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Never miss calls again with a call queue.

Handle more calls and answer them efficiently with call queues.

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What is a call queue?

A call queue lets you handle incoming calls and places them in line to be answered when your team is busy with other calls. Callers hear on-hold music or announcements until the next available agent can answer their call.

Call queuing lets you respond to peak demand without higher costs.

Businesses implement call queuing to provide a better customer experience. Calls won't be lost to voicemail and they will know their place in line or the estimated wait time.

Why use call queues?

  • Handle a higher number of calls and limit them from being sent to voicemail.

  • Increase the performance of inbound call campaigns so more calls are answered.

  • Play music on hold to callers and inform them about promotions.

  • Direct calls based on time, dialed number, VIPs, and more.

Increase your company's call capacity with Nextiva.

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How to set up call queues in Nextiva

With Nextiva, call queues are built into your business phone system. Easily manage your call queuing settings from your browser.

1 Log in to the Nextiva Voice Portal.

2 Hover over Advanced Routing, then select Call Center Locations.

3 Click the Log In button to the right of the location.

4 Click Call Center on the left Navigation Pane, then select Call Centers.

5 Click the Add Call Center Wizard button to create a call queue.

For additional guidance on setting up call queuing with Nextiva, read the support documentation.

Our customers said life became easier after switching to Nextiva.

Eric Siu "We love Nextiva's reliability and features like call pop, free online faxing, auto attendant, IVR and call routing. It gives us the appearance of a bigger, more polished business." Eric Siu CEO, Single Grain
Chris Brencans "Countless sales have been done on the Nextiva mobile app. We couldn't run our business without it. Since adopting Nextiva in 2016, we've seen 203% revenue growth." Chris Brencans CMO, On The Map Marketing
Business Phone Service Benefits

Helpful terms to know about call queues

Benefits Mark
IVR

Interactive voice response(IVR) uses voice recognition and recorded messages to guide callers to the right agent.

Benefits Mark
Routing Policy

The routing policy is a setting for the ACD. It decides how to route calls based on agent availability and other factors.

Benefits Mark
Auto Attendant

Auto attendants play recorded greetings and help callers to the right agent with keypad commands.

Benefits Mark
Call Flow

Call flow is the roadmap for any incoming call to your contact center.

Benefits Mark
ACD

Automatic call distribution (ACD) is a feature that routes incoming calls automatically.

Benefits Mark
Callback

A callback is when the VoIP phone service returns a call back to a customer who was unable to reach an agent.

Call queue FAQs

How do call queues work?

When a customer calls your business phone number, your VoIP phone system first checks for available phones. When all lines are busy, customers would typically be unable to connect their call to a live person.
With call queuing enabled, calls get moved to hold on a dedicated line when all agents are busy. It happens automatically, and the queue isn’t tied directly to any agent’s phone or line. It works no matter if someone calls a local phone number or a toll-free phone number. Call queues let small businesses handle more calls and provide a better customer experience.
The call queue will then direct calls to the next available agent. Callers will know their place in line and the estimated wait time. This lowers hang-ups (abandons) and adapts to your business hours in realtime.
With more advanced features, you can route calls to agents based on priority, skill, or past interactions. It's a must-have for inbound call centers.

How can call queuing help my business?

Queuing systems prevent calls from ending at the busy signal or being directed to a voicemail.
If your business receives many inbound calls, call queuing is an essential VoIP feature.
IVRs and auto attendants direct customers to the right person or department. The biggest advantage of using advanced call queuing is that it dramatically improves customer service.
Remember that every inbound call is a person taking time out of their day to speak with your company. If they can’t reach live customer support, that’s a great way to lose a customer. Using the call queue feature, you can make sure that your customer needs are met.
And call queuing isn’t limited to sophisticated VoIP call centers. Traditional small businesses like salons, insurance agents, landscapers, and car dealerships all benefit from call queues. Larger enterprises with many locations and a distributed workforce also realize value from queuing up calls.

Can I use custom hold music?

Yes, you can upload custom music for incoming calls while they wait on hold.
Nextiva offers three song choices for music for any caller in a call queue. If you want to customize the experience, you can also upload your own music or other audio files.
Instead of music, you could play a recorded message that helps customers with self-service tips or promotional messaging for additional products or services.
You can also set up separate call queues based on different departments and business hours.

How do I lower my call hold time?

If your call center’s hold time is too long, you have to identify the underlying factors. Call time might not always be the culprit.
It might be necessary to split your call queue into two call queues by way of an auto attendant.
How much time do agents have between calls? You might not be using the most efficient routing policy for your call center. You have many ways to distribute inbound calls. For instance, first in, first out, round-robin, and ring all the phones for a given group or team.
Are agents taking too long to resolve each issue? Try skills-based routing in your PBX, so each call gets assigned to an agent who is experienced with that particular issue.
If you’ve addressed the call routing logic and improved your team’s productivity, it might be time to expand your cloud VoIP system.

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Chris Brencans, CMO
On The Map Marketing
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