Interactive Content

Respond Fast launches next-generation voice technology using smart speakers for consumer engagement

Respond Now, LLC announces the launch of Respond Fast, a Voice Activated Call-To-Action (VACTA) service that uses smart speakers to tap into offline marketing, information sites, surveys, reviews and other interactive platforms. It also helps track campaign attribution.

Respond Fast uses a unique phrase or code printed or announced on offline advertising media, such as a direct mail piece, print ad, collateral piece, TV/radio spot, billboard, signage and product label/packaging. Responders simply say, “[Alexa/Google], Launch Respond Fast,” then are prompted to provide their phrase or code tied to a campaign or prospect outreach. Relevant marketing messaging and calls to action follow.

Depending on the nature of the interaction, the smart speaker can fulfill the request, or gather information needed to follow up via phone, shipping, or digital communication (e.g., text, email, website).

Shiny New Toy With Staying Power
“This is the shiny new toy in direct response marketing,” notes Respond Fast founder Mike Gunderson. “Remember how cool it was to access information via a scanned QR code? How about the novelty of email offers when they first came on the scene? Now, VACTA is the ticket to engage your customers and prospects, gather valuable marketing data and lift response.”

He adds, “It’s frictionless. You see the code, speak it, and voila, you’re connected to a fulfillment protocol. This type of immediacy and ease is fueling the meteoric rise of smart-speaker use, and helping ensure this shiny new toy will maintain its luster for a long time to come. All across the country, smart speakers are fast becoming the preferred method of searching.”

Voice Poised To Revolutionize The Landscape
A late 2018 Contentmarketinginstitute.com article reinforces Gunderson’s view: “How Voice-Activated Tech Will Change Content Marketing…Move over mobile marketing: A little voice is whispering that your time as ‘the next big thing’ is almost up… Actually, that whisper is more of a shout, and it’s ‘Echo’-ing across the digital landscape, as voice-response technology is rapidly emerging as the most disruptive force to hit the industry since the internet became a visual medium.”

An early 2018 study by Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute estimated that already 24% of respondents preferred a voice assistant to visiting a website. Within a couple years, that figure is expected to rise to 40%. The study points out, “Voice assistants will revolutionize ecommerce.”

A March 2019 Techcrunch.com report speaks to the smart speaker boom. In the US, the number of owners grew 40 percent over 2018, “to now reach 66.4 million — or 26.2 percent of the U.S. adult population.” Another 2019 Techcrunch report, citing global growth, notes that smart speaker growth from 2018 to this year will be “82.4 percent, from 114 million units in 2018 to 207.9 million in 2019.”

Listen Up, Brand Marketers
Just as the internet revolutionized marketing perspectives and practices in the nineties, voice-activated assistance is stepping into those shoes today. Notes the Content Marketing Institute article: “…brands can – and should – start to integrate voice-response technology into their marketing plans…there are already over 1 billion voice searches conducted every month, and comScore estimates that, by 2020, 50% of all searches will be voice-based…43% of companies already invest in technology to enable voice marketing, according to a survey taken at the 2018 Digiday AI Marketing Summit.”

Gunderson Direct VP of Accounts, Jeff Tarran, points out, “By 2021, projections predict that smart speaker sales will outpace tablets. No marketing executive can afford to ignore this trend.”

Clear Attribution, Easy Integration Fuel Marketer Interest
Besides lifting response, Respond Fast provides clear attribution and easily integrates into new or existing campaigns. Plus, users can get 100% attribution to their voice campaign offer, creative, audience and marketing channel to accurately chart how each marketing campaign performs. Respond Fast offers easy options for total tracking.

Quickly Set Up Campaigns And Review Results
Setting up a Respond Fast VACTA program is fast and easy. Through one convenient dashboard, users can create the offer, decide how to deliver it, launch the campaign, analyze results and refine/improve subsequent efforts.

Individualized direct mail and the like can further enhance relevant targeting and response using a “unique offer code” for each printed piece. In essence, it’s the voice-activated version of a Personalized URL (PURL), where every recipient gets directed to their personal web landing page.

Visit RespondFast.com for more information, or just tell your smart speaker to “Launch Respond Fast” and use keyword “Trial.”

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