Category Archives: Easy On Hold

Easy On Hold Adds New Music For Hold Messages Backgrounds

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Easy On Hold audio engineer Ian Szarafinski

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Easy On Hold engineer Ian Szarafinski announces that he has made available some great new music at easyonhold.com. Callers placed on hold always appreciate something that sounds “fresh” and current. Here are some samples of our newest tracks. For more music choices, visit: http://easyonhold.com/music-on-hold/music/

New Energetic Tracks From Alt Radio

If you like Mumford and Sons, The Lumineers, Imagine Dragons and Of Monsters And Men, order up some of the new on hold tracks in the Energetic Category.

ENERGETIC: Old Timey Love

ENERGETIC: Mountain Light

ENERGETIC: At The Lakehouse

Lumineers

WORLD: Wandering Heart

The rhythm of a “world beat” mixed with human “ahs”, accordion, acoustic instruments.

LIGHT POP: Waltz Of The Free

Acoustic stringed instruments, hand-claps, violin and a steady 3/4 rhythm fits in with today’s acoustic rock/pop groups.

LIGHT POP: The Long Dream

Why so serious? Quirky and light, you’ll hear toy piano, upright studio piano and a bouncy feel. It’s interesting, light and fun.

LIGHT POP: Rivers Edge

Mandolin, bells, banjo, piano with a medium tempo. Contemporary yet home-spun.

FRIENDLY: When You Go Tomorrow

FRIENDLY: Desert Moonrise

A hopeful, easy feel. Gentle and authentic.

EASY LISTENING: A Child’s Dream

A carefully arranged piano piece that conveys innocence.

 

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Music On Hold For Marketers Who Want Better Results

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Music On Hold Provider Offers Internet-Load “Smart Player” For Savvy Marketers Who Want Better Results

June 6, 2012—The music on hold industry and Easy On Hold is making leaps and bounds with the latest in on hold technology– “smart players” that automatically provide content downloads right into the phone system, with the ability to provide automatic stop and start dates, even day parting for targeting content on specific days and/or times. ‘It’s a new day for music on hold,” says Julie Cook, president of Easy On Hold, a U.S.-based music on hold provider.

“This technology changes everything about our industry’s ability to compete as a relevant marketing tool,” says Cook. “Until now, it’s been difficult to market to callers on hold with any date specificity. Advertisers try to keep up with promotions or holiday or seasonal pushes, and it’s a lot of work to remember to pull it after the fact, so you end up with old content. It’s embarrassing and hurts your brand image. Advertisers have given up, choosing generic content instead,” she continues. “We knew we could do better.”

“With a smart player, you can start a promotion on July 1 and know it will end correctly on July 15, for example, because of the automatic start and stop programming. Or, callers can hear about a promotion on Monday that you don’t want them to hear on Wednesday, or a morning announcement that won’t be heard in the afternoon. It’s that specific. It opens up new opportunities for advertisers that they didn’t have before,” Cook says.

The players are loaded onto the client’s network and also into the phone system, but pose no IT risk because they’re not streaming the audio. “They pull in the audio once or twice a day, and then the door closes again,” Cook explains. “There is no way this system can ‘bring down’ your network. The players are smart, but they’re not that smart.”

One new development is in the area of VOIP technology, or phones that use the internet to deliver service. Currently, there’s no way to introduce an external player into most VOIP phones. “The better VOIP developers understand that music and messaging on hold is a vital element to their client’s marketing program, and they’re working with us to develop the ability to introduce an external player, like a smart player, into the mix. Otherwise, clients have to upload files into their phone systems. They don’t get the scheduling capabilities offered by the smart players, and even worse, the files play from the beginning each time,” Cook says.

Cook explains that in addition to internet-load technology, Easy On Hold provides traditional USB-based players as well as supporting clients with legacy CD and cassette players.

For more information, contact Julie Cook at Easy On Hold, 888-798-4653 x 22 or Julie@easyonhold.com.

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Easy On Hold Named Frontrunner Networks Partner

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Easy On Hold is now a featured partner with Frontrunner Network Systems, a single-source provider of business communication equipment and multimedia integration services for voice, data, video and advanced applications, serving enterprise and SME customers across the Northeast and Midwest.

Easy On Hold provides messaging on hold content for businesses of every size, working directly with Frontrunner Networks for flawless implementation and operation of on hold message equipment. Business already taking advantage of Frontrunner’s end-to-end network-support solutions will now have seamless on hold content setup and operation via Easy On Hold.

Among the offerings will be a multi-site network of on hold messaging devices that update over a web connection to the Easy On Hold studio, allowing businesses to provide constantly updated and relevant information to callers on hold.

Other Frontrunner partners are: Avaya, a global leader in business communications systems providing unified communications, contact centers, data solutions and related services, Benbria, a leading provider of intelligent notification solutions, Enterasys, a Siemens Enterprise Communications Company and premier global provider of wired and wireless network infrastructure and security solutions, Meru Networks, creators of an innovative self-monitoring wireless network that allows an all-wireless enterprise,  Mitel, a global provider of business communications and collaboration software and services for voice, video operating in over 90 countries, Polycom, an industry leader in unified collaboration solutions, including video and telepresence, Siemens, the global leader in unified communications solutions in more than 100 countries, and Telecom Brokerage, Inc. (TBI),  a consultancy that works on behalf of leading carriers in Voice, Data and Internet to negotiate the most competitive rates available on the market today.

About Frontrunner Network Systems

Frontrunner Network Systems is headquartered in Rochester, with offices in Buffalo, Syracuse, Latham, Plattsburgh and Highland, New York; and Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in 1978 as ROTELCOM, a subsidiary of Rochester Telephone Co. As of February 19, 2008, Frontrunner Network Systems Corporation now operates as a subsidiary of Williams Telecommunications Corp.

Frontrunner has enjoyed over 30 years as a Nortel distributor and maintenance provider and we continue that relationship with Avaya. We work with several other telecommunications manufacturers, including Mitel, Siemens and AllWorx; and although telecommunication remains a large percentage of our core business, we have expanded our product and services offerings in recent years.

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About Music On Hold by Easy On Hold

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Music On Hold by Easy On Hold offers custom messages, hold systems, voice mail and in store music – quickly and easily. Created by a successful advertising and marketing team with extensive experience in branding, public relations and audio production, Easy On Hold puts hold time to use as a strategic opportunity to achieve three marketing goals: educating the customer, brand positioning, and selling products and services. Savvy companies today view on-hold messaging as a legitimate extension of their marketing program and turn to Easy On Hold for scripts that are written, announced and produced with precision and purpose. Easy On Hold is a certified woman-owned business with over 15 years of growth and thousands of customers worldwide, including several of the Fortune 100.

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Music On Hold: Can I Get A Little Respect In 2012?

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“What type of business do you have?” asked my new acquaintance. “We make the messages–you know, the audio people hear while they are on hold,” I proudly smiled back. “You mean the, ‘please hold your call is important’ on hold messages?” I hesitated, then shot back, “Well, ours are the good ones. On hold music and messages have changed since the elevator music days.” But inevitably, the conversation dies at the thought of the dreaded on hold greeting that falsely purports that every caller is somehow a priority. What I do for a living is a real killer at holiday parties.

By the way, happy holidays and Merry Christmas. We’re wrapping up 2011 with high hopes that 2012 will be the year the image of the old phony on-hold message is finally replaced with the true vision of marketing messages on hold that inspire, inform and motivate callers. That’s what we offer here at Easy On Hold!

We’ve dedicated a good deal of time developing scripting protocols aimed at improving hold content, including:

  • Focusing on the callers’ needs
  • Communicating to the callers’ point of view
  • Using comfortable language and avoiding “corp-speak”
  • Digging to find out what callers are looking for, and satisfying their curiosity about the company they’ve called

Music On Hold Message content can be compelling!

In 2012, Easy On Hold will be continuing to upgrade our facility. In the last year we put our new recording studio in operation, utilizing new technology and isolated voiceover recording room. We’ll be revamping the website and providing more information for online access than ever before. We’ve been setting up a very sophisticated new customer relationship management system that will improve communications with clients and generate meticulous tasks for Easy On Hold staff to complete, in an effort to raise the bar on customer service. We’ve strengthened our relationships with equipment manufacturers, streamlined delivery processes, built a bigger, more specialized staff of music on hold experts and signed a new agreement with BMG music, covering performance rights on a bigger, better, newer library of music.

It all adds up, we expect, to a year of very high-quality productions and strong customer relationships–so those on hold messages will inspire, inform and motivate callers. Maybe then, we’ll be able to change the public perception of messages on hold. Maybe then we’ll get a little respect. High hopes for 2012.

Happy new year.

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Reflection: The Pause That Provides Perspective

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If you have just a minute, take in John C. Maxwell’s short discussion of reflection. Maxwell says he spends 10 to 12 minutes each day reflecting and evaluating. I’m afraid I can’t keep up with that schedule, but once in awhile I stop myself–create a pause–and take a quick inventory of what is settled and unsettled inside of my spirit.

Here’s your reminder. How are you doing today?

 

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