According to a recent study, the number of people in the United States using their voice to conduct searches is on the rise. In fact, Statista found that 123 million people in the US are using voice search features in 2022.
So what does this mean for businesses and marketers?
Simply put, Voice Marketing is an emerging trend that cannot be ignored. As Voice Marketing evolves, it’s important for businesses to stay ahead of the curve and explore the latest trends to ensure they are providing the best possible customer experience strategies.
In this guide, we’re giving you the 411 on all things voice marketing and sharing the top voice marketing trends to keep an eye on in 2023.
Let’s get started.
What is Voice Marketing?
Voice marketing is the use of voice-activated devices to promote and sell products or services. This emerging trend is driven by the increasing popularity of voice-activated assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple’s Siri.
Let’s say you’re an aspiring entrepreneur wanting to know how to start a business in 2023. You might ask Siri, “What are the top business trends for 2023?” Once Siri responds with a list of popular options, then you can say, “Alexa, order books on XYZ trend.”
As you can see, Voice Marketing has the potential to simplify and streamline the customer journey from start to finish. You can further improve the customer journey by incorporating pbx voip systems into your communication strategy. This will increase the level of customer satisfaction by personalizing the phone experience, reducing waiting times, and ensuring that customers get sent through to the right department.
What are the Benefits of Voice Marketing?
There are many potential benefits of Voice Marketing for businesses, including
- Increased reach: According to Statista, by 2024, there will be 8.4 billion digital voice assistants in use around the globe – this is actually higher than the world’s population. Because of this, voice marketing has the potential to reach a wider audience than other marketing channels and generate more leads.
- Improved customer experience: Voice Marketing can help businesses improve the customer experience by making it easier for customers to find the information they need. For example, if a customer is looking for a VoIP product, they can simply ask their Voice Assistant for a list of options.
- Lower costs: Voice Marketing can also help businesses save money. For example, auto-attendants can be used to answer customer questions without the need for human intervention. This can free up customer service representatives to handle more complex inquiries.
- A more inclusive brand image: Introducing voice marketing gives businesses enhanced accessibility, especially for those who are physically impaired.
What Are the Voice Marketing Trends for 2023?
Now that we know what Voice Marketing is and the benefits it can offer businesses, let’s take a look at some of the top Voice Marketing trends for 2023:
1. Voice Marketing on the Rise in Different Industries
Source: Finances Online
One of the most important Voice Marketing trends for 2023 is Voice-First Healthcare. Voice-First Healthcare is the use of voice assistants to provide healthcare information and services.
This trend is being driven by the increasing popularity of voice-activated assistants, as well as the covid 19 pandemic. According to Voicebot.ai, an increased number of people are using voice-activated assistants to get health information during the pandemic. The top voice searches were to ask about illness symptoms (72.9%), to ask for medical information (45.9%), and to find a hospital, clinic, or pharmacy (37.7%).
What does this mean for businesses? This trend provides an opportunity for healthcare businesses to reach a wider audience and provide more convenient services. For example, Voice-First Healthcare can be used to make appointments, refill prescriptions, and even check symptoms.
In terms of customer experience, Voice-First Healthcare can help businesses provide a more personal and human touch. For example, if a customer is feeling ill, they can ask their voice assistant for suggestions on what to do. This personalized care can help build trust and loyalty between the customer and the healthcare provider.
Similar technology is becoming more prevalent in other industries too. For example, it can be used to make a reservation in a restaurant, book an excursion, or order room service. It enhances the customer experience and also makes services more accessible to hotel guests who may be physically impaired.
2. Voice-Enabled Chatbots Will Become More Common
Another Voice Marketing trend for 2023 is the increased use of voice-enabled chatbots. Voice-enabled chatbots are computer programs that are designed to simulate human conversation. According to Gartner, by 2026, we can expect to see one in ten agents automated. This trend is being driven by the increasing popularity of voice-activated assistants and the improved capabilities of chatbots.
Let’s say your company sells client portal solutions, and you want to offer a Voice-First customer support experience. You can use a Voice-enabled chatbot to answer common questions about your product, such as “How do I set up my account?” or “What are the features of your enterprise solution?”
This will help improve customer experience by providing a more convenient way to get information. In addition, it can also help businesses save money on customer support costs.
3. Voice in the Metaverse
With the increasing popularity of virtual reality and augmented reality, it’s no surprise that voice marketing is also trending in the Metaverse. The Metaverse is a shared virtual space where people can interact with each other and digital objects using avatars.
Output devices, including keyboards and mice, will become less common as people interact with the Metaverse using their voice. This trend is being driven by the increasing popularity of voice-activated assistants and the improved capabilities of speech recognition.
So how will this improve customer experience? This trend will allow businesses to create more immersive, interactive, and customer-centric experiences. For example, a customer could ask their voice assistant for directions in a virtual store. This would provide a more engaging and personal experience for the customer.
4. Speak Through vs. Click Through
When we look at the click-through ad model on YouTube, we can see that people are used to skipping ads. This is because it’s intrusive to have to sit through an ad when you’re trying to watch a video.
Suppose you’re watching an ad for auto attendant software on a podcast. The auto attendant can be used to answer customer questions without the need for human intervention. This saves customer service representatives time in handling more complex inquiries.
With the click-through ad model, the user has to click to skip the ad. However, with the speak-through model, the user can just say “no thanks” or “not interested,” and the ad will be skipped. This is less intrusive and feels more like a conversation. A hands-free model also has the potential to be more effective, as the user can skip the ad while doing other tasks.
5. Social Media Platforms Will Adopt Voice Features
Social media platforms have already begun to adopt voice features. For example, in 2020, Twitter launched Spaces, a new audio-only chat feature that allows users to host live conversations on the platform.
The rise of audio content on social media platforms provides businesses with the unique opportunity to connect with their audience in a new way. For example, businesses can use Twitter Spaces to host live Q&A sessions, product demonstrations, or AMAs (Ask Me Anything).
Let’s say you run a clothing company and want to use Twitter Spaces to connect with your audience. You can host a live Q&A session where your followers can ask questions about your story, your design process, or your sustainable practices.
Your customers’ experience will be improved because they’ll feel like they have a direct connection to you and your brand. In addition, they’ll appreciate the transparency and the opportunity to learn more about what goes into making your products.
How to Get Ready for the Voice Marketing Trend
1. Make Sure Your Website is Optimized for Voice Search
To make sure your website is optimized for voice search, you need to do two things:
- Use natural language keywords: When people use voice search, they tend to use natural language keywords rather than short, keyword-stuffed phrases. For example, instead of searching for “eCommerce in Mexico,” they might search for “How to Sell Online on the Mexican Market”
- Use long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords are more specific keywords that are less competitive and easier to rank for. For example, instead of targeting the keyword “auto attendant,” you could target the long-tail keyword “best auto attendant software for small businesses.”
- Use question keywords – how, where, when, how much?
2. Create Content for Voice Search
To create content for voice search, you need to think about the questions people are likely to ask and then create content that answers those questions. For example, if you work in payments processing, you could create a blog called “How to handle the complexity of cross-border payments.”
3. Optimize Your Website for Mobile
More than half of voice searches are done on mobile devices, so it’s important to make sure your website is optimized for mobile. This means making sure your website loads quickly, is easy to navigate, and has a responsive design.
4. Claim Your Business Listings
When people use voice search to find local businesses, they often ask questions like “where is the nearest coffee shop?” or “what are the best Italian restaurants in New York City?” To make sure your business appears in the results for these types of searches, you need to claim your business listings on directories like Google My Business and Yelp.
5. Use Social Media to Connect With Your Audience
Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram are all adopting voice features, so it’s important to use them to connect with your audience. For example, if you’re trying to create a social media strategy for eCommerce, you can use Instagram Live to give your followers a behind-the-scenes look at your business.
Final Thoughts
2023 is going to be an exciting year for voice marketing. With the continued adoption of smart speakers and the rise of social media platforms adopting voice features, businesses have a unique opportunity to connect with their audience in a new way.
To get ready for the voice marketing trend, make sure your website is optimized for voice search, create content for voice search, and use social media to connect with your audience.
Good luck and happy marketing!
About Author
Tanhaz Kamaly is a Partnership Executive at Dialpad, a modern cloud-hosted business communications platform that turns conversations into the best opportunities, both for businesses and clients through features like call recording. He is well-versed and passionate about helping companies work in constantly evolving contexts, anywhere, anytime. Tanhaz has also written for other domains such as Not Going To Uni and Track-POD. Check out his LinkedIn profile.
