Automated Call Distribution (ACD)

In an ACD, hold queues play a central role in customer satisfaction. The music-on-hold feature creates a pleasant atmosphere during the waiting by playing suitable music. This shortens the perceived wait time, increases caller patience, and ensures a professional communication experience.

Hold queues can be flexibly adjusted to provide callers with current information, product news, or important service announcements. Such personalized messages create additional value by meaningfully bridging the wait time and conveying relevant content.

With time-dependent announcements, callers are greeted and informed according to the time of day. Whether early in the morning, during business hours, or late in the evening – the announcements can be individually adjusted to ensure consistent and personalized communication. Automatic announcements can be specifically set for certain times, days, or occasions such as absences or holidays. This ensures that callers are always provided with relevant information, keeping communication appropriate to the situation.

Country code recognition allows for automatic detection and setting of the callers preferred language, based on the country code. Additionally, regional filters, such as recognizing area codes in Switzerland, provide customized announcements based on region or canton. These features ensure that callers receive appropriate announcements and menus from the start, enhancing usability and creating a consistent, regionally adapted experience – regardless of the call's origin.

Time-based forwarding automatically routes incoming calls based on the time of day, day of the week, or holiday to individual destinations. Whether during business hours, after hours, or on holidays – this flexible feature ensures that calls are always handled appropriately. Combined with time-dependent announcements, it creates a professional call management system that efficiently meets the needs of your business and your customers.

The optional integration of an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) allows callers to actively engage during wait times – such as selecting a department, retrieving information, or scheduling a callback. These interactive features provide callers with more control and flexibility, reduce perceived wait times, and contribute significantly to increased customer satisfaction.

Position announcements keep callers informed of their place in the queue. This transparency provides guidance and builds trust as callers can track their progress - making for a more enjoyable caller experience.

With the versatile callback options from CNT Call Manager, callers can be optimally assisted even when a representative is unavailable. Three variants are available to efficiently manage inquiries and improve accessibility:

Forwarding to Voice Mail After Time

If a call is not answered within a defined timeframe, it is automatically forwarded to voice mail. Callers can leave a message, ensuring no enquiry is lost.

Forwarding via IVR Menu to Voice Mail

Through an interactive voice menu (IVR), callers can choose to be directly forwarded to voice mail. This option provides more control and flexibility during the call.

Callback Request via IVR Menu

In this variant, callers can leave a callback request in the IVR menu. The number indicated by the caller is then sent via email to a designated user or team, enabling a quick and targeted response.

These flexible options ensure smooth communication and ensure that customer inquiries are processed reliably, even outside of business hours or periods of high demand.

Users have the option to individually set whether an automatic callback note should be created for missed calls. This function ensures that missed calls are documented systematically: The CM app automatically adds the relevant notes to the call list and considers them in the call log. This way, users always keep track of pending callbacks and can efficiently and promptly handle customer inquiries.

The caller identification in CNT Call Manager ensures that external callbacks from callers who previously called from a hotline number or with the main line are automatically routed to the responsible person or call group. Within a definable timeframe, the callback is directly assigned to the original contact person. This facilitates tracking of customer inquiries and ensures that callers can efficiently reach their previous contact directly, significantly improving service quality.

ACD supports various call hunting methods such as broadcast, top-down, longest-idle, and circular to strategically distribute calls amongst teams and improve accessibility and efficiency. In the broadcast method, all phones in the group ring simultaneously until a member answers the call. Top-down always directs calls to the first group member and processes the list in a defined order until someone responds. Longest-idle prioritizes the member who has not received a call for the longest time to evenly distribute the workload. Circular operates on a rotation principle, passing the call to the next member in line, ensuring an even distribution.

Skill-based Routing in the CNT Call Manager ensures that customer inquiries are accurately routed to the most qualified agents. Thanks to intelligent call allocation, callers are directed to employees with the right skills – ranging from specific expertise to language competencies and specialized task areas. Agents are grouped, allowing for flexible consideration of overlapping skills.

Call allocation occurs based on criteria such as the selected hotline number, an IVR selection, speech recognition, or specific assignment to a customer. Within the responsible group, calls are then efficiently distributed using proven call-hunting methods.

VIP Routing in an ACD ensures that calls from particularly important customers or contacts are prioritized. This function prioritizes VIP calls and directs them specifically to the responsible agents or departments to ensure quick handling. Important callers do not have to wait in regular queues but are prioritized, significantly enhancing customer satisfaction. Individual routing rules can also prioritize VIP calls during high demand or outside business hours – an ideal solution for maintaining valuable customer relationships and providing top-notch service.

The CM On Call Service automates the involvement of on-call staff and ensures quick handling of escalations – ideal for operations outside regular business hours.

An intelligent call-hunting method ensures short response times: while the caller is in the queue, stored phone numbers, whether internal, external or mobile, are contacted simultaneously. The first employee to confirm the call by pressing a button takes the conversation, and the caller is automatically connected. This allows urgent matters to be handled reliably and without delay.

Alternatively, on-call staff can manage voice mails. Once an employee selects a voice mail, the message is automatically played back, in order to address urgent matters quickly and efficiently, even outside of office hours.

With block lists, you can specifically filter unwanted calls by blocking specific phone numbers, number ranges, or anonymous callers. You decide whether calls are rejected or redirected to alternative destinations such as announcements or mailboxes. This effectively protects you from spam and harassment without losing control over your communication channels. The easy management and flexible configuration make block lists an indispensable tool for uninterrupted telephony and efficient workflows – tailored to your requirements.

With the catch-all function, calls to unassigned extensions are reliably intercepted and redirected to a predefined destination, such as the main office or a general mailbox. This ensures that no inquiries are lost, and all callers receive the assistance they need. This function improves accessibility and ensures continuous communication, ideal for ensuring that no call goes unanswered.

Dialing plans offer precise control over outgoing calls and can be flexibly adapted to meet individual requirements. Calls can be treated differently based on defined criteria such as time slots or phone numbers. For example, calls can be restricted to emergency or local calls outside business hours to prevent misuse.

With automatic number handling, dialing plans provide additional options, such as adding a local area code. This allows for individual configurations for each location, ensuring that local and national numbers are reachable as usual and without restrictions. This function optimizes accessibility and ensures seamless adaptation to different locations.