From "mobile first" to "voice first": first representative study on voice user interfaces

Today, 37% of Swiss people already use voice control on their smartphones, computers or smart speakers - and this figure is expected to almost double in just one year.

US market researcher Comscore expects that half of all search queries on the internet in the US will be voice-controlled by 2020. Voice user interfaces such as Google Home and Amazon Echo are already widespread everyday and household companions there.

What is the trend in Switzerland? Farner and the University of Lucerne investigated this as part of the first representative study on the use of voice user interfaces, which they will carry out annually from now on. They came to results that will soon have a lasting impact on marketing in Switzerland.

37 percent already use voice assistants on their smartphone, computer or smart speaker

37% of Swiss people already regularly use voice assistants on their smartphones, computers or smart speakers to find out the weather, navigate from A to B or call friends.

According to their own figures, 62% will already be using voice functions in just one year's time. In the future, users would like to increasingly use voice to control household appliances or to carry out purchasing processes and purchases.

"Voice-first" begins to shape the customer journey

The Swiss currently use voice functions primarily at the beginning of the customer journey: to discover products ("attention") and compare them ("interest"). This applies in particular to electronics, household and entertainment.

Implications for marketing and communication

To this day, the motto in creation and content marketing is still: "Mobile first." With the rapid increase in the use of VUIs in Switzerland, too, a future credo in marketing is emerging based on the data: "Voice first." Companies and brands must learn to speak if most search queries are to be voice-controlled in the coming years.

Until now, brand managers and creatives have mainly worked on the visual appearance of brands. However, with the spread of voice-based technologies, the relationship between target groups and companies is changing significantly. The more widespread VUIs become, the more brands need to find a voice that matches their identity.

Daniel Jörg, Partner and Head of Digital Marketing & Research at Farner, in a press release: "Voice First is both a major challenge and a huge opportunity for marketing. A challenge because brands and their promises now have to be brought to life without visual aids. And a huge opportunity because voice-first technology will find its way into pretty much every area of our everyday lives, from cars to microwaves. This will make it possible for brands to create benefits for their customers at even more moments in everyday life."

Reto Hofstetter, Full Professor of Marketing at the University of Lucerne: "With the development from mobile first to voice first, digitalization in marketing continues to advance, and the speed at which this is also happening in Switzerland has surprised us. We are delegating even more responsibility to technology and algorithms that do the work for us and suggest, offer and buy the best and most favorable offers for us. Although customer interaction is more digital than ever before, it is regaining its naturalness. Ultimately, we can use the most natural form of communication - spoken language."

The summary with the most relevant insights for the communications and marketing industry is available as a free download on the Farner website available. Interested parties can download the complete study immediately from the Website of the University of Lucerne pre-order (available as of Q1/2019).