Music on hold or MOH is an effective business advertising method. MOH involves the use of a music on hold player that plays music for callers who are on hold waiting to be served. This is important because it reduces call abandonment rates, you could incorporate a voice-over message promoting your products/services, and you could promote your company or your website, among other benefits. It is important that you know what the music on hold player is and what it is capable of doing if you are considering getting one.
Telephone on hold music players are integrated into telephone systems via audio jacks on the telephone equipment. The corresponding ports are labeled ‘MOH’ and you should therefore, not go for players that do not have this label. Most music on hold players come with built-in message on hold capabilities, but there are units that are designed for small businesses that do not have an extensive phone system. Today’s music for hold players can handle different sources. These music sources include off-the-shelf commercial CDs, stock MOH CDs (with or without periodic voice-overs such as ‘someone will be with you shortly’ or ‘your call is important to us’), custom-designed MOH (with or without voice-overs), and online on hold.
The heart of most of today’s music for hold players is the digital flash memory. This memory holds the program and loops it repeatedly whenever the call is placed in a queue, placed on hold, sent to voicemail, or transferred to an extension. It is possible to ‘flash’ or record the digital flash memory of the music on hold player with a new program, but the methodology of this depends on design of the player. The most common methods are through theUSB port, through a built-in CD loading mechanism, or through an external source.
Telephone on hold music players are categorized into units compatible with PBX/KSU (or its equivalent) business phone systems only and those that are compatible with ordinary analogue (or non-KSU) telephone systems such as those in homes. PBX-only players, KSU players, and their equivalent hybrid systems have dedicated MOH input while analogue or non-KSU players do not. There are also universal telephone on hold music players that combine the best features from PBX-only players and non-KSU players.
A dedicated music on hold player is characterized by the ability to withstand the rigors of 24/7, all year round use since there is no tape to break or lasers to burn out, ease of use, proper impedance for telephone use, and smart power handling features.
