We live in a world where texting, social media, email and chat have become key mediums for communication – not only in our personal interactions, but with business colleagues, partners, and customers as well.
But, despite the emergence of these non-verbal, digital communication channels, voice remains critical. Often, it’s the most convenient channel – such as when driving, when texting isn’t a viable option. It’s a time many people reserve for phone calls to make productive use of their time.
Voice is also much better equipped for many interactions, such as longer discussions, sensitive issues, conference calls, and complex problems or conversations, among others. Let’s face it, you don’t have conference texts, do you? When push comes to shove, people still use voice for their important customer service issues. It’s a more personal channel and allows for better relationships and interactions. Can you imagine conducting a webinar over chat?
The point it, there are many reasons why voice isn’t going away, despite what some staunch advocates of other digital channels would have us believe.
Still, it’s not perfect. Have you ever been on a call, started talking, and eventually figured out that one side of the call can’t hear the other? Neither knows what the problem is, and neither can be sure where the problem lies, so they each keep asking, “Can you hear me?” and “Are you there?”
“One-way voice is one of the nastiest problems of VoIP service,” said Dr. Michael Wallbaum of Voipfutures. “It doesn’t matter whether you can’t be heard or you can’t hear – either way, it’s a nuisance for users.”
In reality, it’s more than a nuisance – it’s a problem that could result in major mistakes or lost business, and it makes people start avoiding voice and, instead, using less effective and time-consuming channels for their communication.
As a provider, you want to avoid this problem at all costs. It creates a negative customer experience, it can result in lost revenue, and knowing how quick people are to share their negative experiences, word can spread quickly that your service is unreliable.
Dr. Wallbaum joined me recently for a Webinar discussing one-way voice and answering the questions any VoIP provider needs to answer.
- What causes one-way audio?
- How can you identify a one-way voice problem
- How can you eliminate the problem?
- How can you ensure your voice service delivers consistently high-quality, two-way audio?
In a highly competitive market and with valuable monthly revenue dependent upon consistent audio quality, providers can’t afford not to understand this issue. Customers have too many options and are much more willing than ever to switch providers to ensure service quality.
Edited by
Erik Linask
