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What’s All The This Hype Around Voice Recognition Technology Anyway? Key Points of Interest, Key Risk and Some Important Information.

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Voice Recognition Technology (www.motocms.com)

In 2018 Boyd notes that voice is the future and according to some big brands such as Apple and shipped out which includes Siri and Cortana respectively. In 2004 an anonymous source highlights that as voice recognition technology becomes more complex, their accuracy increases, providing opportunities for increased security. This shows scope for use of voice recognition to improve safety within a business. Voice recognition allows for development of business function as security checks can be strengthened through its implementation however there are some risk factors which need to be taken into account before considering introducing voice recognition into your business.

Key Points of Interest

Voice Recognition Makes The User Feel Heard + Continues To Improve

In 2017 Chowdhury’s Blog in Venture Beat highlights that making the users feel heard is key with implementation of voice recognition technology. Confirmations and acknowledgements are pivotal in allowing users to feel heard as it is same confirmations that users look for when speaking to a human. The development of voice recognition has allowed the technology to replicate human conversation and with the massive growth of interest in the area, developments will only continue to make the technology better. In 1998 Fass highlights that real estate agents have been using voice recognition technology to find out information about properties and also speed up their clients buying process in order to get them to the top of the list. This technology has been in use for 20 years and has already been speeding up the users transaction times. In 2017 Myers notes that Microsoft can now transcribe human speech with a 5.1% error rate therefore its development since then, and planned development for the future means that this technology could outperform human agents sooner rather than later. The graph below from Kleiner Perkins in 2017 shows voice recognition accuracy has been improving since 2013, and is nearing 100% accuracy.

Voice Recognition Makes Websites More Viable For Everyone.

In 2018 Discover Technologies highlights that Voice Recognition has become an intelligent software product, able to teach itself to recognise one’s particular voice patterns so that there is no need to interact with a computer or a keyboard or mouse. This has made websites more accessible for people of all abilities therefore it is key in ensuring that any voice technologies deployed can be activated and used without relying on a keyboard or mouse. In 1994 Blenkhorn notes that speech synthesis technology is increasingly being used to enhance products as well as  to make them more accessible to blind and visually impaired people therefore it is pivotal to use these technologies in order to cater for that market.

A great piece of content which highlights some more key points can be found

>>HERE<< and >>HERE<<

Key Risk

Scrutiny Agains’t Voice Recognition

In 2017 ExpressVPN highlight that voice technology requires smart devices that are constantly listening and potentially recording users which threatens user and business information. In 2017 The Independent exposed Google’s new Home Mini voice assistant which had been spying on some of its users, due to a “phantom” issue. This can effect users outlook on the brand and make them believe that they are irresponsible as well as the possibility of security risks due to the inactive recording. In 2016 Bennakhi highlights that the progression of sophisticated technologies such as voice recognition makes for more comfort and entertainment but recent security threats and distractions have been uncovered with the upsurge usage of new technologies. Voice recognition can definitely benefit users however the risks involved are huge. The fact that these types of technologies are constantly updating means that they are hard to monitor and keep safe however if they can act as a sufficient boost to efficiency then businesses may decide to take on the risk if it remains smaller than the reward.   

A great piece of content which notes more about the risks of voice technology can be found

>HERE<<

Siri Hack  (www.gadgets.ndtv.com)

Important Information

Voice Technology Devices Are On The Rise

In 2018 WEBITMD highlight that voice recognition devices in the household are increasing and the graph by Forrester below shows that smart home devices will be used in more than 60 million homes by 2022. The sheer growth of these smart home devices show that voice recognition technology is growing and being more universally accepted all over the world. In 2017 Business Wire highlight that the global voice recognition market is expected to reach a market size of $126.5 billion by 2023 therefore it is clearly a booming market with more space to grow which means that the venture can be profitable. In 2006 Carneiro notes that by understanding the capacities of these technologies and their adequacy to each business you can achieve excellence, enhance productivity, and strengthen competitiveness.

A great piece of content which highlights more important information on voice recognition can be found

>>HERE<<

References:

  • Anonymous (2004) “The History of Voice Recognition Technology”, Information Management Journal, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 54.
  • Bennakhi, A. & Safar, M. (2016) “Ambient Technology in Vehicles: The Benefits and Risks”, Procedia Computer Science, vol. 83, pp. 1056-1063.
  • Blenkhorn, P. (1994) “Designing products that speak: lessons from talking systems for blind people”, Computing & Control Engineering Journal, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 172.
  • Boyd, C. (2018) The Past, Present, and Future of Speech Recognition Technology, Available at: https://medium.com/swlh/the-past-present-and-future-of-speech-recognition-technology-cf13c179aaf (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • Brandon, J. (2017) Google is recording everything you say to a bot, Available at: http://www.news.com.au/technology/online/security/google-is-recording-everything-you-say-to-a-bot/news-story/fcf90d5c6b20acb9cf35d1e6c029a3ac (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • Buckner, A. (2017) 5 best practices for implementing voice marketing in 2018, Available at: https://venturebeat.com/2017/12/15/5-best-practices-for-implementing-voice-marketing-in-2018/ (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • Carneiro, A. (2006) “Adopting new technologies”, Handbook of Business Strategy, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 307-312.
  • Discover Technologies (2018) Dragon – Speech Recognition Software for Blind People, Available at: https://discovertechnologies.com/blog/dragon-speech-recognition-software-for-blind/ (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • ExpressVPN (2017) The Siri-ous benefits and dangers of voice technology, Available at: https://www.expressvpn.com/blog/siri-voice-technology-benefits-dangers/ (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • Fass, A (2003) ‘Speak Easy’, Forbes, 171, 1, pp. 135-136, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 7 April 2018.
  • Gadgets 360 (2017) Siri, WeChat and Other Apps May Put You at Risk of Voice Hacking: Study , Available at: https://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/siri-wechat-and-other-apps-may-put-you-at-risk-of-voice-hacking-study-1708501 (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • Google (2014) Behind the Mic: The Science of Talking with Computers, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxxRAHVtafI (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • Moyers, S. (2018) Voice Recognition Technology Vs. Graphic User Interface, Available at: https://www.motocms.com/blog/en/voice-recognition-technology/ (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • Myers, E. (2017) Little Known Facts About Speech Recognition Technology, Available at: https://www.temi.com/blog/2017/10/11/little-known-facts-about-speech-recognition-technology/ (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • Saunders, J. (2018) It’s a Voice-First World, Is Your Content Optimized for It?, Available at: http://webitmd.com/blog/advanced-seo/its-a-voice-first-world-is-your-content-optimized-for-it/ (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • TheDrum (2017) NEWS The Future of Audio: Better Voice, Deeper Personalization and Richer Immersion, Available at: http://www.thedrum.com/news/2017/03/06/the-future-audio-better-voice-deeper-personalization-and-richer-immersion (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • The Independent (2017) Google Home Mini secretly recorded everything its owner said, Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/google-home-mini-secretly-recording-everything-you-say-voice-assistant-my-activity-a7994261.html (Accessed: 6th April 2018).
  • Wood, L. (2017) Voice Recognition Market – Expected to Reach $126.5 Billion by 2023 – Research and Markets, Available at: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171213005500/en/Voice-Recognition-Market—Expected-Reach-126.5 (Accessed: 6th April 2018).

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Implementing Voice Recognition Technology online in an ever changing and diversified market. The benefits and risks towards integration of voice technology into a businesses virtual interface in order to simplify and update the checkout and customer service elements.

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  Voice recognition Technology (www.vensi.com)

The face of technology as we know it is constantly changing and the fact that over 26 million amazon voice recognition devices have been shipped out in the third quarter of 2017 (Kinsella, 2017) shows the massive scope of its growth and adoption. In 2012 Kenealy highlights that an outmoded technology backbone may be inhibiting technology-savvy people from joining businesses which questions whether it is a necessity rather than a choice to invest in new technologies as it might be damaging the companies reputation and harming recruitment capabilities for the future. This blog post will highlight the benefits and risks behind the implementation of this type of technology outlining whether it will be beneficial for firms to integrate this sort of technology today.

Benefits

  • Increased sales through reduced checkout times.

TechRadarPro highlight that the time saving factor behind voice recognition technology is what drives business and consumers to adopt it. This is because it makes it quicker to communicate with consumers as well as document data. In 2016 Serasinghe and Vasanthapriyan note that in todays world people do not waste their valuable time waiting and that reducing the waiting time of customers at checkouts improves customer satisfaction. This implies that consumers demand quicker checkout times as well as that reducing customer waiting time directly leads to improved customer satisfaction. Furthermore in 2007 Shapiro highlights that customer satisfaction significantly influences purchase intentions, the amount of dollars spent and quantity purchased which means that improved customer satisfaction has a direct relationship with increasing sales.

  • Reduced complaints through self service capabilities.

Sestek‘s blog on speech recognition notes that businesses which provide customer service benefit from the technology in a way that enriches customer experience and reduces organisational costs. Voice recognition can be used to simplify checkout processes and make a businesses webpage more accessible to a wider range of abilities. It is also feels a bit safer giving confidential information to a Voice recognition  system rather than typing it down and sending it over an encrypted (or potentially not so encrypted) platform. The use of Voice recognition  technology in the banking sector led to less people reporting problems and complaints, and notably 82.4% of customers said that their most recent interaction was right first time, up from 77% a year ago (IoCC, 2017). In 2000 Matthew et al denote that self service technologies delivery options can be an excellent means of creating a competitive advantage for a business which in turn will effect the businesses image.

Virtual Helping Hand (www.whatsnext.nuance.com)

Some content which illustrates the benefits of voice recognition technology further can be found >> HERE << and >>HERE<<

Risks

  • Customer susceptibility to hacking and fraud.

RMMagazine highlights in their blog that Nathan Wenzler, a chief security strategist at a leading consultancy firm, says that the addition of voice absolutely increases the risk level for technology users. He says that when you add more features to a device, you are also adding complexity and more code and, as a result, you are introducing more avenues for people to hack into the device. TalkTalk recently reported a loss of £60million in revenue and 101,000 customers due to a hack (TheRegister, 2016) which shows the level of damage they can cause. In 2004 Schneier stresses that computer security is not a problem that technology can solve. He says that security solutions have a technological component, but security is fundamentally a business problem and that whether a business continues to use the resource is measured through a cost-risk ratio therefore the benefits for the firm and consumer must outweigh any risks in order for the venture to be considered.

A great piece of content which illustrates the TalkTalk hacks further can be found

>>HERE<<

  • Customer information leak, including private and confidential information. 

In Kapersky’s blog Kuksov notes that in relation to voice recognition technology the first possibility that comes to mind is the leaking of personal and corporate data. He highlights that some dictate their credit card numbers and one-time passwords to fill in forms online which has a direct link to information leak and potentially identify theft for customers. Furthermore he says that some systems are unable to differentiate people by voice therefore if a voice recognition device is stolen or used by someone else it is possible for them to make purchases online as well gain confidential information about the owner. In 2009 Kirkpatrick stresses that if you think your computer network is well protected against attack, you might be right however your company may still be highly vulnerable. This is because employees are still vulnerable to social engineering techniques (which is the use of psychological techniques to extract information from people in order to gain access to computer systems). In 2017 Engadget reported of an Equifax security breach which leaked the personal information of 143 million US consumers (about 44% of the whole US population). This led to the share price of Equifax falling severely which shows how detrimental an information leak can be.

A great piece of content which shows Equifax’s response can be found

>>HERE<<

References

  • Bakanay, H. (2014) “The Advantages of Speech Recognition”, Available at: http://www.sestek.com/2014/11/the-advantages-of-speech-recognition-technology/(Accessed: 21st February 2018).
  • Channel 4 (2016) “TalkTalk hack: a closer look at the scammers”, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYvVtsqNk6Q (Accessed: 21st February 2018).
  • Deschenes, S. (2012) “5 financial benefits of voice recognition technology”, Available at: http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/5-financial-benefits-voice-recognition-technology (Accessed: 25th February 2018).
  • Equifax (2017) “Rick Smith, Chairman and CEO of Equifax, on Cybersecurity Incident Involving Consumer Data”, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh1gzJFVFLc (Accessed: 25th February 2018).
  • Hall, K. (2016) “TalkTalk admits losing £60m and 101,000 customers after THAT hack”, Available at: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/02/02/talktalk_hack_cost_60m_lost_100k_customers/(Accessed: 21st February 2018).
  • Kirkpatrick, J. (2006) “Protect your business against dangerous information leaks”, Penton Media, Inc., Penton Business Media, Inc. and their subsidiaries, Cleveland.
  • Koksov, I. (2017) All ears: The dangers of voice assistants, Available at: https://www.kaspersky.co.uk/blog/voice-recognition-threats/8443/ (Accessed: 25th February 2018).
  • RM Magazine (2017) “The Risks of Voice Technology”, Available at: http://www.rmmagazine.com/2017/10/02/the-risks-of-voice-technology/ (Accessed: 21st February 2018).
  • Howell, D. (2016) “How voice recognition can be a major asset for your business”, Available at: https://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/how-voice-recognition-can-be-a-major-asset-for-your-business-1321534 (Accessed: 20th February 2018).
  • IoCC (2017) “Is voice recognition a secure enough customer service tool?”, Available at: https://www.instituteofcustomerservice.com/media-centre/customer-service-news/article/is-voice-recognition-a-secure-enough-customer-service-tool (Accessed: 21st February 2018).
  • Kenealy, B. (2012) “Technology upgrades can help attract younger workers; Legacy systems, outdated devices deter tech-savvy”, Business Insurance, vol. 46, no. 40, pp. 17.
  • Kinsella, B. (2017) “Bezos Says More Than 20 Million Amazon Alexa Devices Sold”, Available at: https://www.voicebot.ai/2017/10/27/bezos-says-20-million-amazon-alexa-devices-sold/ (Accessed: 20th February 2018).
  • Lawler, R. (2017) “Equifax security breach leaks personal info of 143 million US consumers”, Available at: https://www.engadget.com/2017/09/07/equifax-hack-143-million/ (Accessed: 25th February 2018).
  • Mauro, A. (2015) “Artificial intelligence: Bringing the humanity back to customer service”, Available at: https://whatsnext.nuance.com/customer-experience/artificial-intelligence-turns-customer-service-into-something-consumers-love/ (Accessed: 21st February 2018).
  • Meuter, M.L., Ostrom, A.L., Roundtree, R.I. & Bitner, M.J. (2000) “Self-Service Technologies: Understanding Customer Satisfaction with Technology-Based Service Encounters”, Journal of Marketing, vol. 64, no. 3, pp. 50-64.
  • Schneier, B. (2004), “Hacking the business climate for network security”, Computer, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 87-89.
  • Serasinghe, M. & Vasanthapriyan, S. (2016) “Intelligent Retail Checkout Management System”, IEEE, pp. 929.
  • Shapiro, M. & I. Gómez, M. (2014) “Customer satisfaction and sales performance in wine tasting rooms”, International Journal of Wine Business Research, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 45-60.
  • Techquickie (2015) “Voice recognition As Fast As Possible”, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWWjN1QqoYY (Accessed: 20th February 2018).
  • Vensi (2017) “Voice recognition Technology”, Available at: http://www.vensi.com/voice-recognition-technology (Accessed: 20th February 2018).

 

The Truth about SMM and Engagement. What are the Benefits and Risks of using Social Media Marketing in order to Boost Consumer Engagement in our Current Market Climate?

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Social Media (www.wordstream.com)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Social media marketing can be an effective method of boosting consumer engagement however, as we all know there isn’t much reward, without any risk. We will be weighing up the benefits agains’t the risks of using Social Media Marketing in order to boost consumer engagement and really delve into whether it is currently an effective tool to do so.

1. Benefits

Recently ‘Firms are recognising the pressing need to focus on building personal two-way relationships with customers who foster interactions’ (Kumar et al., 2010) which has led to ‘spending on social media to continue to soar’ (Abeysekara et al, 2016).

2 Benefits of Social Media Marketing for Consumer Engagement include:

1. Helping Marketers Connect with Customers on a Human Level.

Sheth and Parvatiyar (1995) suggest that ‘The fundamental axiom of relationship marketing is that consumers like to reduce choices by engaging in an ongoing loyalty relationship with marketers” which has led to the growth and success of relationship marketing. This has been further propelled by the increase in technologies which led to the creation and boom of social media. In 2017 Hubspot highlights that social media produces ‘almost double the marketing leads of traditional outbound methods’ which shows its depth however also in 2017 Edgecomb, C notes that ‘you need to have a two-way conversation with your audience’ in order to engage them. She says that the conversation allows brands to ‘speak and listen to their audience, responding directly to their wants and needs’ rather than using a one size shoe fits all method. A great video which highlights this can be found >>HERE<<.

2. Gaining Analytics & Insight while Reducing Costs and Propelling Innovation.

One of the greatest revelations to marketing by social media was the ability for small firms to analyse follower trends and preferences on a much larger scale than previously possible, and all for free. Edgecomb highlights that ‘social media accounts will provide you with a ton of valuable, candid insight’ which has given firms the ‘ability to use social media as a platform for customer service, responding directly to concerns or gaining insight to improve’. In 2013 Chua, A et al found that ‘Starbucks redefines the roles of its customers through the use of social media by transforming them from passive recipients of beverages to active contributors of innovation’. This connotes the idea that multinationals are now focusing marketing onto the consumer, in a time where customers are now being seen as the experts, it seems as it is only rational to start using customer engagement, and social media analytics to propel business innovation. A great video which highlights this further can be found >>HERE<<.

A great blog which notes some more of the benefits of Customer Engagement through Social media is Carolyn Edgecomb’s ‘Social Media Marketing: The Importance of a Two-Way Conversation’.

Customer Interaction (www.chriscollinsinc.com)

2. Risks

Creating a social media account has some serious risks to take into consideration which include the portrayal of your company image and the effect it has on the way consumers engage with your brand.

2 Risks of Social Media Marketing for Consumer Engagement include:

1. Training Employees and Potential Effect on Company Image.

In 2013 Vetter, D suggests that ‘there is limited information about how to train the employees that are actually representing your company on social channels’. Bhattacharya, S. (2017) also says that ‘only one in seven companies has a formal process in place for the use of social networking in their businesses therefore your company could be at risk every time an employee uses social media. Also, a study done in 2013 by Grovo Learning, INC. found that ‘more needs to be done to improve employees’ know-how’ on social media as a test was done where participants gained an ‘average score of 72.1 out of 100’. ARAMARK, a market leading uniform company in the U.S. devised the graphic below which splits employees into 3 different segments. This highlights different roles and training needs. It is clear to see that there needs to be a lot of planning, training and time put into development of a safe social media employee who is able to engage effectively with clients. This could increase costs in the long run, and might not have a strong return on investment. A great video which comically highlights some disasters experienced over social media can be found >>HERE<<

Different roles, different training needs (www.briansolis.com)

2. Brand Hijacking and Negative Customer Engagement.

In 2010, IT governance group ISACA released a report which ranked brand hijacking as one of the top 5 risks to companies over social media which shows the potential it has to effect any business, big or small. In 2010 Meyer, R. suggests that ‘social media has empowered consumers like never before and they are wielding this new power to suit them’. This can be beneficial for brand growth and awareness however it drowns out the brands voice in space for the buyers therefore it is harder to engage with customers. It is also possible for consumers who follow you to be mislead through engagement with other followers, which could have a detrimental effect on customer experience and in turn consumer following. DMN talks further about the risks of social media on consumer engagement >>HERE<<

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References

Abeysekara, N. and Farook, F.S. (2016) ‘Influence of Social Media Marketing on Customer Engagement ‘, International Journal of Business and Management Invention , 5(12), pp. 115-125.

ARAMARK (2018) Homepage, Available at: https://www.aramark.com/ (Accessed: 7th January 2018).

Bhattacharya, S. (2017) 7 negative effects of social media that may kill your business, Available at: https://www.revechat.com/blog/7-negative-effects-social-media-may-business/ (Accessed: 7th January 2018).

Chris Collins Inc. (2018) 6 EFFECTIVE WAYS TO CONNECT WITH CUSTOMERS IN A DEEPER LEVEL, Available at: https://chriscollinsinc.com/6-effective-ways-to-connect-with-customers-in-a-deeper-level/ (Accessed: 6th January 2018).

Chua, A.Y.K. and Banerjee, S. (2013) “Customer knowledge management via social media: the case of Starbucks”, Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 17, no. 2, pp. 237-249.

CNNMoney (2013) How Starbucks Utilises Social Media, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbOl9gx3fUg (Accessed: 6th January 2018).

Edgecomb, C. (2017) https://www.impactbnd.com/blog/social-media-marketing-the-importance-of-a-two-way-conversation, Available at: Social Media Marketing: The Importance of a Two-Way Conversation (Accessed: 6th January 2018).

Freifeld, L. (2013) ‘Training Employees on Social Media.’, Training, 50(6), pp. 8.

Hall, C. (2016) Social Media is Dangerous for Brands, Available at: http://www.dmnews.com/social-media/social-media-is-dangerous-for-brands/article/627845/ (Accessed: 7th January 2018).

Hubspot (2017) Growth Stack, Available at: https://www.hubspot.com/?__hstc=191390709.27b05bf4ddffeef24c97efac3b81c37a.1515330541073.1515330541073.1515330541073.1&__hssc=191390709.1.1515330541074&__hsfp=1384578979(Accessed: 6th January 2018).

ISACA (2010) Annual Report – Trust and Value, Online: ISACA.

Kumar, V., Aksoy, L., Donkers, B., Venkatesan, R., Wiesel, T. and Tillmanns, S. (2010) ‘Undervalued or overvalued customers: capturing total customer engagement value’, Journal of service research, 13(3), pp. 297-310.

Meyer, R. (2010) Brand hijacking in progress, thanks in part to social media., Available at: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/brand-hijacking-progress-thanks-part-social-media (Accessed: 7th January 2018).

Netbase (2016) Understand Consumers with Real Time Social Media Analytics, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dgjbiF1O-w (Accessed: 6th January 2018).

Sheth, J.N. and Parvatlyar, A. (1995) Relationship marketing in consumer markets: antecedents and consequences. Journal of the Academy of marketing Science, 23(4), pp.255-271.

TopTenz (2015) Top 10 Social Media Disasters of Well Known Companies — TopTenzNet, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk0jwbDh7QU (Accessed: 7th January 2018).

Vetter, D. (2013) Mitigating Risk In Social Media Engagement, Available at: http://www.briansolis.com/2013/01/mitigating-risk-in-social-media-engagement/(Accessed: 7th January 2018).

Word Stream (2017) Social Media Marketing for Businesses, Available at: https://www.wordstream.com/social-media-marketing (Accessed: 6th January 2018).