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The Biggest Voice Over Customer Service Mistakes and How to Fix Them

August 21, 2019 by Debbie Grattan

Customer service has always been a huge part of doing business, and in our hugely competitive, global market, it’s become even more important than ever. Folks put a lot of stock in the online customer reviews they read, and disgruntled customers are not typically shy about speaking their minds. The digital age has also opened up the door to instant gratification – which people have come to expect when it comes to timely replies from your company.

Since voice over talent works so closely with clients, delighting customers is especially vital in the VO industry. Keeping our clients delighted involves staying on top of our game while avoiding these top customer service mistakes.

Putting New Customers above Existing Customers

Some businesses offer amazing deals, free gifts and all types of perks to new customers to generate new business, forgetting the existing customers who helped to get them where they are. This can happen in the voice over world when talent puts a priority on gaining potential new clients at the expense of existing ones. Some mistakenly assume once they land a client, the client is already in their corner and they needn’t continue to cultivate the working relationship.

How to Fix It:

Customer loyalty is not something that comes automatically, and ignoring your current customer base is a surefire way to test it. Treat existing customers with the same level of enthusiasm you do new customers. Offer them perks, nurture relationships and quickly respond to their needs. I regularly touch base with my existing customers through an email newsletter, and I also offer a Client Loyalty Rewards Program.

Delay in Communication

When you snooze, you lose. Speedy delivery of an audition or communication back to a client can be critical for proving you’re a professional, ready to deliver what’s required.

How to Fix It:

Respond ASAP to all inquiries, especially new ones. Being the first to respond is often what lands you the job. Because I’m a full-time voice talent, I’m on my computer all day, checking email about every 15 minutes or so. I always aim to respond immediately to requests for quotes, auditions or project details. We all love it when we get an immediate response, so do everything you can to provide that to your customers and prospects.

Over-Promising and Under-Delivering

Demos are great and necessary, but make sure you can deliver that same performance in a session with a client, or even just on your own, without one-on-one coaching. This especially holds true for newer voice talent in the market.

How to Fix It:

Under-promising and over-delivering is a much keener strategy, and it will lead to stronger client loyalty. While you still have to meet deadlines and do your best to give clients what they’re asking for, under-promising often provides the opportunity to exceed their expectations. Delivering the finished recording earlier than promised will most certainly elevate your value in the eyes of your client, prompting them to hire you again and again, and even refer business to you when appropriate. On the other side of the coin, keep in mind that clients sometimes ask for the impossible, and it’s important to be honest about what you can deliver. Your client will appreciate your integrity.

Also make sure you’ve developed your skills and talents to a level where you can deliver whatever a client needs in a session. Reaching this level takes time, practice and good coaching. Even if you don’t get direct feedback from the client you can usually tell if you ARE delivering what they want. The session will go smoothly, and you won’t have to spend inordinate time providing multiple takes.

Not Listening or Understanding What the Client Wants

Doing it your way doesn’t always work for delivering exactly what the client wants. It’s imperative to understand all the details of the job, from the vocal tone and style all the way to the technical issues. These include format, file labeling, delivery method, audio processing requests, and other details. You need to be clear on client expectations before you even begin.

How to Fix It:

If you’re not sure what the client wants with a script, ask more questions until you do. Some of my clients like to provide direction during a live recording session, in which case I set up my phone patch so they can. This often saves everyone time and trouble, allowing for hand’s on direction in real time, resulting in an approved, final product the FIRST time through, avoiding a lot of back and forth over email.

When it comes to technical issues, talk to other voice over talent or do online research to find out what you’re expected to know about different file types, delivery methods and other details. Sometimes you’ll be asked to provide something you’ve never provided, which can be a cue to learn something new and add it to your offerings.

Being aware of the top customer service mistakes is the first step to avoiding them. The next step is making sure you’re covering all bases when it comes to satisfying customers. You’ll be on the right path if you treat every customer as your best customer, delivering exactly what they want as quickly and professionally as possible.

Changes in VO Styles Over the Years: From Big Booming Voice Overs to a More Natural, Conversational Style

February 15, 2017 by Debbie Grattan

Once upon time, the big thing in voice-overs was that big, booming voice – the very polished, voice-over announcer type, with a strong kind of yelling-at-you delivery and feel. People listened. People purchased. That was simply how sales were made.

As times have changed, so have selling strategies. Most folks are no longer apt to listen to the very polished, big, booming voice – much less believe what it says. People today tend to instead respond to companies that focus on transparency, honesty and being real, with marketing that does the same.

This trend has definitely filtered into the voice-over arena, and has been there for some time. The big, booming voice-over announcer type of sound has been largely replaced with something that’s very casual and real.

So what does this mean?

Is the Big Booming Voice-Over Announcer Style Dead?

For starters, it can certainly mean less work for the announcer types, at least in the lineup of radio and TV spots. In fact, I recently had a discussion with another voice-over talent who has been in the business for more than 40 years. He has a great announcer VO sound, got his start in radio, and used to book two to three sessions a day for decades.

Now he doesn’t book anywhere close to that number. Those voice-over announcer style gigs have become much more sparse and he’s trying to branch out into other areas of voice-over to keep his business afloat.

Louder, Hard-Sell Voice-Overs Are Still Popular for Selling Cars, Mattresses and in Sports

This is not to say there is absolutely no demand for the big, booming announcer voice. Sports announcers thrive on this type of style, especially when their voice reverberates throughout gymnasiums, colosseums and arenas. The style also remains common in several industries. The automotive industry is a prime example. Car commercials on TV and radio still tend to use the big, boomy, hard-sell approach, as do many furniture and mattress stores.

Here are a couple of examples showcasing two differing announcer reads: One pokes fun at the announcer sound in a conversation with on-camera talent, and the other is the “yelling at you” variety. Both are currently on TV as of this writing.

The announcer-type delivery remains particularly popular for local and regional spots. However, a national spot for any major automobile brand, by contrast, may have a much more polished and subdued delivery.

While the male voice typically makes a good match for the announcer-type, booming voice, I have had my own chance to use it on several occasions.

Below are a couple examples that show some of the range I am asked to provide for auto-related commercials. From a typical soft-sell voice-over announcer style that I use for a Ford Dealership, to a more sultry conversational style on a Harley-Davidson dealer commercial. Check out many more samples of other styles on my Automotive Commercials page.

On Being a Voice at the Happiest Place on Earth

One of my more memorable voice-over announcer opportunities was as the original in-the-park announcer for Disney’s California Adventure when it opened in 2001. I was living in Southern California at the time, so the commute was much shorter than it would be if I were traveling from my current home in Michigan.

When the park opened, I was there in person making the announcement for the company president, dignitaries and all other attendees at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. My voice was broadcast over the park’s public address system, in between my pre-recorded announcements welcoming guests, weather contingencies and starting time of the parade.

Over the next few years, I really enjoyed being the “voice of the park” and having friends and relatives ask me if that was my voice they heard while waiting in line for a ride.

Here’s a short clip I was able to dig up from a special event announcer gig at the Disney Park in California. I think this may have been a New Year’s Eve event.

Sending Dreams & Wishes Into the Future

To succeed with the announcer-type voice, it’s imperative to get into the announcer-type mode. As with all voice-over work, you have to really know your audience and speak to them. Announcer-type deliveries must be clear, enunciated and perfectly pronounced. In the case of speaking to the crowd at a Disney theme park, the delivery also required enthusiasm, smile and warmth – since they were, of course, at the “happiest place on earth.”

Both VO Styles Have Their Challenges

While the announcer-type style and the casual conversation style may seem as if they’re on opposite sides of the spectrum, they do share a common challenge. In both cases, the overall goal is to be believable.

As big and booming as an announcer-type voice may be, it still needs some degree of warmth and humanity so it doesn’t totally turn off the listener. The delivery requires an element that characterizes the information as important, and as something the audience wants to listen to.

The casual, real-person read also needs to be believable. It has to sound like a real conversation someone is having with her girlfriend at Starbucks about a place to get a bank loan, or with her aging mother about an assisted living facility (click to listen to some of my conversational demo samples).Here is where voice acting comes into play, with the voice-over artist entering the reality of the moment and actually being that person in that particular situation. Underplaying these types of conversations, and making them believable can be one of the hardest things for a VO artist to successfully accomplish, especially from just words on the page. That’s where the “talent” part comes in. But it’s still got to have vocal energy, billboard client names, come in under 30 seconds, and all the other things that are important in advertising. It’s a tricky road to navigate sometimes.Some modern spots tend toward the snarky and sarcastic, featuring the befuddled mom, frustrated worker or similar roles. The trend is to create a situation of frustration, present the problem – and then solve it with the for-sale-now solution within 30 seconds, and make it all sound perfectly natural and believable. Visit my voice over demos page to hear examples of these kinds of styles.The greatest challenge in these cases may be taking the copy that someone else wrote and truly making it your own. The words need to feel like they came from your own heart, instead of a script sitting in front of you. It seems easy. But of course, that’s why you hire a professional to do the work; since it’s their business to make something quite challenging look easy.Both announcer and conversational voice-over styles still have their places in the world, and no matter how easy and straightforward either voice-over style may seem, both the larger-than-life- announcer and the “real person” require insight, experience, and just the right read to provide the most effective results.Whether you’re looking for an announcer-style or more conversational tone, I would love to help you with your project. Please contact me today for a complimentary voice over quote or custom audition.You may also enjoy reading these posts on similar topics:“When You Need More Than Just a Voice-Over Actor”“6 Reasons People Trust a Female Voice Over Male Voices”
“Voice-Over Narration: Do It Yourself or Pay for a Pro?”

6 Reasons People Trust a Female Voice Over Male Voices

September 22, 2016 by Debbie Grattan

The question of hiring a female voice over talent vs. a male voice over talent has pretty much joined the ranks of other age-old debates. The topic has been covered by many, myself included (“Exploring the Decision to Hire Male vs. Female Voice-Over Talent”).

Despite the numerous discussions on the topic over the years, I felt there was still one angle that deserved a more intense look: the proven reasons behind the fact that people tend to trust female voices over male voices.

While my past blog touched briefly on the point, I wanted to more deeply explore why female voices tend to instill trust in the audience that can lead to a trust in a company, service or product and, ultimately, the buy. Here’s what I found.

Pitch and Inflection

To illustrate how quickly people determine if they can trust someone, University of Glasgow psychologist Phil McAleer ran an experiment. He recorded a batch of 64 men and women speaking, then had 320 participants listen to only the word “Hello” from the 64 voices.

The results? Female voices were deemed the most trustworthy for two main reasons.

Pitch: The higher pitch of the female voice instilled more confidence in listeners than the lower-pitched male. One super-low-pitched male voice was overwhelming voted the least trustworthy of all.
Inflection: Female voices that dropped at the end of a word or phrase indicated a degree of certainty, something that made people automatically trust them.

Soothing and Comforting Nature

A recent Harris Interactive poll found 46 percent of participants ranked female voices more soothing than male voices. Soothing voices can make people feel comfortable, and when people feel comfortable, they’re more inclined to trust.

Clearer, More Melodic

The clear, melodic nature of the female voice can also play a role in the trust it instills, as can the fact that female and male voices are processed in different parts of the brain. A University of Sheffield study found female voices are processed in the auditory region of the brain, the same area that processes music. Male voices are processed in the back of the brain in an area known as the “mind’s eye.”

The size and shape of the larynx and vocal cords between women and men make female voices more complex, yet still more easily “decoded” or understood. One interesting tidbit that underscores a female voice’s complexity is the fact that most auditory hallucinations contain a male voice. Study co-author Michael Hunter notes auditory hallucinations are thought to be caused by spontaneous brain activation, and it’s much tougher for the brain to mimic a female voice than a male one.

Are Our Brains Developed to Prefer a Female Voice?

Take any group of listeners, and you’ll find it may not be all that difficult to find a experiment. Finding a male voice everyone likes, however, can be a real challenge. Stanford University Professor Clifford Nass noted this fact, while pointing out the human brain is actually developed to like female voices.

Studies have found this preference can be traced as far back as the womb, where unborn babies reacted to the sound of their mother’s voice. They didn’t react to other women’s voices, nor did they react to their father’s voice.

Perceived as Helping, Not Commanding

If you haven’t already noticed, most digital assistants and navigation systems incorporate a female voice in their technology. Alexa, Siri, Cortana and the voice of Ooma are four immediate examples that come to mind. While there are several reasons female voices outweigh male voices for technological gadgets, one pointed out by Nass was particularly enlightening.

While people enjoy using technology to help them out, they also still want to feel as if they have some control in the process. Female voices tend to do just that, making the user feel as if the technology is helping them solve their problems.

Male voices, on the other hand, are perceived as commanding them what to do. The same mindset can apply to trusting the female voice to help you select the best product or service, rather than the male voice that simply commands you to buy it.

Females Are More Trusted in Person Too

It makes sense people would be more inclined to trust a female voice since they’re more inclined to trust a female in person. A management survey found this applied to CEOs, while business author Vanessa Hall found it to also be true for sales people. People are more inclined to trust, and follow, women CEOs over male CEOs. They are also more inclined to buy from those they trust, and they trust women sales people over their male colleagues.

Here the trust goes beyond just how women sound, but how they tend to act in a business environment. While male CEOs are often out for only the bottom line, women are more inclined to have more balance in their decision-making. They’ll consider the bottom line, sure, but they’ll also consider the impact of decisions on stakeholders, employees and the company as a whole.

Hall also points out that female leaders possess a more intuitive response to trust, along with an openness to change.

A study published in Harvard Business Review found women leaders ranked higher than men in 17 out of 19 categories that ranged from taking initiative to building relationships. The only categories where men ranked higher were technical or professional expertise and developing strategic perspective.

The higher-scoring leadership categories may also play a role in people’s readiness to trust a female voice.

All this doesn’t mean, of course, that a female voice-over talent is ALWAYS the ideal pick for your specific message, company or project. But it does mean you have at least six intriguing facts to consider when choosing between a male and female voice.

Whether it be for a radio or tv commercial, corporate narration or simple phone messaging system, you’ll want to give some consideration to these facts and information before deciding on which gender to choose for your project.

And, if you ultimately decide you want a female voice talent for your project, please give me a call or contact me online so we can talk about the details.

You may also enjoy reading these related posts:

“Exploring the Decision Whether to Hire Male vs. Female Voice-Over Talent”

“Benefits of Hiring a Full-Time Female Voice Over Talent”

“How a Female Voice Over Talent Makes Your Job (as Producer) Much Easier”

Before You Hire Voice-Over Talent, Run Through This 10 Point List

July 10, 2015 by Debbie Grattan

You liked the sound of the voice-over demo, so you hired the talent. But something happened on the way to the final video, and now your client is upset over the less-than-ideal voice-over recording that was supposed to be the perfect fit for their project.

You found out the hard way that a good-sounding demo is not the only factor you should consider when selecting voice-over talent for your project.

In the Voice-Over Market Today, It’s Buyer Beware

Because there is an influx of new voice-over talent flooding the market with minimal experience and skill, it is imperative that you as producer or business person who hires voice-over talent can tell the difference between a seasoned professional VO and someone who is going to ultimately be disappointing to work with.

Ideally, you want a voice talent who has been through the trenches for many years and has built up the skills, experience and professionalism needed to get your voice-over job done right the first time.

It’s important to dig deeper than just their voice-over demos.

In fact, demos can actually be misleading since they’re created under the best of circumstances. There’s no deadline pressure and they can be re-recorded as many times as it takes to get just the right sound – even if it takes days.

Going beyond the demo involves looking at the following 10 areas that can help you separate the legit voice-over talents from those who are probably not ready for prime time. Pay particular attention to the top three on the list:

1. Professional Voice-Over Experience

Experience reigns supreme when it comes to honing talent, skills and professionalism. A more experienced voice-over actor will most likely be able to deliver a high-quality final product, especially when compared to a voice-over talent with limited experience. While some voice-over jobs may require more finesse than others, some solid acting experience is also always a plus. A voice talent’s level of experience should be evident in their completed work showcased on their website and on their voice-over bio or resume.

If a voice-over talent has been in the business for 12+ years, this is a definite sign that they know what they are doing. You cannot fake long-term success. Nor can you fake the professionalism and ability to work efficiently with clients that only comes after years of doing so.

You have to be very good at what you do and be able to provide quality voice-over service to hundreds of clients to be successful over such a long time-frame.

The question to ask: “How much experience does this voice-over talent have and how many years have they been doing professional voice-over work?”

2. Timely, Reliable and Consistent Service

In addition to checking on what their experience level is like, you will also want to determine how good the voice-over talent is at being reliable, consistent and keeping their word when it comes to deadlines.

A prime way to check this out before hiring is to look for client testimonials and reviews on their website. See if the reviewers’ comments mention these kinds of factors as being strengths for the voice talent.

If you end up hiring a voice-over talent for repeat work, you will get a sense of their ability in these areas over time. In my experience, many of my jobs require some kind of turn-around time, commonly 24 to 48 hours. I personally work very hard at making sure I always hit those deadlines because I know how important it is to my clients. And, I know that NOT hitting a deadline is a surefire way to lose a client’s trust and future business!

The question to ask: “Are there any reviews of this talent and do they point to strengths in the areas of reliability and timeliness?”

3. Range and Versatility

Make sure the VO talent’s vocal range suits what you’re looking for and, if you’re not sure what you’re looking for, go for someone with a wide range of vocal ability in their voice-over demos and clips. High-quality VO pros will have sample recordings that showcase their full range and versatility on a wide scope of different jobs.

This is not only demonstrated in various demo offerings (commercial, narration, promo, etc.) but could also be evident on their website or YouTube or Vimeo playlists, where completed client projects are featured for prospective buyers.

The question to ask: “Does this voice-over talent demonstrate a suitable amount of range and versatility in their demos and samples?”

4. Availability

This question is especially important if you are looking to hire voice-over talent for an ongoing work project that will require them to record on many occasions over the course of a month, a year or even longer. Generally, it is much easier for a full-time voice-over talent to be on top of this area, because they are committed full-time to servicing their clients.

Part-time voice-over talents are more likely to NOT be able to consistently hit deadlines (or be available on very short-term notice) because they are doing something else for a big chunk of their day and are not in their home studio on a full-time basis.

Find a full-time voice-over actor and you’ll find someone whose total energy and focus is on meeting the needs of their voice-over clients.

The question to ask: “Is this talent working as a full-time voice-over talent or part-time, and what can I reasonably expect for availability?”

5. Rates and Pricing

Money is not always the bottom line, but rates can work as a clue to decide if the voice-over actor is the right one for you. One red flag would be rates that are unbelievably low, which could be the mark of a novice. Other talent rates may be too high for your budget, although you can always attempt to negotiate.

Competitive rates are usually the mark of a pro, as is someone who sounds knowledgeable when quoting rates.

They will have the experience to understand the market rate on any given project, taking into account the important factors like broadcast vs. non-broadcast, usage period, buyout options and other factors that can come into play. This knowledge indicates they have a good idea of the work involved on a specific project and are striving to set a rate that’s fair for their time and talent and affordable for you.

But, don’t expect voice over talent to publish their rates on their website unless they only do union work. Many non-union jobs have multiple factors involved and need to be priced on an individual basis. It is impossible to realistically quote a job without having the key details first, and therefore, usually not practical to publish voice-over rates on voice talent websites.

Always keep in mind that in voice-over, like most other businesses, you usually get what you pay for. Beware of quotes that don’t appear fair or can’t be backed up by sound reasoning. Also beware of prices that sound too good to be true.

The question to ask: “When you ask for a quote, does the voice talent provide pricing that seems reasonable for the job, and knowledge on how they arrived at their quote (i.e. usage, broadcast market, word count, etc.?”

VERSATILE

EXPERIENCED

PROFESSIONAL

The Biggest Voice Over Customer Service Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Putting New Customers above Existing Customers

Delay in Communication

Over-Promising and Under-Delivering

Not Listening or Understanding What the Client Wants

Changes in VO Styles Over the Years: From Big Booming Voice Overs to a More Natural, Conversational Style

Is the Big Booming Voice-Over Announcer Style Dead?

Louder, Hard-Sell Voice-Overs Are Still Popular for Selling Cars, Mattresses and in Sports

On Being a Voice at the Happiest Place on Earth

Both VO Styles Have Their Challenges

6 Reasons People Trust a Female Voice Over Male Voices

Pitch and Inflection

Soothing and Comforting Nature

Clearer, More Melodic

Are Our Brains Developed to Prefer a Female Voice?

Perceived as Helping, Not Commanding

Females Are More Trusted in Person Too

Before You Hire Voice-Over Talent, Run Through This 10 Point List

In the Voice-Over Market Today, It’s Buyer Beware

1. Professional Voice-Over Experience

2. Timely, Reliable and Consistent Service

3. Range and Versatility

4. Availability

5. Rates and Pricing

Keep reading for #6 through #10 of this ten point assessment…

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