Over the past few years, smart speakers have become commonplace in homes throughout the country. Amazon and Google have successfully integrated their virtual assistants into our everyday lives. A lot of American consumers interact with smart speakers in their homes or at their jobs.

But this new tech hasn’t just impacted the average person; businesses are also able to leverage smart speakers to improve sales. Businesses can now integrate voice activated calls-to-action (VACTA) as part of their marketing efforts through these digital assistants. 

This voice search marketing technique can be implemented on various marketing channels, including direct mail, radio ads, podcasts, television, and billboards. So let’s take a look at how they work and how businesses can take advantage of another new form of marketing technology.

How Voice Search Marketing and VACTAs Work

Restaurants, retail stores, and many other businesses have begun using VACTAs to reach new audiences. Many VACTA campaigns begin with a physical mail piece. Each piece of mail will have a unique code printed on it by your direct mail partners. When a prospective customer receives the mail, they’ll be prompted to interact with their virtual assistant by speaking the unique code. A link is then sent directly to their cell phone, containing the advertised offer. 

Businesses can customize their promotion or discount as they would any other marketing effort. The details can be easily edited through your purchasing channel, like your eCommerce store. Whether you’re looking to highlight a new menu item, advertise a special coupon for your store, underscore a limited time deal, or simply build up brand awareness, the implementation of a voice-activated CTA can bring your business added success.

1. Entice New Customers with a Deal

One of the best ways to reach new customers is to offer an exclusive deal for first time users. This could be anything from “20% off your first purchase” to “Buy One, Get One Free.” Make it however you’d like it.

By employing a VACTA, you’ll be able to send the discount code directly to the user’s cell phone, so they’ll have it immediately. The fantastic part about this is not only the immediacy, but it also gets the potential customer thinking about what they could use that discount on. They’ll likely begin scouring your website’s product pages. 

VACTAs offer the unique opportunity to get in contact with potential customers without them having to do anything other than talk to their Amazon Alexa or Google Home. It’s also a chance to introduce potential customers to this function of their smart speaker and foster continued communication down the road through this channel.

2. Introduce New Products

Product launches are getting a lot more fun with the implementation of VACTAs. You could design your VACTAs to highlight new products and include exclusive offers for users that access the promotion through their smart speakers.

With smart speakers, businesses can add additional information on the product, too. Use it as an opportunity to inform your shoppers about nutritional info, product sourcing, fun facts, added benefits, or more. It’s simple to include the extra material and provides the shopper with more reason to buy your product.

This option provides marketers with the opportunity to not only think outside the box when it comes to product launches, but to target customers that they, otherwise, may be having difficulty reaching. VACTAs offer businesses access to entirely new audiences that they would otherwise have no way of reaching.

3. Get Creative with Where You Print the VACTA

While many VACTAs are printed on pieces of direct mail, that’s not your only option. This technology gives business owners and marketers the chance to get more creative with where they place their VACTAs. 

If you own a pizzeria, print the code on a pizza box; museums or theme parks can include it on tickets or guides; specialty retail stores can simply add it to their packaging or bags. That would not only make it hard to miss, but it’s unique enough to pique curiosity and encourage more interaction. 

But you could even include your VACTA on a television, online, or radio commercial. SInce people are typically watching television in close vicinity to their smart speaker, this is a great opportunity to get them to follow your call-to-action.

4. Share Additional Information

If you’re working within the restaurant industry, you’ve likely noticed that within the past decade, there’s been an increased focus on food’s nutritional content; people are more curious than ever about what specifically they’re putting into their body. Now you can provide your customers with your nutritional information before they even place an order.

Of course, it doesn’t only have to be nutritional information that you’re sharing. Nor does it only have to apply to restaurants. You can inform shoppers of similar items, notify them about upcoming events, or offer a range of different options for the same product.

This is great not only because it gets people intrigued by your product offerings, but by responding to the VACTA and reading the information, they’ve already interacted with your brand and one or multiple of your products.

5. Drive Customer Interaction

One of the most important aspects of this voice-activated technology is that it encourages more direct interaction with consumers. The technology is still new and many shoppers are intrigued by an evolving industry, making them much more likely to use it. As many of you know, driving the initial engagement is often the hardest step in converting a sale. Let VACTAs do the hard work for you.

Plus, these can be used for customer feedback and reviews through a survey. Shoppers can leave you a star rating or detailed review as easily as they can purchase something. Building shopper reviews is critical, and it’s vital to your long-term success.

6. Run a Promotional Campaign with a VACTA

These voice-activated calls-to-action are the perfect opportunity to run a promotional campaign, too. If you’re offering a discount or a special, this is a great chance to reach a wide audience. If you’re running a campaign for a lesser-known holiday like “International Coffee Day” or “National Donut Day” get the word out by employing a VACTA.

It truly is a win-win situation – you’re not only conveying valuable information about your brand or business to your customers, and at the same time getting your customers to actively think about your brand and promoting specific products or services.

At the end of the day, there are many elements that come together as part of your business’s overarching marketing strategy. And new ones are popping up all the time. This is just one more opportunity to build your brand and expand your reach. 

This is a guest post from Respond Fast, the first business to implement voice-activated calls-to-action through smart speakers. To learn more, check out their website. And for more business advice subscribe to our blog. And if you’re interested in a new retail POS, click below to start a trial!