Business phone systems, avoid busy tones

Busy tones can often be the quickest reason for callers to hang up on your number. Read on and learn how your Cloud phone system can help your callers avoid the dreaded busy tone when calling your business, and potentially save you an all important lead.

What is a busy tone?

A busy tone, also known as a busy signal or engaged tone is the audio tone indicating that the dialled number is occupied or in use. Reasons for receiving a busy tone when calling someone include:

• The dialled number being busy talking with another caller

• The dialled number is calling out to another number

• Another party calling the phone number at the same time

Traditional phone systems were reliant on a physical copper wire phone line which could only handle a single call at a time, so if this was busy for any reason, a busy tone was received by the caller. With the onset of hosted VoIP and Cloud phone systems, physical lines are becoming a thing of the past. Through a VoIP phone system, the voice can be transmitted as data through an Internet connection. With the lack of restrictions associated with a physical line, VoIP provides the capacity for multiple simultaneous calls. It also offers a wealth of call features while eradicating the need for busy tones.

Bye bye busy tone, hello business call features

The absence of busy tones offers the opportunity to maximise your caller’s experience and reduce call abandon rates too.

Distribute calls to multiple agents

With no physical lines to hold you back, you can distribute calls to several attendants and phones at the same time. So if one individual is busy, other phones within the ring group will ring. Individuals within the ring group don’t even need to be in the same building or location, so calls can even be distributed worldwide, as if everyone is in the same office.

Lower call abandonment rates with Call Queuing

The occasion may arise where all your agents are busy on the phone and leaving callers ringing for an increased length of time may prove to be inefficient. With call queuing features it is possible to provide callers with information such as average wait times, their position in the queue and how many people are ahead of your caller in the queue. Call queuing can help manage your callers expectations and keep them on the line until an agent is available.

Introduce IVR call menus

Instead of a busy tone, give callers an IVR call menu. This can empower your callers to choose the department they need in as quick and efficient a way as possible. Instead of all calls going to through to a busy receptionist, an IVR can easily distribute calls using caller keypad options. So there’s no bottle neck for incoming calls and your callers receive an enhanced caller experience.

Welcome messages and hold music

Greet your callers with an automated welcome message or company introduction. This can help reinforce your brand identity and make a positive first impression, while presenting your company in a professional light. If you need to place your callers on hold or place them in a call queue, then custom on-hold audio playlists can keep callers suitably entertained until the respective attendant is free.

Let your calls leave a voicemail

For smaller businesses, those who are often on the go, or in urgent cases, you may want to allow callers to leave a message rather than wait for an indefinite time. A Cloud phone system will let you customise your voicemail greetings and send a notification every time a voicemail message is received. All with the added bonus that your caller isn’t left hanging on the line for longer than needed.

Sign up for smarter telecoms

Don’t be unavailable to your callers. Say goodbye to that unwelcome busy tone, and get dialled in to a better business phone system.

Upgrade your phone system, compare plans, or try us out free for 14 days today.