Looking for ways to use transcription for your business? Businesses need every edge to compete in today’s hyper-competitive, convenience-centric, and always-online business landscape. That makes it even more surprising that not all businesses use transcription. With business transcription, you get enhanced accessibility and improved record-keeping. The same benefits apply to legal transcription services, which help law firms, attorneys, and legal professionals maintain accurate records, streamline case preparation, and ensure compliance with documentation standards.
However, like everything else, not all transcription companies are created equal, and business owners need to consider essential matters before making informed decisions.
In this article, you’ll learn how:
- Business transcription goes beyond just typing words—it involves a detailed process of recording, editing, verifying, and formatting to ensure accurate, context-aware results.
- Professional transcription supports business growth by improving SEO, training, legal compliance, market research, and customer service documentation.
- AI and offshore transcription fall short in context, accuracy, and security, making U.S.-based human transcription services the preferred choice for sensitive and business-critical tasks.
The Business Transcription Process
Although it may sound simple, business transcription involves more than just listening and typing simultaneously. So, before we get into the nitty-gritty of things, let’s dive into the nuances of the business transcription process.
| Step | Description | Tools/Requirements |
| 1. Recording | Capture audio or video content during business activities such as meetings, interviews, conferences, etc. | Recording devices (smartphones, digital recorders), video conferencing tools (Zoom, Teams) |
| 2. Quality Check | Ensure the recording is clear and audible. Poor audio quality can significantly impact the accuracy of the transcription. | Audio editing software to enhance clarity, if necessary |
| 3. Transcription | Convert the spoken words from the recording into written text. This can be done manually or with automated speech recognition (ASR) technology. | Human transcribers, artificial intelligence, or automated transcription |
| 4. Editing and Formatting | Review the initial transcription for errors and inconsistencies and ensure it meets formatting requirements. This may involve correcting grammar and punctuation and ensuring terminologies are accurately transcribed. | Editing software, transcription guidelines, or templates |
| 5. Verification | Double-check the transcription against the original recording for accuracy and completeness. This step may involve a different team member to ensure objectivity. | Playback software, detailed review checklist |
| 6. Finalization | Incorporate any corrections or modifications from the verification step and prepare the final version of the transcript. | Text editing software (e.g., Microsoft Word, Google Docs) |
| 7. Delivery | Provide the completed transcription to the client or stakeholders in their preferred format (e.g., PDF, Word document, online platform). | Email, cloud storage (e.g., Dropbox, Google Drive), secure file transfer protocol (FTP) |
| 8. Feedback | Gather feedback from the users of the transcription to improve future transcription processes. | Surveys, direct feedback, performance metrics |
While these steps outline the process for business transcription, the same level of precision and attention to detail applies to court transcription services as well. In legal settings, accuracy is paramount—every statement, pause, and exchange must be faithfully documented to preserve the integrity of court records.
By following a similar structured process of recording, verification, and finalization, court transcribers ensure that legal professionals have reliable, verbatim transcripts essential for case preparation, appeals, and legal documentation.
How Business Transcription Can Help You Grow Your Business
Here are some examples of use cases for business transcription:
Meetings, Earnings Calls, and Conference Calls
- Businesses often record meetings and calls to document discussions and decisions.
- Transcripts make it easier for executives, investors, and analysts to find key data without replaying long recordings.
- Useful for quick access to financial information, strategic discussions, and compliance documentation.
Legal Documentation
- Businesses may face legal proceedings like depositions, copyright disputes, or intellectual property claims- situations where deposition transcription services play a crucial role in ensuring accurate and well-documented records.
- Transcripts provide clear, organized records that are easier to reference than audio files.
- Certified transcripts (such as those provided by Ditto) are required for court use and ensure legal accuracy.
Market Research
- Transcription turns customer interviews, focus groups, and qualitative research data into searchable, structured text.
- Improves workflow, speeds up analysis, and enhances transparency in research reporting.
Training and Educational Materials
- Recorded workshops, seminars, and training sessions can be transcribed for easy distribution and future reference.
- Ensures all employees and stakeholders stay updated and aligned with the latest information.
Content Creation (Podcasts, Interviews, and More)
- Transcripts improve accessibility for audiences with hearing impairments or those who prefer reading.
- Can be repurposed into blogs, articles, or social posts, maximizing content reach and value.
- Examples include GE’s The Message and McDonald’s The Sauce—both using creative content marketing.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Search engines rely on text to index and rank content.
- Adding transcripts to video or audio boosts visibility through keyword-rich, crawlable content.
- Supports better search performance and content discoverability.
Customer Service Records
- Transcribed customer calls improve transparency and accountability.
- Easier to store, share, and review compared to audio files.
- Enhances customer satisfaction by providing quick access to records upon request.
Should You Use Automated Transcription Solutions?
We all know that transcribing content can be a time-consuming task. Even with professional services, the typical transcription process is usually three to four times the length of the recording. In other words, transcribing one hour of audio may take three to four hours.
This is especially true for trial transcription services, where proceedings can be lengthy and filled with legal jargon, overlapping dialogue, and multiple speakers. All of which are factors that increase the time required to produce an accurate and reliable transcript.
Since time is money, businesses may be tempted to use automated conference call transcription tools. These AI-powered transcription software can provide transcripts in real-time, and they often come cheaply.
However, AI transcription is unsuitable for any business process that requires accurate transcription. That’s because automated transcription, speech-to-text programs, and speech recognition technology can only reach 61.92% accuracy in the best recording circumstances. It’s not exactly ideal if you’re looking to ensure quality.
Besides, while AI might save valuable time initially, fixing and editing the resulting transcripts is undoubtedly going to eat up a lot of your man-hours.
Why Outsourced U.S.-based Human Transcriptionists Are The Way To Go
The best way to obtain your transcripts is to enlist the help of a reputable, human-powered, U.S.-based business transcription service provider like Ditto.
Now, some of you might think that’s a big claim since AI is getting better all the time, and offshore providers are often dirt-cheap. However, it’s essential to look at the issue from every side—and let me tell you, every side tells the same story. Let’s talk about it here.
Contextual Understanding
Communication is a messy, messy subject. Despite the relatively advanced state of linguistics these days, it is possible—nay, extremely probable—for humans to misunderstand each other. Please refer to your nearest on-again, off-again relationship for a specific example.
The point I’m driving at is that native speakers usually develop an almost instinctive grasp of language, yet still have difficulty communicating efficiently. What more if you throw a non-native speaker or a large language model into the mix?
Non-native transcriptionists may miss critical contextual details, such as implied sarcasm or upfront irony. This can lead to misunderstandings of the video or audio content being transcribed, resulting in potential errors.
A landmark case in Alabama highlighted how a single transcription mistake can have devastating consequences. A hospital’s outsourced transcript incorrectly listed an insulin dosage, leading to a patient’s death and a $140 million jury award. Cases like this underscore the importance of accuracy, especially in medico-legal transcription services, where errors in medical or legal documentation can carry severe legal and ethical repercussions.
Similarly, AI works by transcribing what it thinks it hears. It has no concept of context and will just as easily write “there” instead of “their.” Despite all the hype, AI tools cannot transcribe as accurately as humans.
Working with U.S.-based human transcriptionists allows you to sidestep both issues, ensuring accuracy and better service quality.
Ability To Understand Ambiguous Speech And Unfamiliar Accent
Non-standard accents are to be expected when transcribing video and audio content. Non-native speakers and natural language processing software will have difficulty handling such cases if they’re unfamiliar or, in AI’s case, not trained with the accent.
Experienced transcriptionists will encounter a wide range of accents throughout their careers, enabling them to understand and transcribe audio and video content accurately.
Furthermore, transcribers can also utilize context to generate transcripts more efficiently.
A prime example of this is a person’s innate ability to anticipate the following words a speaker will say, based on the subject matter and what is currently being discussed. With professional U.S.-based transcriptionists like the ones who work with us here at Ditto Transcripts, this skill is dialed up to ten, making them faster and more efficient.
Specialized Knowledge
Business events and encounters can cover a wide range of topics. A production company can hold conferences about its latest line of medical equipment, which would inevitably lead to conversations using specialized medical terminology. Businesses commonly hold conference calls to discuss their current and future earnings, including key terms such as P/E ratio, EPS, dividend yields, and more.
To the uninitiated, some of these medical and financial terms may sound like Greek—not an ideal situation for transcriptionists to find themselves in.
Utilizing transcription services with proven experience across various industries can ensure that accuracy is maintained, even when dealing with diverse topics in your recordings.
Privacy, Security, And Discretion
In the U.S., we have government agencies and regulations, such as HIPAA and CJIS, in place to ensure that confidential data remains confidential.
That might not be the case in other countries, as the issue of data security is different worldwide.
And don’t get me started on AI. These platforms are practically gold mines for information hackers. They’re susceptible to social engineering attacks, data poisoning, model inversions, and lateral bypasses through support systems.
Your best bet is to enlist the help of a secure transcription provider. Ditto, for example, is FINRA, HIPAA-, and CJIS-compliant, meaning we provide elevated security measures light years beyond your typical birth year password and dog’s name combo. The best part? These benefits will not break your bank. Our legal transcription prices, for example, are very competitive.
Ditto Is The Premier Choice For Business Transcription Services
The truth is, anyone with a computer and headphones can offer business transcription. However, not everyone can provide accurate and high-quality transcription as we do. With Ditto, you know you’re working with professional transcriptionists who understand the English language better than most. All our services come with our 99% accuracy guarantee, high-quality transcription, secure channels, and the best customer service in the industry. Don’t believe us? Here’s a testimonial from one of our previous clients:
Contact us today and see the difference.
Ditto Transcripts is a Denver, Colorado-based FINRA, HIPAA, and CJIS-compliant transcription services company that provides fast, accurate, and affordable transcripts for individuals and companies of all sizes. Call (720) 287-3710 today for a free quote.