A growing trend in the calling industry has been the adoption of soundboard software. “Digital soundboard,” “sound board” or “avatar,” is an interactive telephone agent-driven software package.

This application comes with a set of sound file playback options. The sound files are often prerecorded messages. And, the options, when selected, play these messages. Telephone agents use a combination of these options to converse with their customers.

How does sound board work?

Telephone agent
In a contact center, sound board software runs on each telephone agent’s computer workstation. Agents interact with the sound board playback options using their keyboard and mouse. Options are generally labeled with a brief description of the sound file. Upon selecting an option, the software plays the corresponding audio recording.

For example, in response to a customer saying “Hello,” the telephone agent may want to respond with “How can I help you?” By selecting the “Help?” labeled option, the sound board would play “How can I help you?” to the customer.

A phone conversation would proceed in this manner. For each customer inquiry, the telephone agent would select the appropriate response.

What are the key benefits?

Soundboard agent
There are many reasons why call centers are using avatar software. Of these, the primary reasons include consistency, cost and compliance.

Consistency

Soundboard enables telephone agents to deliver clear and consistent messages on each call. In contrast to live calling, the quality, tone and delivery of the agent’s “voice” remains the same.

Cost

We compared calling performance between telephone agents operating sound board and live-voice agents. The results showed soundboard outperformed live agents in every metric. Plus, it came with the added benefit of reducing complaint calls. On the whole, soundboard increased revenue and reduced potential costs.

Compliance

Soundboard promotes accurate delivery of call center scripts. Script adherence is crucial for scripts containing mandatory state disclosures.