News
7/28/2010
Common Sense Tip of the Day – With the business world changing and merging on a daily basis, it’s always a good time to review your phone system and make sure all your information is up-to-date. Check and see if your company name, mailing address and other important information are current – on all your phone numbers. Do your directions to callers still hold true? Pretend to be an outside caller and actually call into your phone system and see how the process sounds, and if it works. Walsh Media is here to help you out if you find anything that needs tweaking.
7/21/2010
Once again, Walsh Media crosses our border to the North to offer you French Canadian talent. Danielle is a fully bi-lingual voice professional who grew up in Montreal and speaks lovely French. Check out her audio by clicking “Voice Talent” above, and searching for “Danielle”.
7/21/2010
Common Sense Tip of the Day – When you’re not sure which voice talent and what verbiage best supports your persona, listen to our experts. True story: a company was casting a voice for a large call center. They went against our initial recommendation, selecting a different talent from our pool, and did not allow script changes. A year later, they ended up re-recording the whole thing. After another round of talent auditions, they selected the very one we recommended from the start. They even opened up to accepting some subtle word changes that better reflected the persona. The result? The most impressive containment rates they’ve ever seen.
7/20/2010
Walsh Media’s going to New York!
August 2nd through the 4th we’re setting up camp for the 2010 SpeechTek Showcase. Our team will be there at booth 514, hint-hint, if you’re in the neighborhood please stop by! We will be talking about Common Sense Solutions for all of your IVR needs…and maybe even gloat a little about our Stanley Cup win!
7/19/2010
7/15/2010
Common Sense Tip of the Day - Marketing your company's product or service is a key component for generating new sales. While the new fad may be updating your Facebook and Twitter accounts, don't forget to update your telephone system too! After all, it's one of the best times to turn a potential sale into a satisfied customer.
7/7/2010
Common Sense Tip of the Day – Before sending your script off to be recorded, try reading it out-loud. Put yourself in the place of the voice talent (fancy mic optional) and see if any of the language is tricky to read, or difficult to understand. We always recommend critically looking at your language before you record.
6/16/2010
IVR Greeting Prompts
Have you noticed that virtually all Company Voice Portal greeting prompts reference their Web Site? The reference is a statement that says you can get more information or perform an action by going online. But, is that always the best way?
Today I contacted a company to get clarification on returning a defective part that has been recalled. I needed to talk to an agent because I had received an envelope that was previously opened. It may have included the replacement part but none of the documentation noted that it was enclosed. The only written information provided indicated that I could return the defective part in the return envelope enclosed.
I called their 800 number and the greeting contained a reference to their web site. After identifying the number as the recall hotline, the voice prompt said the following: ”For your convenience you can access our website at www.company.com/safetynotifice “that’s w w w . c o m p a n y . c o m forward-slash s a f e t y n o t i c e” . The web site was spelled out very slowly so that the caller could write the information down. The whole greeting prompt took 36 seconds and the reference to the web site took 28 of those 36 seconds.
I understand that servicing a customer through the web site is much less expensive than via a telephone or agent. Many companies offshore their chat agents and each agent has multiple chat sessions occurring at a time. It’s a very cost effective contact method. However, I would argue that the person is calling a company because that is the only contact method available at the time or their issue is such that the caller thinks the most efficient contact method is via a verbal interaction with an agent. I would also contend that most computer literate people know that an alternative contact method is available at the company’s web site and it can be easily found via a search engine such as Bing or Google.
Do companies realize they are wasting significant money by referencing their web site in a voice portal greeting? In my example the company wasted 77% of their time trying to get me to go to their website when I had no intention of doing so. I’d suggest that they should instead put that web information deeper in the call flow so that it does not slow down a caller’s voice interaction with an agent. In this instance, the customer experience was diminished by the push for web use, rather than enhanced with efficient, effective customer service. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of all your points of contact, you’ll utilize each to its full potential.
Look to the folks at Walsh Media to provide common sense advice to your voice portal prompts.
Steven Sands, PMP
Director of Business Development
Office: 630-574-8008, Ext 364
Cell: 214-405-4095
steve@walshmedia.com
www.walshmedia.com
5/10/2010
Are you working on an application for Australia, or maybe just interested in giving your project a special flavor? Check out our latest addition to the talent pool, Mark. With his ability to perform a host of character voices, he’s a real chameleon. Check him out by selecting “Voice Talent” above, and searching our database for male Australian talent, or just type “Mark” in the talent search box.
4/6/2010
Please help us welcome Annabelle to the talent pool! She speaks North American English in a bright, lively, yet warm and engaging tone, and is readily available to voice your application. Why not give her a listen by clicking “Talent” above and searching for her? We think you’ll like what you hear!
4/5/2010
If you need Japanese Voice Talent, then you’ll want to check out our talent database! We’ve just added a lovely woman from Yokohama named Ai. You can listen to her by clicking “Voice Talent” above, and searching for “Ai”.
Let us know if we can fill your voice talent needs in any language!
3/30/2010
Watch for us at GForce in Chicago April 13th-15th!
Booth assignments haven’t been made available yet, but we’ll let you know where to find us just as soon as they are. Or, you can always call or email and we’ll be sure to meet up with you at the show. Let’s catch up and discuss what Walsh Media can do for you!!
3/3/2010
VoiceCon is coming!
If you'll be attending VoiceCon in Orlando the week of 3/22, we'd love to meet up with you. Drop us an email at Info@WalshMedia.com or call 1-800-454-6453 and our representatives will be sure to catch up with you.
Enjoy the show!
2/9/2010
Check out our new Talent!
Robert recently joined the team. He’s seasoned, with at least 20 years in front of a mic. For the authoritative confidence of a male voice, with a touch of compassion, check him out! Just click “Voice Talent” above, and search for Robert.
