The Voice CEO: Voice Technology Today

Your source for voice technology news, tips, and more for marketers, researchers and the curious.
Install The Voice CEO Flash Briefing Now | Listen To The Voice CEO Soundtrack on Spotify

May 21st, 2021

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

Blink and you’ll miss it. The usage of voice assistants has reached the fine line between utility and ubiquity. With over 3.5 billion users worldwide, half the world population, speaking to their smart phones, smart speakers, appliances, personal electronics, and automobiles every month - the only question you should be asking yourself as it relates to your brand is “How do I get them to listen to us?”

In this episode of The Voice CEO, let's cover the key areas of focus when starting out with voice assistants for consumer engagement.

Read the accompanying blog post for Building Consumer Relationships That Last With Voice Assistants

May 12th, 2021

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

As a marketer new to leveraging voice experiences, there are a few things to consider as you enter the idea stage of your voice experience - BEFORE you even start on designing and developing it. In this episode we cover what are 3 essential tips to know as you start to strategize around voice for your consumer engagement.

Our shoutout voice experiences for this episode: Xbox Game Pass, Decoy Wines, and the 10-day Clarity Plan by Doc Williams

Read the full 5 Essential Tips to Leveraging Voice Assistants to Improve Consumer Relationships and Build Your Brand

March 4th, 2021

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE VOICE ASSISTANT FUNNEL: BUILDING YOUR BRAND WHILE DELIVERING VALUE-ADDED CONTENT AND ORGANIC LEADS WITH VOICE ASSISTANTS

Let's go into an introduction into the Voice Assistant Funnel (VAF) and how to put it to work for your business. Use the Voice Assistant Funnel to turn Voice Assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant into lead generating experiences your customers and prospects will love.

Prefer to read? Read about the Voice Assistant Funnel here

February 12th, 2021

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

Strategy Series, Part 5: building your client and customer relationships using voice assistants with the PaS Strategy

Wrapping up our 5 part series is the PaS Strategy. The Product and Service Assistant Strategy, or PaS, builds upon services and products you’ve already provided or sold. Leveraging Voice Assistants to provide follow-on support in a personal, authentic voice helps amplify your brand relationship and grow your consumer relationship beyond the sale. Your PaS Assistant can become your first line of support and value-add to your customers.

Prefer to read? Read about all 5 strategies here

February 5th, 2021

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

Strategy Series, Part 4: building your audience relationship using Voice Assistants with the Interactive Audio Programming strategy

Audio-based programming, specifically podcast consumption, has experienced a renaissance in the past 5 years and the future is bright for the medium. Never has so much engaging and entertaining pure-audio based content been available on-demand. Now what if audience members could consume AND engage - at the same time. What if instead of just listening to your podcast, your audience could engage the time of consumption? This is the idea behind the Interactive Audio Programming strategy and part 4 of our 5 part series.

Prefer to read? Read about all 5 strategies here

January 29nd, 2021

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

Strategy Series, Part 3: engage consumers & fans by taking users on an adventure with the Choose Your Own Adventure Strategy

Choose Your Own Adventure books were created by Edward Packard in the early 1970s and, you could say, are the original “virtual reality game.”

Painting a picture of a whole new world, engaging reader imaginations, and taking them on adventures of their own choosing long before they could do the same using a game system connected to their TVs or slipping on a headset.

Use the Choose Your Own Adventure Strategy to engage customers, prospects and fans via Voice Assistants in a way that builds your brand and drives deeper relationships.

Prefer to read? Read about all 5 strategies here

January 22nd, 2021

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

The Voice Strategy Series, Part 2: turning over 1 billion devices worldwide into your own personal virtual heroes.

What if I told you that a great leap in convenience is happening again and it’s happening now? That leap is voice assistants and voice technology.

Through Voice Assistants, like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, we empower our customers, our patients, and our fans to engage with us in ways that are both personal and scalable.

In Part 2 of our Strategy Series (2 out of 5), we'll cover the Virtual Hero Strategy and what it could mean for you, your brands, and your customers.

Prefer to read? Read about all 5 strategies here

January 15th, 2021

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

The Voice Strategy Series, Part 1: creating value and driving brand relationships using Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant with the Knowledge Butler Strategy for Marketers

Voice experiences, as Alexa Skills for Amazon Alexa, Actions for Google Assistant, or Capsules for Samsung Bixby, are an easy, personal way to connect with consumers via Voice Assistants. The kinds of voice experiences you create may depend on the nature of the products or services you produce.

Voice experiences, properly executed, have the potential to deliver great value to consumers at a time when they need it most.

We put together five strategies for voice experiences you can leverage via Voice Assistants to increase brand awareness, increase engagement, and drive deeper consumer relationships during the pandemic and beyond.

In this episode, we present the Knowledge Butler strategy that leverages assets you likely already have to create a value-adding, lead generating voice experience for consumers regardless of your niche or industry.

Prefer to read? Read about all 5 strategies here

December 17th, 2020

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

If you don’t pay enough attention to the on-boarding experience of your Voice Strategy, you’ll suffer through lousy engagement numbers and end up overspent on your awareness marketing without much to show for it. What is the on-boarding piece of the Voice Strategy puzzle?

How you get from click to "Hello!" is vital to the success of your voice strategy.

Dive into this weeks episode and have a look at what the on-boarding experience for users of your voice application is like. In this episode, we take a look at three different strategies for on-boarding new users from your awareness campaigns and, hopefully, show the best option for marketers.

Prefer to read? read here

December 10th, 2020

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

Like the early years of the iPhone, we’re in the early years of voice-based, voice-first computing.

Marketers must embrace the fact that consumer engagement is moving towards a more voice-first (and audio-first) experience so they can be better positioned to leverage voice to grow consumer relationships, grow brands, and grow revenue.

What is challenging for marketers to agree on is where does the Voice Experience “exist?” Who “owns” the Voice Experience Strategy? Is voice an extension of our Content Strategy? Or is voice about branding? Is it an extension of our Branding Strategy?

Dive in to answer the question "Are Voice Experiences Part of Your Content Marketing Strategy or Your Brand Strategy?"

Prefer to read? read here

December 3rd, 2020

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

Savvy marketers learn early that driving users to a voice experience on Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant can be challenging.

Presumably, there are so many hurdles for getting the masses onto your voice app. Amazon Quick Links (and Google Actions counter part) are the starting point for overcoming new user acquisition and on-boarding for your voice app.

Marketers that leverage this feature will quickly realize how much easier it makes driving awareness and how much it improves the customer experience.

Learn all about quick links in this weeks episode of The Voice CEO.

Read all about Voice App Links here

November 25rd, 2020

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

As with any new and emerging consumer technology, the individuals and organizations that are first to leverage voice assistants and voice technology to engage consumers will be the ones best positioned to deliver value via voice in the long-term. Getting started with voice experiences today introduces new brand building and relationship building opportunities to your engagement strategy.

In this third and final part of the Marketers and Researchers Guide To Voice Assistants, we’re going to cover everything you need to get started leveraging voice assistants to reach your goals. Grab your favorite tea or cup of joe and your notepad.

Read the full blog post here

Download our Voice Application Worksheet here

Read all about Voice App Links here

November 23rd, 2020

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

Voice assistants, like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, offer marketers and researchers today a growing opportunity to engage with and empower consumers, patients, and fans. Studies continue to show that, when we engage with brands via voice assistants, we feel a stronger, more personal connection with the brands.

If you have already listened to part 1 of this three part series, you have a good foundation on what the landscape for voice assistants looks like today.

This next part of our guide will give you an understanding of the kinds of voice experiences and voice applications consumers are engaging with, what they do great, and why they work so well.

Read the full blog post here

November 16th, 2020

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

For marketers and researchers, navigating the voice assistant ecosystem and knowing which, how, when, and why to leverage them in your projects can easily become a confusing experience.

We're making things a little easier for you with a 3-part crash course in voice assistants, how to leverage them for marketing, branding, and research, and finally what to consider and how to launch your first voice app for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and beyond.

Read the blog post here

March 24th, 2020

Music:Ghost, Awkwafina

The Voice CEO: Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant response to the pandemic, schools use Alexa to engage students, Alexa becomes a resource to the partially sighted and blind of Lancashire, and voice AI lends a much needed hand to call centers.

March 6th, 2020

Music: Voices, Atlas Road Crew

This week: ApTask shows recruiters how voice is done, Alexa gets smarter on meds, Google and Amazon launch new features for Woman's History Month, and Kia wants you to get to know their cars via voice.

February 28th, 2020

Music: Voices, Skye feat XXXTENTACION

This week: Apollo makes the experience better for patients across India with voice, KidKraft and Amazon team up to give kids more than just plastic lettuce, Wyze brings Alexa to your wrist, and Nutella dares you to dump your syrup for National Pancake day!

February 7th, 2020

Music: Voices of the soul, Death

In this week's episode, you'll discover how sports teams are leveraging voice to engage fans as Real Madrid launches the first soccer team voice experience in Spain, how Amazon helped bring Colonel Sanders to the Amazon Alexa, and how electric vehicles are demystified via voice.

January 24th, 2020

Music: Voices in my head, NerdOut

- The Voice CEO: Rob Lowe finds a home in your Alexa thanks to Atkins,
- Liverpool Victoria General Insurance introduces a new voice app and a new communication channel for policyholders,
- Those living with blindness now find a helpful voice in Alexa
- Road To SampleCon experience is live for market researchers!

January 10th, 2020

Music: Little Voice, Hilary Duff

- Amazon Alexa coming to Ravian and Lamborghini
- JBL and the new JBL Tune earbuds bring Google and Amazon into your ears
- Samsung Bixby and the Galaxy Home mini
- Exxon introduces paying for gas via your in-car Amazon Alexa
- Google Assitant comes to JFK Airport to help reduce language barriers and improve customer service.

January 3rd, 2020

Music: Voices, Stray Kids

- Muse, from Interflexon, comes to Amazon Alexa to offer guided meditation
- The popular board game Ticket to Ride comes to Alexa to offer new ways to play
- The Eat Right India campaign comes to Amazon Alexa
- Ferns and Petals becomes the first Asian company to offer end-to-end voice commerce experience.

December 27th, 2019

Music: Inner Voices, Awkwafina

- Lowell General Hospital launches a new Amazon Alexa skill that makes pre/post care much easier on patients
- Ship.com makes tracking your shipments easier with Alexa
- Sickday Medical House Calls comes to your Alexa allowing you to leave your Sickday feedback right from your Alexa, powered by True Reply
- PaisaBazzar makes your dreams of getting your credit report with your voice a reality bringing their free credit reports to the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant

December 20th, 2019

Music: Voices, Distrubed

- The Phantom of the Opera comes to the Amazon Alexa in another first for voice
- Sun Life brings a digital health coach to the Alexa
- Whisk makes cooking your favorite recipes even easier - again!
- Luminary brings premium, subscription-based podcasts to the Amazon Alexa.
- Discover Card lets you now access your account information via Amazon Alexa
- Hulu and Foxtel Now make voice control possible via the Google Assistant
- Damart brings cold weather shopping to Google Assistant.

December 13th, 2019

Music: That Voice Again, Peter Gabriel

- Interflora becomes the first retail brand to launch an end-to-end shopping experience via Amazon Alexa (sort of)
- Taylor Morrison, the U.S. national home builder, makes finding your next home as easy as asking Alexa
- GO Mortgage makes finding out what that next home is going to cost
- Beyond Voice, industry thought leaders bring their perspective to the voice technology conversation.

December 6th, 2019

Music: Hear Your Voice, Beatcore

- Shilpa Shetty Kundra comes to Amazon Alexa
- Amazon Alexa Gets First Interactive Audio Original, Tala's World
- Contiki launches the Pack My Bags Skill helping travelers back more efficiently and environmentally friendly.
- Dunkin' is finally on Google Assistant
- Nubank, Banco do Brasil, iFood, and Rappi land on Google Assistant
- British Gas makes solving pesky heating and hot water issues more manageable via Google Assistant

November 22nd, 2019

Music: I'm horny, I'm stoned, The Doors

- Salesforce launches Service Cloud Voice, the Einstein Voice Assistant, and Einstein Voice Skills and Dreamforce 2019
- Sonos acquires custom voice experience development house Snips
- Chipotle comes to Amazon Alexa while adding voice to consumer experiences
- Google brings Google News aggregation to the Google Home

November 15th, 2019

Music: Little Voices by Lane 8

- Sonde Health is awarded a patent for its voice-based diagnostic technology
- Ella the Jelly Fish comes to Amazon Alexa to help those children living with LDS
- Coursera comes to Amazon Alexa
- Managing your voice data on Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant-powered devices.

November 8th, 2019

Music: Voices by Switchfoot

- Amazon Alexa turns 5 this week!
- The consumer adoption report of voice technology as it relates to healthcare
- The Canadian Down Syndrome Society teams up with Google to improve Google's voice recognition technology.
- Voice Summit goes to Washington, DC for 2020

November 1st, 2019

Music: Sea Of Voices, the RAC Mix by Porter Robinson

- Google acquires Fitbit for $2.1 billion
- Google Assistant integration with the Tile bluetooth tracking device
- Amazon Payments made available worldwide