Electronic messaging - voice and electronic mail - includes related articles - Column

Black Enterprise, Nov, 1992 by Carolyn M. Brown

Nearly every business person knows the horrors of playing telephone tag. It isn't unusual to make a dozen phone calls--or attempts--daily. From your New York office you may phone a sales rep at your company's Chicago branch. She's not in, so, you leave a message for her.

In the meantime, you have a meeting across town. When you get back an hour later, you discover that the Chicago rep has returned your phone call. Immediately, you call back, but now she's out to lunch. And the cycle continues.

It is understood that if employees are to work together effectively they must be able to communicate with one another effectively. Unfortunately, office communication is impeded when workers are geographically dispersed or are too active to be reached at all times.

But vendors are coming up with ways to help businesses avoid wasting hundreds of hours playing unproductive telephone tag. The market is saturated with interoffice technology products, including voice and electronic mail.

Vox It To Me

"The easiest and simplest solution to the telephone shuffle is voice mail," says Michael Clark, president of Richmond-based VOICE MAIL USA, which markets voice mail systems nationwide. "You've heard of fax it to me; now it's VOX (voice mailbox) it to me." Voice mail saves time and money.

"Voice mail can offer significant productivity and efficiency gains," says Clark. "It improves message content, cuts down the overall number of telephone calls and provides a 24-hour answering capability." It can ensure, for instance, that the receptionist isn't constantly on the phone saying: "Please hold, please hold."

From a customer service standpoint, voice mail can improve response time. Customer complaints are a sore thumb for any operation, and not getting answers fast enough is one major grievance.

Using voice mail, a caller can leave an accurate and detailed message on a voice mailbox if the party isn't there. Ideally, this message gives the person more to work with than a name and number on a pink memo slip, says Clark.

The voice mail industry was born out of frustration. granted, the earlier systems that emerged in the late 1980s met a great deal of resistance. This was partly because messages were hard to access, often disappearing into electronic black holes. despite the fact that some callers resent talking to a machine.

More than 15 million voice mailbox users exist. the $1 billion market is expected to more than double in size by 1995, according to Cedar Knolls, N.J.-based Probe Research Inc.

Voice mail traditionally has been a message taker--when someone calls, a message is taken electronically. Voice messaging, an extension of voice mail, allows for two-way communications within and outside a company. a voice mailbox user can send, receive, redirect and reply to messages or broadcast them to other network sers.

Imagine a business day where you send and respond to messages simply by pushing a key and speaking. Better still, imagine you could have a conversation with five, 10, 50 or even 200 business associates, locally or nationally, all of which is done simultaneously. This is possible through interactive voice messaging services.

Voice messaging isn't passive like an answering machine; instead it can be an active means of interoffice communications. Its value may be more apparent in businesses with mobile work forces and multiple work sites.

The leading voice mail vendor is Octel Communications Corp., Milpitas, Calif., which has a 22% market share. Other key players: VMX Inc., San Jose, Calif.; ROM Corp., Santa Clara, Calif.; and Northern Telecom Inc., Nashville, Tenn.

The main distinction among the various vendors' voice mail systems has to do with the type of PBS or switching device they interface with. But there are different degrees of functionality and features. Essentially, it is up to the subscriber to create a voice mail system that meets his or her company's needs. Therefore, most systems offer custom-designed menus, voice prompts, greetings and prerecorded announcements.

Ideally, the business should identify its most frequent callers: clients, customers, family members or friends. From there, the business can determine the level of functionality needed.

Furthermore, the flexibility of these systems makes it easier for businesses to handle callers who are put off by machines or who are "technophobic." In this case, you wouldn't let the telephone be the first voice they hear. One option would be to have two incoming lines. One could be used by repeat callers who are familiar with the system and confortable with it; they could call the voice mailbox directly. the second line could have a live operator at the other end to handle new callers.

Voice mail systems are available through any number of channels, including telephone systems dealers, voice processing manufacturers, subsidiaries of Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCS), telecommunications consultants and value-added resellers (VARS).

Initial installation fees can range anywhere from $5,000 for 50 users to $100,000 for 5,000 users. And that doesn't include maintenance fees, which generally are 5% to 10% of the purchase price per year. An alternative to on-premises equipment is to use automated telephone service bureaus. Monthly service charges range from $10 to $30.