Meetings feel drawn-out. Projects seem to drag.\u00a0 Maybe you\u2019ve noticed a few people around the office looking\u2026a little bored?\u00a0\u00a0Bored to death?<\/strong><\/p>\n Maybe you\u2019ve even seen the occasional conference call zombie?\u00a0 You know them: on a call, jaw hanging from their head, nothing to contribute, unable to engage.<\/p>\n Revive your conference calls!<\/strong>\u00a0Conference calls can be engaging and highly productive.\u00a0 There are many tools you have to promote engagement, like\u00a0visual interfaces<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n But there are other\u00a0things to consider. A good option not often considered: custom audio prompts.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s very easy to add custom audio prompts to your conference calls. And the benefits can\u2019t be overstated.<\/p>\n What are we talking about when we say “audio prompts”?<\/p>\n Audio prompts are various cues that notify you, and participants, of events occurring in a conference call.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0These messages can include greetings like a welcome message.\u00a0 They can also serve as commands or directives, for example, “Please state your name for our roll-call.”\u00a0 They can be simple notices indicating you’ve joined a Q&A session or a call has ended.\u00a0 (These messages are automatically triggered when call participants interact with the conference bridge in a certain way.) Custom audio prompts are excellent additions to your calls.\u00a0 But do they actually add value?\u00a0\u00a0Absolutely.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Let’s consider a few\u00a0instances where custom audio prompts introduce value:<\/p>\n Adding audio prompts to your conference calls can help with branding.\u00a0Let’s consider a “welcome message” example: “Welcome to MeetingOne’s conference call.\u00a0 We’re delighted you were able to attend.\u00a0 The call will begin in a few minutes.”<\/p>\n Tailoring a welcome message in this way immediately brands your calls.\u00a0 In the example, our name is front and center.<\/strong><\/p>\n According to\u00a0recent research<\/a><\/span><\/strong>, brand is the single most important factor in the decision-making process for potential buyers.\u00a0Branding makes your company more identifiable.\u00a0 And people are more likely to associate value and trust with a brand they know.<\/p>\n So, it makes sense to incorporate branding wherever and whenever possible.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n This includes conference calls.\u00a0 Placing a welcome message that\u00a0calls out your brand insinuates trust and quality into the conversations you have.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Many conference calls involve individuals from outside of the host company. A large number often include international callers.\u00a0 Making that first impression is critical.<\/p>\n Customized audio prompts can do just that. They\u00a0speak to callers in a much more personalized \u2013 human \u2013 way than the default, robot voice: \u201cYou\u2019ve joined the call.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n All introductions are important.\u00a0 You have\u00a0mere seconds<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0to make a good impression. And a\u00a0bad first impression<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0can be hard to change.\u00a0 While first impressions over the phone aren’t the same as in-person, there’s no doubt it’s important.<\/p>\n If you’re not thinking about the first impression your business makes during calls, you may\u00a0wind up releasing conference call zombies on your event.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n In an interview with Itay Rosenfield, CEO of Voxbone,\u00a0some surprising statistics<\/a><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0about what people do during conference calls were shared.<\/p>\n These issues reflect a general issue with conference calls:\u00a0people aren\u2019t engaged enough.<\/strong><\/p>\n While the best ways to encourage a productive\u00a0call lay with\u00a0enhanced control tools, like\u00a0visual interfaces<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a><\/span>(hint, hint), custom call prompts can help you get engagement.<\/p>\n A good greeting message is an important start.\u00a0 It welcomes callers to the meeting in a way similar to joining colleagues in a conference room.\u00a0 Audio prompts could then be used to communicate “housekeeping” items or other parts of your call script.<\/p>\n Audio prompts can be used to drive conversations and discussions, as well.\u00a0 Want to start a Q&A session?\u00a0 A custom audio prompt could be associated with the command used to open a Q&A.\u00a0\u00a0Doing so would immediately direct\u00a0zombie callers to participate in a specific way.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Similar prompts could be developed when holding voting sessions.<\/p>\n If you start with a custom welcome, why not finish with friendly goodbye?\u00a0 An audio prompt could be used to bid callers farewell when the call ends.<\/p>\n Throughout the process, you’re using automation to encourage your audience to stay focused on the call.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Taking seriously the opportunity to make use of custom audio prompts is a great way to revive your conference calls – and eliminate conference call zombies!<\/p>\n Let’s consider how to develop well-branded custom audio prompts.<\/p>\n Audio prompts help carry your branding into the conference call space. Make sure you are creating these prompts well.<\/p>\n If your organization provides individual employees audio rooms, make sure each person\u00a0minimally has a custom greeting\u00a0in their voice<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n Employee-specific prompts are desirable because they can also be department-specific.\u00a0\u00a0If your Sales\u00a0manager wants to convey a certain message to everyone who joins their call, that can help set the tone for the meeting.<\/strong><\/p>\n Make sure your welcomes are warm.\u00a0The right greeting immediately reflects the larger organization.<\/strong><\/p>\n It can be difficult to strike the right level of formality.\u00a0 You want your tone to be professional but not stuffy.\u00a0\u00a0Simple solution: use a more official message with a welcoming tone.<\/strong><\/p>\n For other prompts throughout your calls, the messaging doesn’t have to be as ingratiating.\u00a0 They need to be clear and to the point.<\/p>\n When closing down a call, your goodbye prompts should be more akin to your intro greetings.<\/p>\n One of the tougher questions you\u2019ll have to ask when considering prompts is if you want them to be unique for each audio room, or generic.<\/p>\n Picking which route to take depends on your company\u2019s larger branding strategy and voice. Given MeetingOne is an\u00a0industry leader<\/em>\u00a0in\u00a0audio conferencing<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, we\u2019ve decided to standardize our audio greetings and other prompts.\u00a0 It suits our organization and reflects our standing.\u00a0 …Not to brag or anything… \ud83d\ude09<\/p>\n Unique audio prompts work well if your business has distinctive departments. Allowing each department to express a touch of character isn\u2019t a bad thing.<\/strong><\/p>\n Of course, make sure all prompts are written out, so the text can be agreed upon and approved. Wouldn\u2019t want some joker with custom\u00a0prompts that are, well, a little \u201ctoo unique.\u201d<\/p>\n While they may not feel as interesting, there\u2019s nothing wrong with generic prompts, as long as they are maintained across your organization.\u00a0Generic prompts should be templatized to ensure consistency.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n There’s no doubt you must localize your audio prompts.\u00a0 If your organization is international, it’s an absolute necessity each office have prompts in their language. French speakers joining a French conference call aren’t going to be thrilled if all the prompts are in English.\u00a0 That’s pretty obvious.<\/p>\n Selecting the tone will be an important consideration with localization.\u00a0 At MeetingOne, we have three international offices:<\/p>\n We have customized our audio prompts to reflect each office.\u00a0 All the prompts are professional in tone.\u00a0 But each has been tailored to be more appropriate for the national audience.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n With 45% of business meetings still taking place over conference calls, it\u2019s critical these events are successful. Adding custom audio prompts help set the right tone, which can, in turn, help encourage engagement and fruitful discussions. MeetingOne understands the value of these prompts \u2013 and we offer all our customers the unique opportunity to truly brand their audio rooms. Explore unique\u00a0AudioOne Custom Prompts and other Add-Ins<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/p>\n![\"custom](\"https:\/\/www.meetingone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Featured-Final-240x300.png\")
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\nIn this blog, we\u2019ll consider the reasons custom audio prompts add value to conference calls; then we\u2019ll share some strategies for branding these custom prompts.<\/span><\/h4>\n
\nUnexpected Value of Custom Audio Prompts<\/span><\/h2>\n
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\nMeeting Engagement<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\nBranding Strategies for\u00a0Audio Prompts<\/span><\/h2>\n
\nEmployee-Specific\u00a0Prompts<\/span><\/h3>\n
\nTone<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\nUnique vs. Generic<\/span><\/h3>\n
\nLocalization<\/span><\/h3>\n
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\nContinue Improving Your Conference Calls<\/span><\/h2>\n
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