VoIP – Yes we can!

Today I was asked how the newer VoIP telephone systems made a difference in the way we help businesses and practices with messages On Hold.  It’s a good question and because we’re receiving more and more calls about service for VoIP, we dedicate significant on-going training and study to keeping up with this and other emerging telephone system technologies.

The short answer is that VoIP technology doesn’t hinder us at all.  Increasingly, VoIP telephone systems have the traditional built-in “music-in” jack where an external digital On Hold player can be plugged in.  In other cases, the customer has access to a web-based GUI (Graphical User Interface) that allows them to upload On Hold files.  Both technologies allow the end user to make changes to their On Hold message at their convenience.

Then, there are many VoIP customers that simply want us to e-mail their On Hold production to them as a .wav sound file.  This type of system can introduce the need to have I.T. staff involved in loading the sound file to the server as well as variables as to the way the server “manages the sound file”. 

Here’s what we mean by “manages the sound file”…

It's preferable for the server to play the audio file in a continuous loop so that callers hear a different message every time they're placed On Hold, but not all systems allow this, instead causing the audio file to play from the beginning every time.  Even then, there are often work-arounds we can suggest. Playing the On Hold message from the beginning for every On Hold call means the caller hears that 1st message every time they go On Hold.  The other messages, 2 through 10, may never be heard depending on the hold time. A short chat with the I.T. staff usually gives us the information we need to design a production that enhances the callers experience with varied messages.

What makes us the right choice for VoIP systems?  As a marketing company (that just happens to have two digital audio workstations and music libraries in-house) our main focus is creating productions that deliver an enhanced customer or patient On Hold experience.  The technology is simply how it happens.