Phone Broadcasting Notifications With Pre-Recorded Messages
By Lee Simonson
Phone broadcasting is a technology that enables you to simultaneously send hundreds, even thousands, of people a pre-recorded message over the phone. It is also known as voice broadcast, voice blast, phone blast, and in the political realm as robo calls.
It is a highly regulated field and commercial telemarketers are facing increased federal and state regulations that make it more and more difficult to send pre-recorded messages. Over half of the phone numbers in the United States are now on the Do Not Call registry and telemarketers are not permitted to call them. Moreover, new regulations will require telemarketers to get written permission from those people they wish to call.
However, there are many phone broadcasting applications which are perfectly legal and more and more organizations are using the technology to supplement their communication efforts.
For example, the use of phone broadcasting to send "informational" messages is becoming a necessity. Schools and colleges are implementing emergency notification systems that alert students, parents and constituent groups about school closings and other important announcements. Airlines use phone broadcasting to inform passengers of changing schedules or flight status. Stock brokers use phone broadcasting to give clients up to the minute market reports and recommendations.
Phone broadcasting users can buy their own equipment, but the vast majority find that hiring a service bureau is much more cost effective, easier and faster because of the built in capacity of the larger systems being used. Professional phone broadcasting companies can send out tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of calls an hour.
When looking for a phone broadcasting service bureau, you will need to keep the following questions in mind:
- Will the service bureau launch the job for you, or can you do it yourself with a web interface that is accessible at any time? (Some companies do both.) - How are the recordings done? Can you record over the phone, or do you have to email a wav. file? - Are the calls made over fiber optic lines or VoIP (over the Internet)? - How is the service billed? Do you pay by time, or by message? Do you pay for calls that are non-deliverable (for example, no answers or busies)? - What kind of format do the phone lists have to be in (Excel spreadsheet)? How are they delivered to the service bureau? - Will you be able to put your own phone number in the Caller ID that shows up on the recipient's phone? - What kind of reports will you get?
With the latest technology, you'll find most service bureaus are able to deliver your pre-recorded messages to both live answers and answering machines (voice mail.) Generally, you will be able to get reports and see who actually listened to your message and see how many messages were delivered. A good service bureau will make the whole process relatively easy. You'll be amazed at how fast you can get your message out.
Phone broadcasting is a very powerful medium because it is targeted and "hits home." It can be life saver, and it can also be abused. Use it wisely and it can be the most valuable resource you have in keeping the lines of communication open with your important contacts.
If you are interested in learning more about phone broadcasting, you can click here:
http://www.orangepoint.net/phone_broadcasting.html
You can see the new federal regulations here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/08/tsr.shtm
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