By
Diana
D'Itri
From the time Alexander Graham Bell's little
invention first allowed man to speak to others across the miles,
it's been pretty much a given that nothing is as strong a tool for
communication as the sound of the human voice . . . not
newspapers, not magazines, not even the knowledge-stuffed texts on
the Internet. Seeing may be believing, but seeing AND hearing
motivates people to act!
With that in mind, I’ve been peddling audio on the Internet for
more than 4 years. As a professional singer for most of my adult
life, I've always understood the importance of sound and the
effect it has on an audience. The challenge for me has been to
open the eyes and ears of my own audience. It started while
marketing our company’s first product Rave Reviews. Rave Reviews
are professionally interviewed and produced audio testimonials
that can be featured on web sites for added credibility. Wouldn't
every business owner want to have "real-life" testimonials on
their Web sites rather than those typically boring text ones that
everyone else has? One would certainly think so.
But frequently people have trouble seeing the potential for their
businesses and the question in the back of everyone’s mind was "do
testimonials actually "sell" anything?" What proof is there? Does
hearing a customer endorsement really differ that much from
reading one? Can testimonials actually increase ROI? Lots of
questions . . . but in this case, there's a better way to gauge
the effectiveness of a new media form . . . think of yourself as
the customer, and how a multi-media pitch might affect YOU.
I’m of the opinion that no matter what walk of business life
you’re coming from . . . the successful corporate CEO, the
dedicated marketing specialist, or the struggling entrepreneur . .
. we’re all emotional creatures and because we're so intensely
influenced by those emotions, external stimuli via our five senses
play a very important role in how we perceive others and with whom
we choose to do business. It seems logical that the more senses
used in gauging something, the truer the evaluation. A simple
inflection of the voice from an audio book can take the listener
through emotional twists and turns that speak volumes over a
comparative text-only version.
Obviously, reading offers one advantage over audio in that the
reader can have a "pure" experience through his or her own
imagination and perception, rather than listening to a voice that
through its inflections and tone conjures up an image for them.
But, as a business owner, marketer, or sales manager, do you
really want your Internet customers to judge your product or
service strictly by what they read, or think they read? Wouldn't
you really like the opportunity to "talk" to them directly to
personally point out the benefits of your product, and let them
hear the pride of workmanship in your voice?
Through the earliest days of worldwide newspaper communications,
through the era of radio that brought a faceless voice through a
simple speaker, and on to the invention of television that
literally changed the world . . . each medium as its turn came,
gobbled up large percentages of the market. We can compare these
three powerful mediums; newspaper, radio and TV, to the
transitional phases of the Internet, which went quickly from
obscurity to a household "must have". Now with the onslaught of
audio and video to enhance it, we're well on our way to a new age
of sight AND sound in our everyday online experience.
Prepare to dazzle and be dazzled as a witness and participant in
the next generation of online communication and marketing: audio
testimonials, audio quality assurances, audio facts and figures .
. . all confidence-building messages of value from business owners
directly to their target market, and all heard by potential
customers. You never know if your web site visitors are actually
reading all the sales text that's available on your site. But if
they listen to the audio, you know they'll hear all the facts that
are important to their decision-making process, and that can make
the difference in helping you close the sale.
As business owners recognize the swaying power of using audio to
communicate the value and quality of their products and services,
online audio will come of age in a big way. Just as radio provided
the sound that newspapers lacked, and wooed whole families to
become an eager audience to sit and listen, audio technology for
the Internet will draw in its own new generation of eager
potential customers . . . it's a theory that follows history and
just makes plain ol' sense . . . and good sense is something every
customer appreciates!
Diana D’Itri is Co-Owner of Ravebiz, a
leading referral marketing and technology company. She’s a
key driving force behind educating clients on how to
generate more quality referred customers for their
business through practical applications and an online
marketing tool called the Rave eReferral system. For a
free download “31 Tips for Boosting Referral Business” go
to
http://www.ravebiz.com. You can email Diana at
ditri@ravebiz.com.
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