5 myths about voice marketing among marketers in Malaysia

For most Malaysian marketers, voice marketing remains an unventured terrain and marketing jargon term. A study by Ogilvy Malaysia said that Malaysians clients are still grappling with voice marketing, and its impact as a tool for marketing and to elevate the consumer experience for any brand or product. This is despite the bottom 25% income segment in Malaysia being one of the biggest users of voice search.

The study highlights five common myths about voice marketing and breaks it down for brands owners to better understand the ways it can be used for effective marketing.

1. “Voice marketing? Isn’t that marketing only to people who have Alexa/Google Home?”

In reality, voice marketing campaign impacts anyone with a smartphone and an ability to say ‘Alexa’, ‘Okay Google’ or ‘Hey Siri’. However, in the industry, there are terms related to voice marketing that are often interchangeably used.

Smart speaker is used to describe voice command devices such as Google Home, Amazon Echo, while voice search refers to search initiated by a voice command on any internet connected device. Voice assistant then refers to speech-recognition software that use device functions or online search to respond to queries. As such, smart speakers use voice search technology, and voice search technology is not just restricted to smart speakers. In Malaysia, only 7.1% own smart speakers, but 34% of Malaysians use voice search. The overwhelming majority of voice usage in Malaysia is through smartphones.

2. “Voice search doesn’t lead to sales.”

Relevance and convenience are the most important purchase drivers for the modern consumer, and voice search is not a brand-new platform. It is just a new way to use search. However, the way consumers search through voice has changed. Voice searches are much more action-oriented and location specific. In addition, data also revealed that this could lead to significantly more clicks, store visits and sales. 

3. “Voice commands are just a cool novelty. Nobody really uses it. At least, not in Malaysia.”

Whichever sector a brand belongs in, a rapidly growing portion of target groups are voice search users. With 45.2% of voice search usage, APAC is the leading region in the world. About one in three Malaysians have used voice search or voice command tools in the last month. The use of voice search and voice command are also highly adopted by Millennials aged 18-34 years old, balanced across genders and ethnicities.

4. “Voice marketing is just for premium products and rich consumers.”

Brands and marketers have to understand that new smartphone users are often voice-first, and that voice search is the new normal. In APAC, Singapore and Hong Kong rank the lowest in countries with low voice search penetration. Emerging markets such as Indonesia, Thailand and India have reported and seen the highest voice search usages. According to the study by Ogilvy Malaysia, the trend is mirrored in Malaysia where the bottom 25% income segment are the biggest users of voice search. Established search users are used to typing their search strings and adapt to voice search slower while new smartphone users have a voice-first adoption of search, the study revealed.

5. “My brand already has a search strategy. That should work for voice search as well.”

It is true that marketers do not need a new voice search strategy, but rather the need to optimise their search strategy to voice.