Talk to Me: What Voice Recognition Technology Means for Associations

We’ve all heard it, right? “Alexa…play this song,” or “Siri…purchase this item.” These days, it’s not unusual to hear other people (or yourself, for that matter) talking out loud to a technical gadget. Voice recognition technology is becoming a part of our day-to-day routine.

With Apple’s Siri (via the iPhone), Amazon’s Alexa (via Amazon Echo), and the Google Home device, more and more organizations are starting to jump on the voice bandwagon.

What is voice recognition technology?

Put simply, voice recognition is software that interprets the human voice. When combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI), voice recognition technology allows you to perform a command, receive the answer to a question, operate a device, or write without the need for a keyboard.

Voice recognition technology also offers a new and innovative way to reach consumers. In turn, it can change the way that associations interact with their members.

Voice Recognition Trends & Growth Stats

Today, all people need to do to answer a question or find some piece of information is to take out their phone and talk to it.

Plus, many of us are already attached to our devices 24/7. So phones, TVs, automobiles, and the like are powerful vessels for voice recognition. Just like at the facts:

• 65% of 25-49-year-olds speak to their voice-enabled devices at least once per day.
• Global smart speaker sales will surpass $30 billion by 2024.
• 55% of households are expected to own smart speaker devices by 2022

The rise of voice recognition technology also extends to marketing and how people are searching for questions on Google and other search engines. Over the past few years, consumers began using voice search to perform search engine queries, make purchase decisions, find businesses, and more.

The increase in voice search and voice recognition technology is expected to continue well into the future.

Speech is suited to mobile partly because users have their hands and eyes tied up, but also because it bypasses all of the additional swiping and pressing.

What does voice recognition technology mean for associations?

The transition to mobile and voice recognition technology can potentially change the way associations interact and service members. Here are some ways voice recognition technology can benefit associations.

1. Virtual Assistant

Vlad Sejnoha, CTO of Nuance Communications believes that mobile voice interfaces will continue becoming more pervasive and powerful, very similar to the current virtual assistants that we all know and love (Siri and Alexa).

They’ll listen for trigger words and act immediately—whether it’s popping up a calendar, readying a text message, or pulling up a browser that’s already navigated to where you want to go.

These features can potentially streamline association meetings and/or conference calls.

2. Training and Classes

When it comes to voice recognition, personalization is key.

Organizations collecting consumer data can combine big data and machine learning, and then apply it to association training events – curating them to meet the specific needs of their members.

This can range from real-time product and training recommendations to website personalization to meet certain criteria or member profiles.

This kind of personalization not only promotes customer satisfaction and improves the member journey, but it could also drive deeper engagement with the association.

3. Member Interactions

New technologies like voice recognition can drive productivity on the customer loyalty front by offering reliable and expedited customer service powered by AI technology, such as chatbots.

They can be programmed to answer questions immediately, navigate issues, and escalate calls to management or senior association members.

Voice recognition can also work to gather and act on member feedback in a timely manner and allows associations to scale for growth with speed.

4. Events

Setting up appointments and booking association events via voice recognition technology will allow event professionals to optimize delivery.

It can change how members search for events and implement security and confidentiality measures as needed, depending on the person’s unique voice signature and what they are saying.

Voice recognition is already becoming a part of everyday life. It's only a matter of time before it becomes a standard way of communication and navigation for members of associations.

Maybe we’ll start hearing more of this: “Alexa… renew my membership,” or “Siri…ask my [Association] about recent industry news.”

Is your association ready to embrace voice recognition technology?