Do you too hate reading your long-winded e-mails, but love listening to your friend's audios about her love affairs? Apparently you're not alone, and we'll tell you why!
It's no secret that audio is becoming an increasingly important part of our lives, replacing the written word . Whether in the form of podcasts, audiobooks or voicemails, everyone consumes at least one.
# Audios make us multi-taskers.
There's no denying it, but since the advent of smartphones and streamable content, we've become veritable multitasking beasts. Washing up equals podcasting about ecology, tidying the house rhymes with blasting music, and to sleep like a baby, nothing beats a story read by a smooth voice.
So, inevitably, reading seems a lot less appealing, for a number of reasons.
Firstly, it's a time-consuming activity that requires you to sit down and concentrate. In our daily lives, it's rare to be able to really lie down and relax with a book. Audio, on the other hand, slips right into your pocket and you're ready to go! Whether you're running errands, taking the car, showering or doing chores, there's always an excuse to use audio!
# A daily presence.
In line with the advent of smartphones, we're now part of the "scroll" trend. scroll" trend. With the advent of the Internet, we want all the answers, and we want them fast. This pattern has become ingrained in the way we consume information. As a result, when faced with a text, we can be discouraged by its length. We prefer to skim the text, looking for key words to answer our questions. And to go even faster, we don't even write down what we're looking for, but simply say "OK Google".
Because, unfortunately, audio has what the written word sorely lacks: emotion.
When we read messages, we interpret the emotion of the person we're speaking to, and this can lead to misunderstandings. With audio, the voice transmits the tone and therefore the emotion.
The emotion surrounding a product in a physical store can be conveyed through several key channels: its design, its presentation, the sales advice, the music playing at the time. Online, however, all these means are lost: we're alone in front of a computer with no sound to accompany us.
Wouldn't audio on e-commerce sites be beneficial for brands?
# A new solution for brands.
E-mails are read sideways, description sheets no longer interest anyone because they are too similar to others, and reviews are read half-heartedly.
Audio is an opportunity for retailers who want to win back their customers. A real trend for 2022, everyone already knows how to use audio, yet no site is actually using it. It's a well-known saying that "the people who talk best about products are the customers".
So, why not start letting them have their say?
# Audio reviews?
Ekoo enables professionals and customers to express their opinions by voice directly on seller sites. So when a customer is looking for an item on the Internet, they can listen to the professional explain how the product was selected, what it's made of, why and how. And if this audio explanation doesn't convince them, they can refer to the customer reviews, also given by voice.
As we know today, reviews play a key role in customer purchasing. 87% of customers refer to reviews before making a purchase. Customers tend to take them as recommendations from friends, which helps them to buy. Hearing from a passionate professional and a cheerful customer is far more appealing than an overly descriptive product sheet and written reviews that aren't always truthful. Audio amplifies the affective bias linked to the product; customers will feel closer to others as well as to professionals, and will be more confident about their purchases.
What's more, adding audio to a commercial platform opens the door to new customers. First and foremost, it allows us to develop sites that are more accessible to the blind and visually impaired, the elderly (who find the font on sites too small), and young people. Audio is used by everyone, all the time: music, audio messages, podcasts and so on. Audio is an influential channel: it's easy to access and for everyone, and remains a field that's still in its infancy and therefore not very competitive.
So... how about adapting e-commerce sites to the uses customers have already acquired?
