Archive for February, 2011

Neutral Spanish: The Way of the Future

Posted by Matt on Monday, 21 February, 2011

Like English-Speaking Americans, Spanish-Language Consumers Prefer an Increasingly Prominent Voice Standard

For centuries, Americans of European origin have slowly melded into what’s generally perceived to be a standard “American” cultural identity. And while regional dialects and accents persist to some degree, the US English language has accordingly transitioned into a standardized neutral voice. You know the sound, of course. It’s the style of our news anchors, our TV spokespeople, and for GM Voices’ sake, our automated phone systems.

Well, the same thing is happening to Spanish-speaking Americans. GM Voices has long advocated its Neutral Spanish style. This is a generalized standard that works best for disparate groups of Spanish-language callers. It’s really the most effective way to optimize your caller contacts; a catch-all for customers who may be of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican or Continental Spanish origins.

And now it doesn’t seem limited to corporate branding and customer service. Just like English-language entertainment figures, Spanish-speaking actors and personalities are now being instructed to conform to the neutral standard to best connect with an increasingly consolidated cultural cross section. Miami-based Telemundo is just one example of this shifting strategy, a migration that will only be more pronounced as the US’ Spanish-speaking population grows and different cultures blend just like their Euro-based predecessors.

Of course, it should be noted that GM Voices has helped companies understand this cultural shift and enhance its automated contacts for many years.

Check out this video of a GM Voices neutral Spanish voice talent reading a script about our value proposition.

Enterprise Connect: T-Minus Three Weeks

Posted by Matt on Friday, 4 February, 2011

Our Mission, Our Theme and a Little Taste of What to Expect

February 28th marks the inaugural edition of Enterprise Connect, formerly VoiceCon, at the Gaylord Palms in Orlando. As a faithful reader of this blog, you know that we’ve created a music video (two versions) to commemorate last year’s event, which can be found here (original) and here (outtakes).

GM Voices often themes its booth displays for a bit of fun and pun. This year, partially to coincide with the new park at Universal, we will be exhibiting with a Harry Potter theme. As in, “with GM Voices’ natural-sounding voice prompts in over 100 languages and dialects, we help your company deliver a magical customer experience.”

If you’d like complimentary floor passes, please get in touch with Karen Smith (ksmith at gmvoices dot com).

We’ll be bringing audio engineer and HP enthusiast Andrew Bates, who in turn will be bringing several HP-costumed friends. To give you a taste of the style and commitment of these dedicated cosplayers, check out this mini-documentary of Andrew and gang at Infinitus, an HP extravaganza that took place this past summer. That’s dedication, holmes.