In my previous article I wrote about the release of a new Google Assistant app, a game called Warriors Land. This time I’d like to focus on some key technical ingredients of the game, which I think can be very exciting for brands launching marketing campaigns or for digital product owners dealing with apps, websites or e-commerce platforms where account creation is an essential part of the customer journey.
Warriors Land is packed with some really cool features offered by Google Assistant Conversational Actions (also known as Actions on Google) that allow to create engaging and cross-platform experiences.
The game makes use of things like:
- Sign up with voice
- Push notifications
- Assistant Links
- Real-time database (Firestore)
- Progressive Web App (accompanying the voice app)
As it often happens with the new technologies, those features aren’t so obvious at first glance, especially for people who don’t have a developer’s background.
Sign up with voice — how it works
Sign up with voice in Google Assistant apps is a core for direct communication with your users (or players, or customers) beyond the voice app. The process itself is pain-free for the end user. It blends seamlessly into the conversation. Personally I think Google did an excellent job when it comes to user experience of this process when compared to Amazon Alexa.
When the conversation in the voice app gets to a point of signup, the voice app asks the user:
To [do whatever in your app], I’ll need your name, email address and profile picture. Can I have those from Google?
Possible answer: Yes or No. Simple as that.
By signing up with voice, you share the same information about yourself, as when you click the “Sign up with Google” button on websites.
Convenience is the key
Shortcuts like this offer great user experience and security at the same time. Imagine an alternative solution implemented in a voice app… I doubt anyone would feel comfortable shouting their username and password to a speaker.
When a user signs up with voice, the voice app receives personal user data, including email address. It can be then stored and passed on for further processing, for example in the email marketing tool like Mailchimp or SendGrid. If you’re a marketer you know where I’m going with that.
Make sure to use the data responsibly and always allow to unsubscribe from the mailing list. It’s a good practice to allow users to delete their account with voice too, if that was the channel they used to sign up in the first place.
Numbers don’t lie
I wouldn’t call myself a marketer myself, but the observations from user behaviour in voice apps are interesting to say at least. I’ll leave you to judge these findings yourself, but I think there’s some pretty good potential here. See some stats after initial 23 days after launching Warriors Land voice app:
- 2800 unique users
- 325 players = 325 email addresses collected
- 800 emails sent
- 63% Open rate
- 11% Click-through rate
All that with $0 spent on marketing. Bearing in mind that Warriors Land is not a branded experience, I think it shows a promising pattern. Especially that it’s a very niche creation: voice-first RPG game, available exclusively on Google Assistant.
I’d love to see a voice app where this model is used and scaled up successfully, perhaps in a utility app created for a mass audience.
If you’ve seen examples of voice apps using this model please share in comments!
Voice app as the first touchpoint in your digital ecosystem
As it currently stands, there’s probably not a single business relying on voice app as a key digital asset. I had high hopes for Send me a Sample I heard so much about, but when I launch it on Google Assistant by saying: “Hey Google, talk to send me a sample” — it immediately asks to link accounts using smartphone app. It means I have to install it first.
(A far better user experience is to introduce the app purpose first, engage and intrigue the new visitor before asking to share their personal data)
Having a voice app as the core for a digital platform sounds like a risky thing to do, but adopting it as an entry point to a bigger experience is something worth trying to do right now.
For example: a voice game such as Warriors Land can be an introduction to an e-commerce website selling board games. Warriors Land voice app is discovered organically by Google Assistant users by saying “Let’s play a game”. If Warriors Land experience is received well, there’s a good chance that further recommendations from inside the voice app (or email) will direct that user to a website and eventually convert them to a happy customer of an afford mentioned board games business.
The entire voice experience can be created around the marketing campaign too. Google Assistant apps are supposed to offer “delightful experiences” and the discovery of something unique adds to the value instantly. Voice experience topped up with a real-world benefit such as a voucher, a product discount or another special offer is something to remember, something with potential to go viral.
If you’re interested to see (and hear) how the sign up with voice works, try this on Google Assistant: “Hey Google, talk to Warriors Land”
You can find out more about the game here: https://warriors-land.web.app/
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