VOICE ASSISTANT APP
A new audio marketing solution for an old audio marketing problem
Utilizing the convenience of voice technology to increase audio marketing response and conversion rates
Project Role
Conversation Designer
Company
Arrovox
Challenge
Radio and podcast commercials have low response rates. Even compared to the notoriously low performance of online banner ads. A major contributor to that problem is the unusually high friction for consumers responding to an audio advertising message.
Discovery
Assessing the radio advertising response process quickly surfaced several obstacles.
For one, there’s a broad experience gap, requiring users to leap from one interface, audio, to a text entry interface. Be it a URL or phone call.
Additionally, with a phone call, after the information is entered, there’s the relatively time consuming process of speaking with someone on the phone. Something particularly anathema to most people under 40, according to a recent survey of 1200 Millennials.
Compounding the problem is that for 80% of audio advertising — the live radio ads that aren’t streaming, and therefore incapable of being paused — a long response time only means more time away from the content the user is really there for.
As natural as a spoken response mechanism is, however, it’s important to vet voice technology, understanding its suitability for a given application.
In researching voice as a solution for the audio advertising, a number of data points have been taken into consideration. The installed user base of voice assistants. The percentage of actual users. And technology adoption of various market segments, especially those defined by age.
While at first glance, the absolute market penetration numbers may not look convincing. However, with voice, as with all emerging media platforms, it’s important to not only consider overall adoption, but in particular how it applies to given segments of the population. The big questions are of industry application and its corresponding audience demographics. For within the working adult population, the younger the target group, the more likely they are to not only use a voice assistant, but have a phone model supporting voice assistant technology.
An additional consideration is the height of the bar to be raised. In an industry like audio advertising with such low historical response rates, and significant improvement in convenience could more than compensate for low overall usage of the platform.
From a usability standpoint, the Voice Marketing Platform’s impact on customer experience can be summed up concisely.
“Brand names are easier to remember than phone numbers. Speaking is easier than texting.”
For mobile voice technology, brands with target audiences under 30 provide the optimal fit. That combined with the select conversion offers an individual brand makes, determines which brands will most benefit from the solution.
Solution
The Voice Marketing Platform is a voice technology solution for improving conversions rates on offers typically presented in audio advertisements. Beyond that, it’s highly adaptive to a range of additional conversion actions.
Experience Flow
Initially designed for the Google Assistant platform, the product was prototyped and tested using the Dialogflow Test Console and the Google Assistant Simulator.
The product is also scalable in scope. Functionality of the app can extend well beyond promotions and conversions, providing brands an entry-point to the voice space for features like company information, a products and services catalog, and easy access to sales or customer service agents.
The consumer appeal of the Voice Marketing Platform can be easily understood by comparing the time required to obtain any required conversion action information in the above example, compared to either entering a URL into a phone keypad, or far worse, having to place a call and negotiate the transaction with a company representative. Either live or virtual.
Perhaps most importantly from a marketer’s perspective, the Voice Marketing Platform brings clear ROI tracking to a business voice application. A solution with a sizable potential impact for the $20 billion audio advertising industry.
The video below is a demo of how the platform works.
Compare that to remembering a URL and entering it into a phone.
“Hey Google, talk to Voice Marketing Platform”
(Mobile platform only)