ecosystem of voice platforms. Do this well to drive acquisition through discovery, as well as retention through engagement.

(Forrester clients, read the full report, “Give Your Brand A Voice — Literally,” here)