Audio Holiday Carol from Your Friends at GM Voices
Posts Tagged Voice Overs
Moustaches of Distinction: 21st Century Cowboy Sam Elliott
That Righteous Flavor Saver Helps Him Taste the Rockies All Day Long
(Learn about Movember at www.movember.com, join our group “GM Voices & Friends“; Read about GM Voices’ involvement at www.gmvoices.com/movember)
For decades, Sam Elliott has made his bones as a throwback to a better, simpler America, when men were men and moustaches were symbols of status and potent virility. Elliott and that bushy horseshoe ’stache are icons of Western and cowboy film and iconography. Rumor has it that Sam’s moustache is a quicker draw of the six-shooter than even the man himself.
And Elliott is no stranger to the world of voice overs. His is the voice of Coors, and he’s leant that measured Western twang to many companies seeking a Voice Brand imbued with charimastic manliness.
We at GM Voices crack open a can of ice-cold Coors Light and commend the moustache and talents of the incomparable Sam Elliott.
Better Service. Better Sound. Better Digs.
“Explore the space” with GM Voices; our process and facility make all the difference.
Anyone with a tape deck and a microphone in a basement can profess to be in the voice recording business. Technically, it may be accurate, but really, is that the kind of operation you want to entrust your customer contacts with? There really is no comparison when you consider the size, scope and service level of GM Voices.
GM Voices is headquartered from a 10,000 square foot production facility in Alpharetta, GA, just north of Atlanta. In addition to all the space dedicated to standard business stuff (sales, accounting, marketing), we boast a dozen combined recording studios, isolation booths and editing suites, all stocked with the latest and greatest recording gear.
Whenever we host a guest and are able to give a tour of our studios, the visual component of value proposition is communicated–voice recording is a serious business that warrants dedicated account management resources, a trained group of engineers and the experience to make your speech application connect with callers in any market.
Check out this short video overview of CEO Marcus Graham discussing our digs.
We Are GM Voices. We Are the Worldwide Leaders in IVR Voice Prompts, Voice Messages and Phone Greetings.
An open letter to every company with automated customer contacts. This is who we are. This is what we do better than any company in the world.
Hello,
You have happened upon the official blog of GM Voices. We are the global leader in professionally-recorded voice prompts for IVR, auto attendant, speech recognition and other automated voice systems. We have provided natural-sounding recorded voice for phone greetings and voice messaging for over 25 years. Other businesses may specialize in voice recording, but none are so uniquely positioned to improve your automated customer experience. We do what what we do specially for customer contacts and marketing voice messaging.
Our business is one of process perfection. IVR phone systems require frequent updates. That’s why we offer next-day turnarounds of ready-to-load audio files in any format. We work in a global economy, where customers shop for quality of product and experience, disregarding borders and the past. That’s why we record in 100 languages and dialects, all in-country and in-context. We’re attuned to the fact that your corporate image is wholly unique. We’re attuned to the fact that your customers are wholly unique. That’s why our roster of professional voice actors are trained, certified and available by the hundreds.
Our QA process and audio expertise is thorough and incomparable. Our audio engineers were educated specifically for our business. Voice files are edited to sound crisp, clear and professional, every time. Our archiving ensures that any audio update sounds seamless compared to previous orders.
We help companies communicate with world-class Voice Brands. We affirm your customers’ decisions to do business with you in the f irst place. We help your application achieve a higher rate of caller containment, lowering your expenses. We record for expansive and deep call menus, and quick-and-easy auto attendants and on-hold messaging.
We’re available right now to take your call (770.752.4500). We’re available to elevate your customer communications.
Any language, any media, any market, any application, any platform provider. We’re GM Voices. We’re your voice to the world.
Listen to Our Voices (Full Media Player)
Around the World on a Keypad: International Voice Prompts by GM Voices
Representing Every Continent except Antarctica (Since Polar Bear IVR Demand is Low)
GM Voices’ tagline is “Your Voice to the World.” It’s not a platitude or puffery. When we submit company descriptions for press releases, trade shows, partner announcements or any type of external communications, we usually say we provide over 90 languages and dialects. Really, that number is ready to go up. Three digits is in the rear view mirror now. Bottom line, we can accommodate your international language recording needs. If it’s not actively being promoted, contact us and we’ll track down the talent and studio to make it happen.
Regardless, we help companies to speak to international markets with local credibility. Some of our offerings are extremely obscure, but the bulk of our requests are to reach booming international markets.
Our voice prompt and voice over recordings come in highly-demanded languages such as:
- Spanish (neutral dialect and numerous country variances)
- French (French Parisian and French Canadian/Quebecois)
- German
- Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese)
- Japanese
- Russian
- Korean
- Portuguese (Brazilian and European)
- Etc.
- Etc.
- Etc.
Coming soon: Alien and extraterrestrial voice recordings. We’re just working out the kinks with trans-galaxy lossless audio.
In the meantime, check out all our Earthbound voices.
Building a Better (Voice) Brand
Simple Voice Branding guidelines to help you improve your telephone customer experience and overall brand.
If your company uses prerecorded greetings or messages, it has a Voice Brand, whether it was crafted with care or with indifference. Unfortunately, the people who need to be most keyed into Voice Branding, C-level execs and marketing managers, are often too high in the clouds to evaluate or even recognize the very public front a telephone presents to customers. After all, Voice Branding is the ground floor; for many customers, especially in a global economy, it’s the front door of your enterprise. So who’s answering your front door? Put yourself in a customer’s shoes: Would you be excited to give yourself business?
- Go ahead. Call yourself. We dare you.
If these questions give you pause, it may be time for an intervention. But just to make sure, check out this short list. These are the hallmarks of great Voice Branding, the factors that are shaping your customers’ perceptions RIGHT NOW. Do you meet these criteria? If not, let’s talk.
1. A single-voice user experience:
Any company worth its salt knows an advertising or marketing campaign needs to be consistent with its identity. Brand continuity is key; different variations of a unified theme. It’s the same idea with your prerecorded phone messages. The voice that greets a customer should be the same voice that guides them through all the menus of your IVR system. Multiple voices are jarring in a customer experience; inconsistency is brand discontinuity. Select a single voice persona for your company—one that fits your image. See our Weekly Sessions overview to see how GM Voices makes this easy and affordable to implement and maintain.
2. Spanish voice prompts that sound as good as English:
So maybe your English-language application sounds great. You’re not off the hook yet. Are your Spanish-speaking customers getting the same service? The US Hispanic market will triple over the next 40 years, and its spending influence is disproportionately skyrocketing. A Voice Branding expert takes great care to select a professional voice actor who can connect with everyone. This usually means choosing a Neutral Spanish talent, someone who can speak without a regional accent. A Voice Brander always ensures that menu scripts are properly translated, grammatically correct and appropriate to the target audience. GM Voices has been developing Neutral Spanish voice personas for Fortune 1000 companies for years. No problemo.
3. Uniform, high-quality production:
Why is it that (often in the same system) some voice prompts sound crystal clear while others sound like they were recorded on your grandma’s old Dictaphone? Some recordings pierce your eardrums; others are practically inaudible. When it’s expensive or impractical to update your recordings, a piecemeal and bizarre customer experience is sure to follow. Getting serious about Voice Branding requires using the same recording equipment, the same mixing and editing process and the same volume levels (Holy tinnitus, Batman!). Our experienced audio engineers keep your sound consistent using state-of-the-art recording gear.
4. Scripting for success:
The objectives of any IVR system are to reflect positively on the brand and automate routine caller requests. The only way you meet either is through an effective script and menu tree. Admittedly, it’s a fine line between concise and cold, pleasant and superfluous. It’s important to troubleshoot any scripting scenario. Is it respectful of your customers’ time? Is there a logical flow? Break out a stopwatch. Get someone to role play with you. It’s the difference between about seven cents (when a customer is contained within your IVR) and $7.50 (when a customer opts for a live agent).
Your phone is ringing. Good or bad, it’s your brand that’s answering the call. Give your biz a jingle. Now you know what to listen for.
