VOICE SPEAKING FOR YOUR BRAND - WHITE PAPER - TSC - DECODING EXPERT ANALYSIS
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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
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
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
1 DE-
COD-
ING
41 - 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
”
61 - 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
”
81 - 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
101 - 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
112 EX-
PERT
ANA-
LYSIS
122 - 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.
132 - 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
”
142 - 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.
153 DIS-
COVER-
ING
163 - 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.
173 - 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
”
183 - 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
”
193 - 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.
203 - 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.
22THE 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.
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