Alexa, find a trail near me!

The adoption of voice search is on the rise at a rapid pace as a result of a pandemic that has kept us all very connected to our smart devices. Our sponsor, Voicify, led two sessions at VOICE Summit 2020 where they shared the various ways they are enabling brands to connect with the voice community.
 
Voicify is the market leader in voice experience management software that combines voice optimized content management, cross-platform deployment, and voice-specific customer insights. It is a no-code solution that allows marketers and customer service managers direct access to conversational experience management.
 
Rachel Waldstein, Director of CRM & Retention at Wolverine Worldwide shared with us why they chose to jump into the new and ever-changing world of voice technology.
 
“We are always looking to connect with our consumers directly and voice is both a new marketing and commerce channel for us,” Waldstein said. “It allows our brands to hear directly from our consumers in their own words.”
 
Merrell, the top-rated hiking footwear and outdoor gear brand, seeks to be a welcoming trail guide that supports its customers by providing maps of hiking trails across the country. Their main objective is to make the user experience so easy and enjoyable that people will make going outdoors a part of everyday life.
 
And now, it’s as easy as saying “Alexa, find a trail near me,” or “Hey Google, find a trail near me.”
 
Unlike some other brands, Merrell has actually gained consumer interest during the pandemic as they seek to encourage users to enjoy adventures on trails and in nature.
 
“The outdoors has continued to be a very safe and welcoming place for people to feel normal so we couldn’t have chosen a better path to follow than this one,” said Jane Smith, Digital Marketing Director at Merrell.
 
Voicify makes it easy for brands to be creative within conversational applications, which is why they placed such a strong focus on having an intuitive interface. The platform is designed to deal with dynamic third party systems and partner APIs. For example, the ‘Find A Trail Near Me’ feature is powered by the Hiking Project API.
 
“This simplicity and flexibility are what helps the Merrell team to take advantage of new opportunities within the voice space,” Nick Laidlaw, CTO at Voicify said.
 
Voicify’s web-based user interface builds with open APIs to allow integration to or with any existing back-office enterprise platforms that would be typical. This is an exceptional option to ease and improve customer service as users can easily find out the answers to FAQs as well as find out exactly where their product is in its shipping route.
 
“Voice is such a powerful way to experience the world around you, ” Jeff McMahon, CEO of Voicify said. “Brands are innovating and moving quickly to use this interface of the future.”
 
To watch these Voicify’s sessions for yourself or learn more about how they can help your brand enact voice, check out their sponsor page.