Audio plays an integral part in our lives. It can be a vessel for communication and a source of entertainment, among other things. In a call center ACD, audio is a vital portion of a center’s configuration.
Effective use of audio can make the everyday operation of your center more streamlined and pleasant for all parties involved. Let’s outline some ways that audio can be leveraged, specifically in Q-Suite:
- Music on Hold (MoH) – Any Asterisk based contact center will mostly likely need to rely on music on hold at some level. There is a default set of music on hold files, but perhaps those files do not suit the nature of the center and may need to be changed. By uploading customized audio files and flagging these files as MoH files, administrators can create dynamic MoH classes, which can then be assigned to inbound queues that are reached via an IVR.
- Queue Periodic Messages – While callers are waiting in a queue, you may want to notify them that there is a new promotion on your website or that they can direct themselves to the site’s FAQ section. These particular audio files can be recorded and then uploaded in the same fashion as the MoH files. The messages can then be configured, for the relevant inbound queues, to play after a defined set of time that the caller is waiting in the queue.
- Dialplan Menu – Dialplan menus are the components that instruct the callers to press certain numbers to be routed to desired destinations. Having a clear and concise set of options here can be very important. A caller does not want to be confused by your options, so ensure that the menu audio is well recorded. The menu audio is uploaded in the same manner.
- Agent Notifications on Incoming Calls – It is a very common scenario that many or all of the agents working in the contact center software are skilled for multiple inbound queues. For these instances, it can be handy to play a quick audio prompt to the agent to let them know which queue the incoming call belongs to. This is a clever way of giving the agent a bit of a heads up regarding the new call.
Whether it is from a car stereo, record player, or cell phone, audio files are used everyday by millions of people. They represent a tried and true medium to get messages across, and the audio files in your call center should be no exception. Use them effectively.