Friday Feature: Time Based Routing
This post is part of our Friday Feature series where we look at a part of the NewVoiceMedia platform that you might not be familiar with but we think you might find useful!
Time Based Routing is an applet that can be added to any of your inbound numbers, and simply enables routing to multiple branches of your call plan dependent on the time of day.
Scott Hawkins from our Professional Services team sees many customers using Time Based Routing as a way of determining what should happen outside of their core office hours, "If all your agents have headed home, then Time Based Routing can give you the option of at least taking a voicemail, or playing a message that confirms when your opening hours are."
Scott recommends that customers take the first option of accepting a voicemail message that can be called back when agents are back in the office in the morning. "When you're building a call plan you have to think from the perspective of your customer that has taken the time and effort to pick up the phone - ringing out, or just saying call back tomorrow might not be the right message for your brand."
Another quick win that Scott recommends is a selection of welcome messages that follow time based routing:
- Good morning - Welcome to ACME Ltd
- Good afternoon - Welcome to ACME Ltd
- Good evening - Welcome to ACME Ltd
A simple thing to implement, that personalises the individual call and helps confirm that you really are empathising with your callers and not just trying to get them answered for the least possible cost.
Scott's final suggestion is to look out into the future for special days that might require different Time Based Routing - bank holidays, the Diamond Jubilee, the Olympics, or Christmas. "Think about your callers, and the experience you want them to have over those days. It's OK to change your plan, or your opening hours, but make sure your callers have custom messages that give them the right information about when they can contact you."
Do you use Time Based Routing in your call plan? How have you changed routing of your callers based on when they call you?
We'd love to hear your thoughts in the section below. If you have found this post useful then please subscribe to the blog and share with your network!
