VOICE SPEAKING FOR YOUR BRAND - WHITE PAPER - TSC - DECODING EXPERT ANALYSIS

 
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VOICE SPEAKING FOR YOUR BRAND - WHITE PAPER - TSC - DECODING EXPERT ANALYSIS
WHITE PAPER - TSC

VOICE
SPEAKING FOR YOUR BRAND

      DECODING                     EXPERT ANALYSIS         DISCOVERING
  Why voice assistants are              The challenges     Innovations and key
 an essential part of daily life     brands must address    initial experiences
VOICE SPEAKING FOR YOUR BRAND - WHITE PAPER - TSC - DECODING EXPERT ANALYSIS
43.6M                                     52%                                                 55%
                               smart speakers                   choose to set up their                                   of users cite
                          are expected to be sold            smart speaker in the lounge,                         hands-free interaction
                         in the United States alone            25% in the bedroom and                            as a voice assistant’s main
                           in 2018, a 60% increase               22% in the kitchen.                            attraction, while others think
                                   on 2017.                                                                          they are fun to use.

                                50%                                      30%                                                75%
                             of Google searches                      of web browsing                                  of US households
                              will be conducted                      will be screenless                            will use a smart speaker
                              by voice by 2020.                            by 2020.                                in 2020, compared with
                                                                                                                          17% in 2017.

        Sources from left to right: Google/Peerless Insights, Voice-Activated Speakers: People’s Lives Are Changing, U.S., 2017;
        PEW Research, May 2017; Comscore, 2016; Gartner, 2016; Edison Research, The smart audio report, 2017; CTA, 2017 - Gartner, 2016.

                                                                    INTRODUCTION
                                    Page 3                          Why voice has everyone talking,
                                                                    by Arnaud de Lacoste
    IN THIS WHITE PAPER...

                                                            1|      DECODING
                                    Page 4                1.1 |     Voice assistants: Say you want a revolution
                                                          1.2 |     Why voice assistants are already in tune with daily life

                                                            2|      EXPERT ANALYSIS

                                    Page 12               2.1 |
                                                          2.2 |
                                                                    How will customers hear your voice? by Geoffrey Boulakia
                                                                    Time waits for no brand, by Josselin Moreau

                                                            3|      DISCOVERING

                                    Page 16               3.1 |
                                                          3.2 |
                                                                    Voice assistants: talking brand innovation
                                                                    Key initial experiences

                                                                    CONCLUSION
                                    Page 22                         Say hello to the era of conversational business,
                                                                    by Geoffrey Boulakia

2
VOICE SPEAKING FOR YOUR BRAND - WHITE PAPER - TSC - DECODING EXPERT ANALYSIS
ARNAUD DE LACOSTE

                           WHY VOICE
                     HAS EVERYONE TALKING
    The data speaks for itself. The Consumer Technology          But companies shouldn’t treat voice as an all-or-noth­
    Association (CTA) forecasts that smart speakers will hit     ing investment. It won't become the only channel, but
    43.6 million in sales in the US alone over the course of     it will soon be one of, if not the most important tool
    2018. That’s a 60% jump on 2017. In other words, a           at brands’ disposal for continuously improving their
    revolution is well and truly underway.                      ­customer experience.

    Just as the punchcard gave way to the keyboard,              This is because optimising customer service is beco-
    which was in turn augmented by the mouse; voice              ming multimodal. Taken in this context, voice or more
    represents the biggest transformation in the hu-             specifically, the voicebot should be viewed as a ­natural
    man-machine interface since the original iPhone             extension of the chatbot. A form of interaction that
    made touching and swiping a screen the norm.                can be delivered across different channels at different
                                                                ­moments, making it an additional means of personali-
    And just as with the smartphone boom that followed           sing customer experience.
    that first iPhone, the voice offensive, in the form of
    Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Google Assistant     As such, by drawing upon its existing experience in the
    and Microsoft’s Cortana, has only just begun.               design, development and implementation of conver-
                                                                sational tools, plus all available existing data, TSC has
    Voice, our most natural mode of communicating, is           been reflecting on the topic for some time. It has built
    making a comeback. It is primed to become the inter-        the clearest picture of this channel’s true business
    face for managing our connected homes and making            potential, as well identifying the right strategy for
                                                                ­
    sense of the Internet of Things. Voice Assistants are       brands that are ready to create a vocal presence that
    already being called upon to check the traffic report or    its ­customers will hear loud and clear.
    order pizza and soon that will extend to compiling the
    grocery list, contacting customer care and managing         Just as chatbots signalled that a new era of conversa-
    personal finances.                                          tional business was on the horizon; with voice in its
                                                                role as the new gateway to content and web services,
    The rate at which consumers are adopting voice as           that era has now arrived.
    the clearest commercial channel for getting what they
    want, when they want it means that all business sec-        The message is clear. Voice will reshuffle the deck
    tors could be affected by this vocal revolution even        and raise the stakes. Brands that choose to bluff will
    before 2018 is out. Therefore, brands that want to be       be called, meaning that the only way to be sure of
    heard in the future are going to have to start amplifying   playing a winning hand is to have a clear strategy
    their vocal presence now.                                   and act on it.

3
VOICE SPEAKING FOR YOUR BRAND - WHITE PAPER - TSC - DECODING EXPERT ANALYSIS
1 DE-
      COD-
      ING

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1 - DECODING

            1.1 VOICE ASSISTANTS:
           SAY YOU WANT A REVOLUTION
           Consumers can’t speak highly enough of voice assistants. According to Tractica, the technology will have attracted
           1.8 billion users by 2021. But whether it’s via a speaker or a smartphone, over 500 million people have already
           fallen for voice as an interface. So what makes it so appealing?

           THERE'S ALWAYS TIME TO TALK

           Voice is the easiest way of communicating an idea or         Speech is faster than writing or typing. The time taken
           desire. Next to the act of thinking itself, nothing          to send an SMS or add a product to the online shop-
           ­requires less effort or action than to speak.               ping list can be cut in half when talking takes over from
                                                                        typing on a keyboard or tapping at a screen.
           As such, it is the most natural way for a person to
           interact. Whether it's with another person, with a
           ­                                                            Not to mention that voice assistance can help ­fight
           ­machine or, as the Internet of Things (IoT) takes root,     against digital overload. According to a Stanford
            any number of machines, simultaneously. All of which        ­University study, a voice interface allows the input
            will make the act of reaching for a smartphone or           of 161 words per minute, with an error rate of less
            launching a browser on the desktop just to check the        than 3%, whereas the average person’s typing speed
            weather or Google a subject feel redundant.                 is 53 words a minute, with an error rate of 3.68%.

           AMPLIFICATION FOR ALL

           Voice assistance is a technological advance on the           The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas has outfitted its
           same level as smartphones or chatbots. It’s an               4,748 rooms with the Amazon Echo smart speaker.
           ­innovation from which all businesses in all sectors         With just a simple voice command, guests can adjust
            could benefit, as long as they focus on applications        the room’s temperature or its lighting, draw the cur-
            that are truly adapted to their brand’s identity and that   tains, find the right TV channel, or inform staff that they
            genuinely enhance its customer experience.                  do not wish to be disturbed.

           Major media, car manufacturing and hospitality               Voice assistants offer new points of contact
           groups are already using voice assistance to im-             between customers and companies. And while no-
           prove their customer service. Ford and Nissan, for           vel uses and applications are growing quickly, expect
           example, are developing partnerships with Amazon             development to shift into an even higher gear as we
           that will enable drivers to search for music, find a         move closer to Tractica’s forecast 1.2 billion-strong
           restaurant and book a table, or open a garage door           user base. At that point in time, 50% of web searches
           with their voices. While Mercedes and BMW owners             will be made by voice and voice will also account for
           can already talk to their cars from the comfort of their     30% of web browsing sessions.
           lounge via both Google and Amazon smart speakers.

                                                                                                      Happy Customers
    5
                                                                                                      Better service.
1 - DECODING

           A SOUND CHANNEL FOR CONSUMERS

           As technologies and the means of communication             As well as providing a much richer source of data that
           they enable change, so too do customer needs and           businesses can apply to improve service delivery, voice
           expectations. Consumers are now characterised by           is the most direct and therefore, most friction-free
           a longing for greater simplicity, greater time savings     channel for both sales and customer relations.
           and greater personalisation in their relationships with
           brands. In this context it’s no surprise that a virtual,   Therefore, if properly optimised brands have an
           voice a
                 ­ ctivated assistant that can be accessed via a      amazing opportunity to remove a customer’s need
           smartphone, smart speaker or smart TV and that lets        to conduct research from the equation and instead
           users call a cab, rearrange a meeting or order fast food   be able to deliver him or her with a specific product,
           without swiping between apps, is proving popular.          ­service or content with nothing more than a simple
                                                                       voice command triggering the request.
           A person’s voice is as unique, and as personal as a
           ­fingerprint. It carries emotion and personality traits    And according to a 2017 Capgemini report, this oppor-
            as well as carrying instruction or enabling communi-      tunity is already too good for brands to miss. By 2020,
            cation, all of which makes voice as an interface a most   sales via voice assistant are expected to have grown
            intimate form of connection.                              six-fold. Therefore, businesses would do well to capi-
                                                                      talise on its potential as a sales channel by getting on
           But, as consumers actively search greater personali-       to the voice applications market now, rather than later
           sation – a 2016 AgilOne Consumer Survey found that         and risk getting left behind.
           70% of respondents would happily make the ­trade-off
           between sharing more information in return for a
           more personalised service – voice is quickly coming to
           the fore as the channel for building such a service.

                         “          Voice is the most direct and therefore,
                                    most friction-free channel for both sales
                                    and customer relations

                                                                                                    ”

    6
1 - DECODING

                                                  THE TERMS
                                                  TO KNOW

           CHATBOT                                                   SPEECH SYNTHESIS
           A computer program that conducts automated conver-        A machine’s ability to transform text into sound
           sations with human beings via a messaging service.        by producing its spoken equivalent in a way that is
                                                                     ­understandable by a human being who speaks the
           MULTIMODALITY                                              same language.
           User-machine interaction that combines multiple
           ­modes of communication.                                  SPEECH SYNTHESIS MARKUP LANGUAGE (SSML)
                                                                     A programming language used to control aspects of
           NATURAL LANGUAGE GENERATION (NLG)                         speech such as pronunciation, volume and rate of
           A machine’s ability to aggregate information in a cohe-   speech. It enables emotion to be added to the spoken
           rent, grammatically correct text in a given language.     text and can give the voice application a personality.
                                                                     It has the advantage of being an open, standardised
           NATURAL LANGUAGE RECOGNITION (NLR)                        language.
           A machine’s ability to recognise natural language
           based on the grammar proper to a given language.          VOICEBOT
           Recognition of a noun, the adjectives associated with     The speaking version of a chatbot.
           it, the verbs that act on it and the complements that
           describe it.                                              VOICE DESIGN
                                                                     The design process for a voicebot, which takes into
           NATURAL LANGUAGE UNDERSTANDING (NLU)                      ­account the characteristics of the spoken conversation
           A machine’s ability to understand natural-language         and gives it a unique personality.
           text in a given language and assign it meaning and
           ­attributes.                                              VOICE REPUTATION
                                                                     A reputation composed of the information conveyed
           PERSONAL ASSISTANT SEARCH                                 by a voice request.
           OPTIMISATION (PASO)
           Use of SEO techniques for the purpose of being            VOICE SEARCH
           ­indexed by personal assistants.                          A spoken search engine request.

           SMART SPEAKER                                             VOICE SEO
           An internet-connected speaker with an integrated          Optimisation of natural indexing for voice search.
           voice-activated virtual assistant.

                                                                                                 Happy Customers
    7
                                                                                                 Better trust.
1 - DECODING

           1.2 WHY VOICE ASSISTANTS
           ARE ALREADY IN TUNE WITH
           DAILY LIFE
           According to the US Smart Audio Report, 39 million Americans, or 16% of the country's adult population, already
           have a smart speaker. And if the devices are continuing to grow in popularity, it can only be because their
           simplicity means they’re meeting the everyday needs of a bigger and more diverse audience.

           SHOWING A SOCIAL SIDE

           “OK Google, turn off the kitchen light.” “Hey Siri, what is   of cocooning or sharing between friends, and the most
           the shortest possible route to the airport at rush hour?”     widely-used skills are in tune with these use cases.”
           “Alexa, what will the weather be like next Saturday?” In      According to Edison Research’s Smart Audio Report,
           the time it takes to construct a question, a consumer         52% of voice assistant users keep their device in
           with a voice assistant can find out if they’re going to get   the lounge or dining room (just 25% put theirs in the
           stuck in traffic, if they’re going to get wet when they go    bedroom) and 66% of owners are most likely to use
           out next week, or if they’ve forgotten to turn the smart      them while with friends and family.
           oven off before leaving their equally smart home.
                                                                          Toni Reid, Vice President of Alexa Experience & Echo
           Even with just that handful of simple scenarios, it’s          Devices at Amazon, has drawn up a list of the most
           easy to see how voice assistants are poised to                 successful voice applications for his assistant. The
           become the hubs of our connected homes and
           ­                                                              leading applications are relevant to social and
           increasingly connected lives. And it’s also easy to           ­domestic life, such as general knowledge quizzes like
           understand why more and more brands are develo-                Jeopardy, followed by applications related to everyday
           ping voice applications for the various platforms that         brands such as Starbucks, Domino’s Pizza or Uber.
           will reflect these changing customer needs - Voicebot          Third up are practical skills related to the connected
           data shows that by the end of 2017, Amazon’s Alexa             house, home improvement or banking services.
           platform was already supporting 37,000 such apps, or
           'skills' as the company calls them.                           A recent Creative Strategies report that complied data
                                                                         from both Amazon and Google devices, shows that the
           “At the moment, voice assistants are primarily                most common uses, regardless of device, are music
           used in private settings, with friends, at home or in         playback, checking the weather forecast, web searches
           the car, but rarely in public,” says Geoffrey Boulakia,       for shopping or product information, and checking the
           General Manager EMEA for TSC. “These are moments              news headlines.

                             “           Voice assistants are poised to become
                                         the hubs of our connected homes and
                                         increasingly connected lives

                                                                                                   ”
    8
1 - DECODING

           DIGITAL DELEGATION

           As we become increasingly, constantly and ubiqui-           thing music, Google the child's symptoms, or add
           tously connected, voice assistants will make mul-           ­diapers or formula to the shopping list, they just need
           titasking simple and safe. With Siri, or Google              to say what they want.
           ­A ssistant in the passenger seat, it’s possible to drive
            and search for a parking space while keeping both          In London, where Amazon-owned Whole Foods offers
            hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road.              delivery in under an hour, Alexa helps amateur cooks.
                                                                       Those who begin a recipe and then realise they’re mis-
           Likewise, parents won't need to stop comforting a           sing an ingredient can place a voice order and the store
           distressed or sick baby in order to cue up some soo-        will deliver it before the dish is finished.

           SPEAKING FOR THE MASSES

           Don’t mistake voice for the latest gadget or gimmick        she is a 52-year-old woman who spends 90 minutes
           that has managed to grab Millennials’ attention. Voice      a month in conversation with her smart speaker.
           assistance is not exclusive to digital natives, it is       Likewise, the PEW Center for Research notes that
           ­inclusive and open to anyone of any age with an            37% of US voice assistant users are both over 50 and
            internet connection and a voice. This technology has       ­describe themselves as reluctant to use the web via a
            what it takes to survive.                                   graphical user interface.

           Speech is our most natural way of communica-                At the other end of the generational spectrum,
           ting, of socialising and of bringing others together.       children are also taking the technology to heart.
           ­Generation Y is currently serving as the technology's      Asking Google or Alexa to put on the Cartoon Network
            loudest ambassadors – just as they were the group          is much more straightforward than asking mummy or
            that p
                 ­ opularised smartphone-based vocal assistants.       daddy, either of whom may say "No!"
            They are also predicted to be the first generation to
            make the wholesale leap to an at-home smart ­speaker       All of which means that voice is sounding more and
            ­(eMarketer has forecast that 93% of this cohort will      more like an interface for all ages and an opportu-
             have a voice-activated home assistant by 2019); but       nity for all business sectors, be it media outlets like CNN
             voice assistants have already found fans across all       and Buzzfeed that are already offering breaking news
             age and socioeconomic groups.                             on the major platforms, to FMCG brands like H    ­ ellman’s
                                                                       who are offering up recipe suggestions when the user
           Indeed, according to Verto Analytics, which recently        tells the vocal app what ingredients are at hand.
           conducted a study of 20,000 US consumers to create
           a composite picture of the typical voice assistant user,

                                                                                                     Happy Customers
    9
                                                                                                     Better experience.
1 - DECODING

                          WHO ARE THE
                        LEADING PLAYERS?

                         Assistant name          Launch date US               Notes
                         Google Assistant        November 2016                Google Assistant is
                                                                              available as an iOS app
                         Physical product name   Launch date UK               and is natively built
                         Google Home             April 2016                   into nearly all Android
                                                                              smartphones.
               GOOGLE
                         Models                  Launch date France           It is now appearing in
                         Google Home Mini        August 2017                  cars with Android Auto.
                         Google Home                                          Google says its assistant
                         Google Home Max         Products sold                has 400 million users
                                                 14 million (CIRP figures     across devices.
                         Price                   for all models combined –
                         $49 - $129              late 2017)

                         Assistant name          Launch date US               Notes
                         Alexa                   November 2014                Alexa is integrated with
                                                                              many partner products,
                         Physical product name   Launch date UK               from smart speakers
                         Echo                    October 2016                 and robots to cars and
                                                                              vacuum cleaners.
               AMAZON
                         Models                  Launch date France
                         Amazon Echo             Spring 2018
                         Amazon Echo Spot
                         Amazon Echo Plus        Products sold
                         Amazon Echo Connect     31 million (CIRP figures –
                         Amazon Echo Show        late 2017)

                         Price
                         $50 – $230

    10
1 - DECODING

                               Assistant name            Launch date US            Notes
                               Siri                      February 2018             Apple claims to have
                                                                                   500 million active users,
                               Physical product name     Launch date UK            primarily on iPhone.
                               HomePod                   February 2018
                 APPLE
                               Price                     Launch date France
                               $349                      Spring 2018

                               Assistant name            Models
                  18
                  03
                  MARCH 2018
                               Bixby                     Galaxy S8, Galaxy note,
                                                         Galaxy S8 plus
                               Physical product name
                               Vega (release date not    Launch date
                               announced)                April 2017 in English
               SAMSUNG

                               Assistant name            Launch date               Notes
                               Cortana                   January 2015              A partnership has been
                                                                                   announced between
                               Physical product name                               Alexa and Cortana. Its
                               Integrated with a third                             development is primarily
                               -party speaker (Harman                              B2B focused.
               MICROSOFT
                               Kardon’s Invoke)

                               Assistant name            Models                    Notes

                  ?            ?                         Aloha, Fiona              For the time being,
                                                                                   Portal is largely a rumour.
                               Physical product name     Launch date
                               Portal                    July 2018
               FACEBOOK

    11
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       PERT
       ANA-
       LYSIS

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2 - EXPERT ANALYSIS

                                                              GEOFFREY BOULAKIA

               2.1 HOW WILL CUSTOMERS
              HEAR YOUR VOICE?
              HELLO, IS IT ME YOU'RE LOOKING FOR?

               Brands will need to talk up their reputation if they         i.e. Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant – the work starts
               want to be heard, once voice becomes the gateway to          with their existing website. Its content will need to be
               the web. The days of a page of search results are            designed in terms of questions and answers and the
              ­numbered because when a user asks a voice assis­             microdata implemented, while the site itself will have
               tant a question, they usually get a single answer.           to be optimised for “featured snippets" – the content
               Therefore, brands must move from SEO (Search
               ­                                                            that appears in position 0, before natural results.
               Engine ­
               ­       Optimisation) to PASO (Personal Assistant
               Search O
                      ­ ptimisation) if they want to continue being the     Although best practices, they alone cannot ensure
               answer to their customers’ questions.                        that the site’s content will appear in a voice-powered
                                                                            search. It’s why brands will also have to look at how
              Access to users via PASO is set to be fiercely competi-       voice assistants use other reference sources, such as
              tive. For companies that want to reach an audience via        Google Maps and user reviews, that together contri-
              those assistants that use Google’s search technology –        bute to what’s known as the brand’s voice reputation.

              DOES YOUR VOICE ADD VALUE?

              But search is only half the story. To really stand out        have a head start on the competition. They have
              from the crowd, a brand must have absolute focus on           already moved part of their customer relationship to
              using voice to provide genuinely useful, efficient and        a conversational model. With the careful implementa-
              personalised services that clearly demonstrate how            tion of a voice-integrated experience they can now add
              they add value to the existing customer experience.           the most decisive moments of the user journey to the
                                                                            same model.
              If brands really want to speak to customers, they
              first have to listen to and understand their au-              The idea is not to copy what has been done with
              dience’s needs. How else can they build sustainable           brands’ smartphone applications or chatbots, but to
              customer relationships?                                       take a
                                                                                 ­ dvantage of independent expertise that already
                                                                            exists in what is still a nascent field to help build
              Hearing what their users want will help to ensure             ­something new.
              brands build a voice application that is in line with their
              central strategy and that offers customers a unique           At TSC, we can integrate voice into brands’ conversa-
              and welcome experience.                                       tional multimodality and remove friction from the cus-
                                                                            tomer journey. Our teams develop voice applications
              In 2018, voice is a vector for innovation, value creation     for deployment on voice assistants in order to create
              and differentiation. Furthermore, brands that have            value-added interactions between businesses and
              seized upon the benefits of chatbot ­implementations          their clients.

     13
2 - EXPERT ANALYSIS

                                                              JOSSELIN MOREAU

              2.2 GOING VOCAL: WHY TIME
              WAITS FOR NO BRAND
              The clock is ticking. By 2020, 50% of web searches will be voice activated. Therefore, businesses that still need
              to overcome challenges before they can add their voices to the revolution could already be running out of time.

              THE CONVERSATIONAL CHALLENGE

              It is much more than simply being able to answer a         Businesses must also consider their own vocal
              question. It’s about turning an answer into a form of      identities to be certain that their vocal applications
              engagement - a conversation that will build loyalty with   speak their brand’s language.
              a customer and increase the number and frequency of
              touch points.                                              Should it be a feminine, masculine or synthesized
                                                                         voice? Does a slower or faster rate of speech align with
              Brands will only succeed in reaching consumers             brand values? Will informal English prove a hit with
              wherever they are and meeting their expectations,          users or would customers prefer the Queen’s English?
              once they’ve truly adapted their approach to the           All of these questions, and more must be considered
              way in which a voice assistant functions.                  in advance.

              It means imagining and anticipating every specific user    Because, if a brand sounds out of tune to its customers,
              scenario and user request or question and construc-        it will open itself up to often ruthless online criticism.
              ting a clear response.                                     And, in a world set to be dominated by smart spea-
                                                                         kers, a brand’s success will be measured by whether
              There’s no shortcut to undertaking such a complex          it’s found its voice.
              task. What works for a typed query can't simpy be
              ­reformatted for this new channel. Being able to decode    TSC understands the challenges and can assist com-
               and respond to the spoken question: “Do I need to take    panies facing up to this new, rapidly developing tech-
               an umbrella?” will require a paradigm change.             nology to set themselves apart from the competition.

                      “         If a brand sounds out of tune to its customers,
                                it will open itself up to often ruthless online criticism

                                                                                                                ”
     14
2 - EXPERT ANALYSIS

              The higher the risk, the greater the reward. Therefore,      with voice, it is less appropriate to offer a user mul-
              unless all issues have been considered and the use           tiple choices and directness is highly recommended.
              case is absolutely clear, a voice application has a bigger   Likewise, journeys must be shorter to hold users’
              potential for failure than a new website, smartphone         ­attention, while the characteristics of each assistant
              app or even a chatbot, which also has a conversatio-          and speaker must also be considered as part of the
              nal framework but with fewer restraints. For example,         design of a new relationship.

              PLOTTING A CLEAR PATH

              Brands need to remember that voice is a path to              Having considered all commercial aspects, TSC is confi-
              offering unique customer experience rather than              dent any brand can start to find its voice, if it starts by
              simply a means of creating more touch points.                aligning itself with TSC's guiding principles.

              It requires a substantial effort and specialist support
              but will ensure that any consumer-facing brand can
              create a voicebot that really speaks to their customers.

                                              TSC'S FIVE GUIDING PRINICPLES

              1       A VOICE FOR EVERY BRAND
                      A brand’s vocal identity and personality
                      must be considered and defined during the
                                                                           4      TO EACH HIS OWN PROBLEM
                                                                                  A voice application must be based on a speci-
                                                                                  fic user need and provide a specific solution.
                      ­development stage, because the application                 But voice doesn’t have to be an end in itself,
                       ­becomes the brand’s mouthpiece, with which                and can be combined with other interfaces to
                        users can directly interact.                              better meet users’ needs.

              2       SIMPLICITY IS BEST
                      A voice application must be simple in order to
                      be effective, relevant, useful and, therefore,
                                                                           5      THINK BIG, START SMALL, SCALE FAST
                                                                                  The concept of voice assistants is still very
                                                                                  new, so explore in stages and test, often. This
                      used.                                                       is crucial for brands that want to take voice
                                                                                  beyond being a communication tool and into
                                                                                  the realms of long-term added value.

              3       NO COPY-PASTING
                      A voice application must reflect the specific
                      characteristics of the conversational model,
                      and more specifically those of voice.

     15
3 DIS-
       COVER-
       ING

16
3 - DISCOVERING

             3.1 VOICE ASSISTANTS:
            TALKING BRAND INNOVATION
            BEFORE GETTING STARTED

            Have you decided to start a voicebot project? Then ask yourself the following key questions to increase your
            chances of success. TSC can help you answer them.

            What kind of experience?
            There are four kinds of voicebot that meet different goals and expectations.
            These approaches can be used in combination.

                                Companion voicebot                                         Conceptual voicebot

                                To request personalised informa-                           To become immersed and have an
                                tion related to a brand’s products                         experience. Can engage the user
                                or services. Can strengthen the                            in a brand universe for an event or
                                bond with the consumer.                                    a period of time.

                                Command voicebot                                           Commerce voicebot

                                To perform simple or complex                               To request and track orders by
                                tasks by direct order. Can simplify                        voice. Can facilitate purchases,
                                use of the product.                                        ­especially in a recurrent context.

            With which assistant and speaker?
            This choice must be made based on the target (profile, geographic coverage, language, etc.) and the technical
            ­characteristics of each ecosystem (openness to third parties, accessible user data, etc.).

            Which device combination?
            Is a voice conversation enough? Should the experience also include the display of content on a screen?

            Which point in the customer journey?
            Which moments are most suited to voice interaction?

            What is the problem?
            The best way to provide value is through an approach that is based on user pain points and the unique way that
            voice can provide a solution.

             Which KPIs?
             Performance measurement is a factor that should be considered from the very start for effective long-term
            ­optimisation.

    17
3 - DISCOVERING

             3.2 KEY INITIAL EXPERIENCES

                   ADDING VOICE TO
                   A MULTIMODAL MENU
                   Satisfying customers’ cravings as fast           in 2014 added support for iPhone and
                   and as easily as possible is the guiding         ­A ndroid smartphones.
                   challenge of the Domino’s Pizza chain. The
                   world leader in home pizza delivery offers       In February 2016, it used the Super Bowl
                   10 different ways to place an order on its       to officially launch its Alexa voice applica-
                   website, Domino’s AnyWare.                       tion and then followed it up with a Google
                                                                    ­A ssistant equivalent in December.
                   Customers can complete their transac-
                   tions from their cars, within Facebook           And it’s been a huge success. Two months
                   Messenger, via their Apple Watch, or
                   ­                                                after going live on both platforms, almost
                   even using an emoji. The group also relies       one-in-five US customers are ordering via
                   on voice, via Amazon Alexa and Google            voice. Little wonder that one of Domino’s
                   A ssistant. Customers no longer have to
                   ­                                                biggest competitors, Pizza Hut was forced
                   lift a finger: they can simply speak to the      to jump into action. It launched its own
                   ­assistant to place their orders in just a few   ­application on Alexa in December 2016.
                    seconds.

                   The brand, a pioneer in the field, intro-
                   duced voice ordering in 2013 via the v­ ocal
                   assistant on the Windows Phone, and

                  “        Almost one-in-five US customers
                           are ordering via voice

                                                                                ”
    18
3 - DISCOVERING

                      A COMPANION
                      FOR THE BIG DAY
                      Wedding Planning brand, the Knot, has         The Knot has used the technology to
                      two Alexa voice applications. One provides    ­design an experience that uses the special
                      daily generic advice. The other offers per-    characteristics of voice to enrich its exis-
                      sonalised scheduling, giving daily updates,    ting ecosystem of services.
                      reminders of outstanding tasks to com-
                      plete and a countdown to the wedding.         By providing tips and customised informa-
                                                                    tion, voice becomes a welcome comple-
                      However, while fuelled by data amassed        ment at key stages in the customer journey.
                      through helping to plan over 25 million       All of which allows the company to define
                      weddings over the past 20 years, neither      itself as the “First wedding p
                                                                                                 ­ lanning brand
                      voice app has been designed to replace        to offer a comprehensive ­experience on
                      the company’s existing services. Instead,     smart speakers.”

                  “   Voice becomes a welcome complement at
                      key stages in the customer journey

                                                                                          ”
    19
3 - DISCOVERING

                  CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MAKEOVER
                  Thanks to always ensuring it’s at the cutting    It also offers access to quizzes and pod-
                  edge of digital innovation, when beauty          casts made by the top beauty influencers.
                  and well-being brand Sephora decided to
                  launch a voice application, it already had       However, this is just the start. Further
                  experience of a chatbot deployment to            functionality will be added as the year
                  draw and build upon.                             moves on. Sephora believes that this new
                                                                   channel will enable it to more closely follow
                  Following the mantra that you should             its audience and that voice is “much more
                  launch quick, then test and scale, the initial   than a trend, it is a small digital revolu-
                  app allows users to interact with the brand      tion and a key channel.”
                  via the Google Assistant platform in order
                  to book an in-store beauty treatment.

                  FROM CHATBOT TO KITCHEN
                  Following the success of 'Émile et 1 recette',   Though the new app is due to arrive this
                  its first Messenger-hosted culinary assis-       year, the company is yet to give an official
                  tant chatbot, food giant Nestlé is about to      launch date.
                  take the concept one step further by adap-
                  ting the service for Google Assistant.           However, at this year’s CES in Las Vegas,
                                                                   Pete Blackshaw, Nestlé’s Worldwide Head
                  By being able to ask for help and listen         of Digital Innovation and Service Models,
                  to instructions, users won’t need to keep        stated that he believed chatbots and voice
                  washing their hands in order to type ques-       assistants made up a ‘concierge economy’
                  tions into their smartphones. Instead, they      and said that brands must centre their
                  can stay focused on preparing the meal.          efforts on consumers, rather than on
                                                                   technological capabilities.
                  However, as well as a massive opportunity,
                  moving to a smart speaker and into the           This mind-set is why the company is
                  kitchen presented Nestlé with a challenge        looking at how different devices and diffe-
                  – reimagining all existing content so that it    rent channels can be combined to deliver
                  is voice-optimised.                              enhanced products and ­services.

    20
3 - DISCOVERING

                  TRAVEL WITHOUT THE TEDIUM
                  With the launch of OUI.sncf's voice app on    This ability to move from voice to the web
                  Google Assistant, it’s possible to book and   and back again also allows customers to
                  pay for tickets with nothing more than your   take a one-step-at-a-time approach. They
                  voice. well, almost.                          can begin their ticket search at home, via
                                                                voice, then pick things up again later on
                  The new app lets users take a conversatio-    their smartphone while out and about or
                  nal approach when searching for the best      via a desktop browser.
                  ticket prices on the best days, for confir-
                  ming whether it’s a single or return and      OUI.sncf has been able to move quickly to
                  whether or not they need a child’s ticket.    voice as a channel thanks to the existing
                  In other words, each of the most tedious      work that it has carried out via its chatbot
                  and time-consuming elements of buying a       implementation, which laid the ground-
                  train ticket.                                 work. It also goes to show that companies
                                                                that have already started down the conver-
                  Once everything is confirmed, the ­vocal      sational business route with a chatbot will
                  assistant directs the customer to the
                  ­                                             often have a head start in moving further
                  smartphone app or website to confirm and      down the channel with voice.
                  pay for the ticket.

                                                                                Happy Customers
    21
                                                                                Better branding.
CONCLUSION

                                                           GEOFFREY BOULAKIA

                       SAY HELLO TO THE ERA OF
                      CONVERSATIONAL BUSINESS
             More than a passing phase or epiphenomenon, voice           But this is just the first stage. An occasional misinter-
             assistants represent a major change in the relationship     preted request aside, smart speakers already seem
             between humans and machines, and between consu-             technologically advanced thanks to the artificial
             mers and the web. For proof, look no further than           ­intelligence and big data that fuel them, but they are
             adoption rates.                                              yet to reach their full potential.

             Demand for these new devices and services is                In the coming months and years, performance will
             growing at a speed never before seen in the h   ­ istory    continue to improve, spurred on by better data and
             of communication technology – not even the smart-           by a concerted push by Google, Apple, Amazon,
             phone won over so many people so quickly. And that’s        ­Facebook, Microsoft and Samsung, each of whom will
             because voice assistants have a significant advantage        be fighting to have the loudest voice and the biggest
             over everything that has come before them: they              say over which device and which platform will become
             ­represent the first interface that can serve potentially    the web's new gateway.
              anybody, anywhere in the world. They connect just as
              easily with children and baby boomers as they do with      With the full force of GAFA behind the technology,
              Generations X, Y and Z.                                    voice will quickly start drawing the most innova-
                                                                         tive and powerful businesses from each sector into
              It is this complete inclusivity that will make voice the   the fray.
              leading digital channel, for web access, connecting
              with brands, and therefore consumption and c­ ustomer      At TSC, we believe that voice is part of a more general
             ­relations.                                                 strategy of listening more carefully to consumers. It’s
                                                                         a massive opportunity to boost customer satisfaction,
             According to Gartner it will take less than five years      to eliminate pain points and friction on the customer
             for the smart speaker to become a permanent fixture         journey and in doing so enhance customer relations.
             in the average consumer’s lounge or dining room. It
             means that even in the short term, it’s a channel and       However, it will also require a new approach to
             interface with huge brand potential.                        ­marketing – now more than ever it should be indistin-
                                                                          guishable from the services a company provides and
              However this potential can only be realised by              feed further into strengthening customer relations.
              adopting an approach that is representative of
              a company’s brand message. One that is clearly             Digital has already disrupted and reinvented business
              ­integrated into the future business strategy and one      many times in the past decade but now with chatbots,
               that has a clear aim regarding customer service or        voice and voicebots, the next reinvention has arrived.
             ­customer relations.                                        Welcome to the era of conversational business.

    22
THE STAGES OF A CONVERSATIONAL PROJECT

              FRAMING                               PRODUCTION                                HELLO WORLD

               General                              Development                               Creation of links
               conversational                                                                 between channels
               architecture                         Integration
                                                                                              Launch campaign
               IT audit                             Education
                                                                                              Constant improvement
               Content                              Tests and revisions

               Conversations and
               storyboards

               Identity

     With 75,000 employees – including 25,000 in Europe –         A Digital CX agency Incubated within the Sitel Group,
     across 150 sites in 25 countries, Sitel Group Contact        TSC specialises in Customer Relations Innovation,
     Centres are populated by multilingual teams that strive      conversational expertise, chatbots, social networking
     daily for operational excellence. Our global presence,       and communities; to assist brands with the develop-
     combined with our local knowledge and flexibility, plus      ment of new customer trust ecosystems.
     our 48 working languages, allow us to respond quickly
     to local needs and market changes across multiple            We draw our professional inspiration from analysing
     ­business sectors – wherever and whenever they occur.        customer conversations and interactions. Our team
                                                                  of 50 digital professionals, from data analysts and
                                                                  designers to creative technology experts, have the
                                                                  ­capabilities and agility to deliver projects that s­ ucceed.

                                                                                                 Happy Customers
23
                                                                                                 Better business.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS WHITE PAPER:

       ARNAUD DE LACOSTE                            GEOFFREY BOULAKIA                                JOSSELIN MOREAU

       CMO and co-founder                         General Manager EMEA                         Strategic Planning Director
          Sitel Group                                      TSC                                             TSC

A graduate of the Skema Business            A graduate of the EM Lyon Business              A graduate of Paris IX Dauphine and
School, Arnaud de Lacoste is a foun-        School, Geoffrey has been involved              CELSA, Josselin Moreau has over 10
ding partner of The Sitel Group, which      in relational marketing within d     ­ igital   years' experience in strategic planning
today is the number-three firm globally     agencies for over 10 years, keenly              with digital communication agencies
in its sector.                              tracking all creative, ­social and techno-      and digital services companies. This
                                            logical innovations.                            led him to co-found an ‘Innovation Lab’.
In his role at the head of the Group,
he is responsible for leading the deve-     Convinced that the quality of customer          A pioneer in adapting and applying
lopment of transformation and digital       marketing will become a pillar of user          new modes of interaction to create
strategies that will define the future of   experience, he joined TSC in 2015 to            customer expereinces that add value,
Customer Experience.                        drive the development of the agency in          Josselin joined TSC in 2017.
                                            line with evolving client needs.
A curious and passionate entrepre-                                                          In his current role, he is instrumental in
neur, his vision is informed by exten-      As a specialist in digital marketing            assisting brands that have a desire to
sive travel and meetings with startups      and in integrating new inter­actions            innovate, to foster conversation with
from all over the world.                    within brands’ ecosystems, he works             their consumers and to tailor their mar-
                                            towards educating, communicating                keting goals to customer expectations.
His book: What if Artificial Intelligence   and promoting the agency’s solutions
Could Make Us More Human?, offers an        and expertise.
optimistic vision of the technological
revolution currently underway, that
will create both economic and ­human
value in the future.

                                                                                                                                         © SITEL GROUP - CONTENT FACTORY - MARCH 2018 - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

TSC IS A COMPANY OF                                            Earlsdon Park,                        Sales contact UKI
                                                               53-55 Butts Rd,                       +44 (0) 800 444 221
                                                               Coventry CV1 3BH                      contact@tsc.digital
                                                               United Kingdom                        http://tsc.digital
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