You’ve probably considered how often your customers see your brand’s name and logo during their shopping journey with you, but what about how often they hear your brand’s name? If you haven’t created a sonic brand (also known as an audio brand) for your ecommerce business, thanks to the rapid growth of voice commerce, now is the time to do so.
Sonic branding has been used to great effect by all types of businesses, from technology companies like Intel and Apple to consumer product brands like Coca-Cola, to local businesses from all industries ranging from personal injury lawyers to car dealers.
Until recently, a sonic brand could only be built with audio and video ads (unless the product also had an audio component, such as the distinctive text message notification sound used by Apple for the iPhone). However, the arrival of smart speakers (with over 150 million devices now in American homes) and similar voice-enabled devices has added a new dimension to sonic branding by allowing customers to have an audio interaction with a brand of their own initiative.
Providing a voice-based commerce experience helps build your brand in three ways:
- Your customers hear your brand name spoken during the interaction instead of just reading it on a screen, regardless of the transaction type that’s taking place – for example, proactive delivery notifications announce that a package they ordered from their favorite brand is out for delivery.
- Your customers will be saying your brand name during many interactions, such as re-ordering and checking the contents of their cart
- With the right platform, you can include your signature sound (audio logo) as part of the interaction, such as playing it at the end of the interaction – or you could set the interaction to take place using a recognizable voice, like that of a celebrity influencer you have a partnership with
Why Sonic Branding is More Important Than Ever
Given that communications today are increasingly text-based, particularly among remote workers, it’s easy to see how your customers may never hear your brand’s name spoken out loud or your audio logo played – particularly if you’re not running significant audio or video ad campaigns. Leveraging voice commerce provides an opportunity to create this auditory connection and increase brand recall.
Because sonic branding can be a powerful brand-building tool, brands that add a sonic component to their strategy stand to gain a competitive advantage over those that don’t. Despite the benefits of sonic branding, many ecommerce brands haven’t incorporated an audio component to their strategy or rejected it because they believe it’s too hard or too expensive.
In reality, while it has made sonic branding more important than ever (with over 35 million transactions taking place smart speakers in 2020 alone) – and more powerful than ever – the arrival of voice commerce has also made it easier to build a sonic brand than before.
How Building a Sonic Brand is Easier Than Before
Much like digital advertising (particularly social media advertising) helped democratize online commerce by making it possible for small brands to attract customers without spending a lot of money, smart speakers and voice commerce have done the same for sonic branding.
Instead of needing the resources of a company like Intel or McDonalds to buy audio and video ads on broadcast networks and radio stations, smart speakers let you bring your sonic brand directly to the consumer while leveraging your existing ecommerce storefront.
Blutag’s turnkey SaaS solution unlocks the power of sonic branding for ecommerce brands of all sizes regardless of which ecommerce platform they use. Even if you don’t yet have an audio logo, you can take advantage of the increased brand recall that comes from having a conversation about your brand as part of the transaction, regardless of the transaction type you choose to offer. Request a free demo today to learn how Blutag can help you build a sonic brand by leveraging the power of smart speakers and other voice-enabled devices and get you a share of the $22 billion voice commerce market.
