Voice and a Pandemic – Link Round Up

By: Paul Costello

There is no shortage of news and perspectives about how the world is reacting to pandemics.  In my own reading and research I have come across a few pieces I thought our voice passionate community would find interesting.  The links, and in some cases snippets, are below.

The Drum: Pandemics of today, technology for tomorrow; what part will voice play in the future?

• The current environment is driving increased usage of voice assistants in consumer lifestyle. In the home, the current environment will drive consumers to rely more on their assistants for entertainment, deliveries, mental health support, calling and community connections, work outs and practical instructions such as cooking tips. After normality returns, the new need and deeper understanding of the devices will remain, and voice will have a new solid consumer base.

• Now is a trying time for many brands, and it has become crucial for them to be able to talk directly consumers. In categories such as online conferencing, healthcare, household goods, home delivery and exercise and wellness we are seeing huge spikes in demand, whereas we are seeing falling demand in areas such as luxury goods, events and travel booking.

• Brands will need to adopt new ways to manage the influx of customer communications both in terms of positive and negative queries. Delivery services will need to have ways to communicate on service availability, booking slots and ways they are safeguarding both their staff and customers. Equally, insurance and travel businesses are dealing with large volumes of claims, refunds and complaints. Voice offers a platform to sort through consumer requests and filter out the majority which can be replied to automatically. Already we have seen LV= implement a voice skill which will take pressure off call centres which are having to close down because of COVID-19.

Using voice to connect with families/consumers at home:

Virtual Campaigning

CNN: From Kennedy’s kitchen to Biden’s basement, candidates adapt to virtual campaigning 

WSJ: Household Brands Seek Their Voice on Virtual Assistants

NYT: Smart Speakers Can Go Beyond Music – Expand the ways you use your smart, internet-connected speakers to help everyone in your family get the most out of them each day.

Organizations using voice to reduce call-center/customer support costs

Voicebot.ai: Moscow Airport’s New Voice Assistant is Answering 30% of Customer Calls

Inteliwise: Voicebots will change the helpline and Call Center

Small Biz Trends: How to Use Voice Assistants For Your Business

Entertainment taking to live streaming direct to consumers

CNN: Music’s biggest stars are performing online during the pandemic

(Older References)

Urgency of Voice Brand Strategy (Marketing + Customer Service)

LinkedIn: Why Retailers Need to Invest in the Future of Voice Today

Search Engine Journal: 4 Things Brands Must Consider When Developing a Voice Strategy

Convince & Convert: Why The Time is Now for Voice-Activated Content

Thanks for letting us share these recent voice trends and how global brands and smaller businesses alike are seizing the immediate opportunity to connect at a deeper level with consumers/families in innovative ways as they remain at home. It should be noted that the majority of recent news has been focused around voice as a means to share health information/updates, government advisories (State Governments Ask Voicify to Build Coronavirus-Focused Voice Apps) etc. – and as they become available, usage statistics will confirm the surge industry experts are predicting.