What Can Transcription do for Your Business?
March 22, 2021 | 6 minutes read
What does it mean to transcribe data?
For many, the concept of transcription can seem like an antiquated idea from the past or elicit images of a court recorder transcribing the intricacies of a nationally televised trial. However, the transcription of data or other verbal information simply means that you have more than one way to document and in turn share information. While transcription can still be done manually, there are now many software options available that will perform automated transcription in minutes.
Having a written description to accompany a video allows better understanding and sharing across a variety of platforms. A given video may be too long for some social media platforms, but sharing the data included means reaching more potential customers. One area in which transcription can be of immense benefit is to give a clear, concise answer to correspond with data that may be otherwise hard to understand or describe. When a company presents data, it can be either quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative data is information that can be measured or described through precise measurements or numerical values. Contrarily, qualitative data is used as means of approximation and characterization.
Sharing data can be beneficial when using case studies to demonstrate your business’s impact in the field. Case studies are a great way to show how other companies have used your product or business applications and how they benefited from your expertise. This data can be in the form of interviews and surveys and can include qualitative data. Moreover, this data can help improve sales, enhance customer relations, and ultimately generate growth and revenue. The company presented may be able to demonstrate to what percent your services and improved their sales or growth. Actual data can then be reiterated, promoted, and verified.
Seven reasons transcription helps inform potential customers
When you take the time to transcribe data into text, it can then be transformed into an accessible format to put into spreadsheets or other documents. The data can then be entered into a data analysis application. When obtainable in text format, this data can also be of assistance to anyone that is conducting research, as information can be read and conceptualized more quickly. A prospective client can then annotate the transcriptions and organize the data into an easily adjustable and comparable format.
Furthermore, preparing data in textual formats makes it easier for others to write reports and study differences between companies. More importantly, it can aid potential clients in making the critical decision to enlist in a particular company’s resources or services. With all this being said, some major ways that transcription can be a vital asset to your data content include the following:
- Allows information to be written into a text-based format, and helps analyze results for top contenders for business.
- Data that is transcribed makes the information easier to share and analyze.
- Data in the form of text allows the individual to immerse themselves in the information, remember more clearly, and form decision-making steps.
- Prospective clients can make objective notes for further questions.
- Textualized data helps make it easier to search and find.
- Information put into text helps to preserve accuracy and integrity.
- Allows researchers and prospective clients to focus on their observations and thoughts without the additional burden of note-taking. Are Transcriptions Accurate?
Are automatic transcriptions accurate?
According to the New York Times article ‘From Your Mouth to Your Screen, Transcribing Takes the Next Step’ by John Markoff in late 2019: “Speech scientists emphasize that while the automated transcription systems are significantly improved, they are still far from perfect. While 95 percent accuracy may be obtained by automated transcription, it is possible only under the best circumstances. An accent, a poorly positioned microphone, or background noise can cause accuracy to fall.”
Conversely, another expert, Kaleev Leeturu, compared the accuracy of off-the-shelf automated transcription applications on various news networks and estimated the current accuracy of software solutions in 2019. Suppose human transcriptionists have an error rate of approximately 4%, and today’s speech recognition systems have advanced to the point that the error rate is at 5%. In that case, one could say that automated transcription software has finally reached an accuracy level that makes its use feasible and affordable.
Leetaru’s Forbes article, “Comparing Google’s AI Speech Recognition To Human Captioning For Television News,” goes on to predict that in the next few years that the accuracy rate for automated transcription will improve to the point of being a rival to natural human speech. Now in 2021, we are nearing that threshold; Leetaru explains that through testing Google’s off-the-shelf Cloud Speech-to-text API on a variety of news programs, the errors could be easily fixed. Error rates nearly disappear with the addition of a created custom dictionary; names and terms that are industry-specific can be corrected to near-perfect accuracy.
How long does it take to transcribe a 1-hour video?
A skilled professional human transcriptionist can transcribe a 1-hour video or audio recording in about five hours. The costs involved in using human transcriptionists far exceed the value provided. You can automatically transcribe an hour-long video or audio file using software like CaseGuard Studio in about 5 minutes. All it takes is to add the video or audio file to the software, then click “transcribe,” and the system will do the rest of the work. The software uses the most advanced technologies to convert speech into text and give you the best results. Transcribing a 1-hour recording using good software should not take more than 5 minutes. Using software like CaseGuard Studio to convert speech into text will take you 30 seconds to configure and about 4 minutes to load your transcribed text file.
Benefits of transcription in business
Many different types of businesses can benefit from automated transcription. Examples of these industries include but are not limited to law firms, police departments, medical offices, schools, small businesses, and large enterprises. Through the means of transcription, these entities can reduce their workload and increase both effectiveness and efficiency. For instance, doctors can automate patient files to text records, lawyers can transcribe their case notes, and schools can transcribe the virtual parent-teacher conferences that we see taking place across the country today.
With automated transcription advancing to the point of great accuracy, the available options are endless. When business meetings or calls are transcribed, searchable data allows for quick reviews or locating data needed in a hurry. Answering questions quickly and finding specific details on the fly will enable businesses to identify and deliver results instantly. Confidence from clients can grow exponentially when your service includes quick responses.
The primary goal is to ensure the confidence and trust of clients and customers with the aim of providing the highest quality of services possible. When a business can answer questions quickly and accurately, they build continuity with its consumer base that can turn into tangible monetary gains over time. Additionally, customers and clients who have great reliance and trust in a company’s capabilities can provide word-of-mouth advertising to other potential customers. Their confidence becomes exponential with their recommendation, and an added trust is also passed through their testimonial. Trust drives business.