Dan Galante

I covered Voice Summit last week at NJIT in Newark, New Jersey. Voice Summit is the largest voice tech conference that brings the conversational design ecosystem together in one place.

Last year was the first Voice Summit. It was amazing to see how the industry has advanced in the past year. This year, the conference grew to over 5,000 attendees!

Voice Summit was a great place to network. Many Voice Startups demoed their offerings as well.

Founder Pete Erikson shares the story of Voice in the opening press conference. Pete shared the podium with Voice industry leaders and Newark Civic Leadership.

The conversation in Voice has shifted from should brands have a Voice Strategy to how to effectively incorporate voice technology across the organization. Attendees had opportunities to attend hands-on voice workshops on topics ranging from creating brand guidelines to building a voice strategy from the ground up. I took the Voice strategy workshop conducted by Brett Kinsella of VoiceBot.Ai. We received a workbook that had questions that served as building blocks to build our voice strategy.

I had was able to get a look at the Expo Floor where I was able to meet exhibitors and explore the Amazon Smart Home. It was amazing to see how voice technology has transformed the home experience. In this video, I was able to ask Alexa to play Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and to play music, etc.

Marketers have many opportunities with Voice and Audio Content according to Voices.com research. Content takes the form of short and long-form ranging from Flash Briefings up to Audiobooks.

However, when it comes to smart speakers only, 18% of users discover skills from brand advertising according to Vixen Labs.

Brands need to prepare to change their Marketing and Advertising for Voice. A panel shared their thoughts on how to improve how to achieve this aim.

Edison Research and NPR conducted market research on the topic of smart speaker customer behavior. The number of smart speakers in U.S. homes grew 78% from December of 2017 to December. The research packed with data you can see here.

Brett Kinsella led a panel where Marketers shared how they have developed and implemented their strategy for Voice.

Steve Keller of Pandora shared his thoughts on the topic of Sonic Branding and Sound Business.

On a side note, NJIT was nice enough to provide me with a tour of the start-up incubator and co-working space opening this September. I was able to see areas being built from the ground up just as startups are.

I also was able to see the Alexa Cup which is Amazon’s initiative to pair Marketers and developers to work on projects such as Female Empowerment and Mental Health.

What touched me on a human level was the closing keynote entitled “A journey through a deaf developer’s eyes.” In this keynote, Thomas Chappell of Prudential shared his story. Thomas is unable to speak.

After his talk, I was able to meet him. People communicate with him using Voice to speech technology and American Sign language. I was able to use the technology on a smartphone to have a full conversation with him.

Voice Summit was an amazing conference. I want to thank Pete Erikson, the Modev Team, NJIT, the City of Newark, and the State of New Jersey for having me as their guest.

The New York Auto Show is back after a two-year pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I had the privilege of covering the event over the past two press and industry days at New York’s Jacob Javits Center. It was great to be back. One of the events was hosted in the new Pavilion built at the Javits Center. Mark Schienberg, President of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association  opens the Auto Show at the awards breakfast.

 

I want to congratulate Audi, Hyundai and Mercedes for winning world car awards.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 wins a World Car award at #NYIAS 2022!

There was a shift in the type of cars, trucks, and SUVs at the auto show. This year the show was made up mostly of electronic vehicles and hybrid vehicles. This change is because of changes in the industry and US government policy to improve the environment. They pledge to sell only electric vehicles or EV’s by 2035. This is a global trend. This is information that came out of the World Traffic Symposium, which was held yesterday.

The show was based on two levels and there were three EV test tracks where drivers could drive Electronic Vehicles. This is a fun exhibit that I recommend that you experience. Ford had one and Hyundai had one. There was an additional track on the lower level where you could see more hybrid cars, trucks, and SUVs. You can also see EV Charging stations on the lower level. For kids not old enough to drive, they also had arcade-style racing games. There is something for everyone at the show. Here is a new Corvette!

 You can find additional pictures posted on Instagram.

There were also some new vehicle role-outs and major press announcements from KIA, Hyundai, Chrysler, and Jeep. You can see them below.

Kia   

Hyundai

Chrysler

Jeep 

The show is open to the public starting today at the Jacob Javits Center located at 429 11th Avenue New York, New York 10001. How to get to Auto Show.  The Auto Show runs from Friday, April 15th, through April 24th, 2022.  The hours are as follows Monday - Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm and Sundays from 10 am to 7 pm.  General admission tickets are $17 for adults and $ 7 for children. If you want early access for this Friday or Saturday tickets are $45 for adults and $7 for children.  Tickets can be purchased here.

What are you hoping to see at the auto show? If you have attended the auto show, what was the most exciting thing that you have experienced?

Buyers have different wants and needs.

When marketing and selling a product or service, it is important to ask two questions to understand your buyers.

1. What motivates people to buy a product or service?

2. How do people find a product or service to buy?

I surveyed my LinkedIn audience for answers.

1. What motivates people to buy a product or service?

People buy a product or service to: solve a problem, meet a need, or fulfill a want or desire. 49% buy products and services to solve a problem, meet a need, or fulfill a desire. 27% wanted to solve a problem, 16 % want to meet a need, and 8% wanted to fulfill a want or desire.

2. How do people find a product or service to buy?

Buyers find and buy products or services through word of mouth, social media, online search, and,/or product reviews. Of those surveyed, none said they found or bought products from seller calls or emails. No one found or bought products at trade shows or events; this is probably because of the pandemic.

63 % found or bought products from social channels or word of mouth, and 37% found or bought products or services from online searches or product reviews.

These findings suggest businesses need to create products and services that are customer-centric. Businesses need a great reputation to survive in a competitive marketplace.

Answering these questions will help businesses develop, create, and, position products and services customers want to buy.

There are four major types of buying cycles. Business to Business, Business to Consumer Business to Government, and Direct to Consumer.  It is important to know the difference because it is tempting to think one size fits all especially when certain products like computers and tech are sold to all of these verticals.

How are they different?

B2B vs B2C

To start, the buyer is different. In B2B, buyers work at companies. They usually have a big budget to make purchases but there are multiple decision-makers and stakeholders. Sales cycles are longer and buy-in is needed by a variety of stakeholders, not just the end-user. Products cost more in many cases than B2C.  An example of this is the purchasing of SAAS.

In B2C the buyer is purchasing products for their home and recreation. There are fewer stakeholders and shorter sales cycles but their budgets are smaller than B2B in many cases. An example of this is buying consumer electronics.

Some products overlap between the two verticals in e-commerce models; the difference is the sales cycle length and how products are acquired. Buyer needs and pain points differ between B2B and B2C.

I surveyed my audience on LinkedIn; asking them how B2B and B2C products differ from one another. 82 % said that they differed in who the buyer is, the sales cycle, pricing, buyer needs, and pain points.

B2C VS D2C

I surveyed my audience on LinkedIn about the differences between B2C and D2C products. 64% of those surveyed said that B2C and D2C products differ by buyer pain points needs who the buyer is sales cycle, pricing, and who the buyer is. 27% said these products differed on sales cycle and pricing. Only 9% said that these products differed in terms of the buyer. However, there are similarities between B2C and D2C products. These products are purchased in the home in many cases and the sales cycle is shorter than B2B or B2G. They fall into the category of consumer goods. B2C and B2C are overlapping through e-commerce and subscription business models.

B2B VS B2G

When I asked my audience about the difference between B2B and B2G products. 67% of those surveyed said that the products differed by buyer needs, pain points, sale cycles, pricing, rules, regulation, and who the buyer is. 33% said these products differed by sales cycle, price, regulations. When selling products to governments, it is important to understand the regulations and processes that must be followed. There is some of this in B2B but B2G has a lot more.

What are the differences between B2B, B2C, B2G, and D2C?

How are they similar?

Share your thoughts in the comments.