Due to the increasing need for on-hold services by companies who believe that it is the best, yet least expensive way to market their brand, on-hold equipment has also continually evolved itself to make life easier for businesses that want to update their on-hold messages and are longing for success. But aren’t you wondering how we actually reached this level of convenience?
In the earliest days of the on hold messaging industry, cassette tapes were the most popular sound recording format used by on-hold companies. The tapes were known as endlessloop cassettes played from a slim, shoe box style cassette player. The problem with using the endlessloop cassettes, is that eventually, over time the tapes would wear down and then break, so you needed a supply of tapes on hand in the event of a broken tape.
Not long after, CDs were introduced to the market and became more popular, which made on-hold companies climb a notch higher. While compact discs seem to last longer and wear-out less often, a few common problems still remained. First, the players! When using consumer grade tape players or cd players, have too many mechanical moving parts to withstand the 24/7 continuous play required for music on hold. Often times these consumer grade players would need to be replaced on a regular basis, because eventually they would just burn out. Another issue was if the business experienced a power loss/interruption the players would shut off giving callers silence on hold.
The second challenge was the duration of time it took for the client to receive their on hold message (tape or cd) program once it was produced. However as technology advanced throughout the 90’s the first generation of commercial grade “digital on hold players” we’re introduced to the marketplace providing a much long sought after solution. The digital on hold players contained less moving parts, and chip technology , so that audio whether from tape or cd would be stored in flash memory. In addition, these new, so-called digital players also had auto-restart, so that in the event of a power loss/interruption as soon as power was restored the message on hold player would start up immediately.
So while message on hold equipment seemed to be advancing, and providing more hassle-free playback, it seemed that nothing was being done to improve the process for the client to update content when needed, and receive the production in a timely manner. Businesses still needed to wait weeks or longer for cassette tapes and CDs to be mailed to them before they can update and make some changes with their messages. It was also a bit of a daunting task to change on-hold scripts during that time, especially when the client had to promote a special event, service or product. Long lead times were required to in order to meet deadlines.
Shortly after the turn of the new millennium, and with technology burgeoning in almost every industry, once again the on hold industry was poised for technological advancements. Enter the advent MP3, which today it is the most popular sound format. As the music & message on hold industry began to see significant changes in recording formats, once again, on hold message players were on the verge of evolving. Today’s message on hold players no longer require tapes or cd’s to be loaded into a player. In fact, they embrace the mp3 format with the use of simply inserting a simple usb flash drive. This also allows for large storage capacity of audio files, so the client can switch between productions.
Around the same time digital on hold players began using usb flash drives, The Original On Hold introduced one of the best things to ever happen to the on hold message industry – Message Xpress!
Message Xpress, is our exclusive, proprietary web-based system offering the end-user better on hold messaging service. Why? It’s the fastest and most convenient method to create or update on-hold scripts in an instant for new message content . Now playing timely, relevant marketing messages to callers on hold is a snap! You also download completed on-hold recordings directly from your Message Xpress account to the player’s usb flash drive.
Message Xpress is a real time saver, because you can update scripts anytime, from anywhere as long as you have internet access. Try our risk free on hold system offer, and hear for yourself what your brand can sound like.