Do You Have a Post Pandemic On Hold Message Strategy?
The world certainly seems topsy-turvy at the moment, but the extreme lock-down of past couple of months is being eased, and businesses that have been shut down or operating at limited capacity are slowly beginning to re-open. Sure, people are tired of being cooped up in their homes, but even with businesses re-opening, right now, there remains fear in the customers’ mind about coming to your establishment.
Businesses should be thinking ahead to what their post-coronavirus reality might look like? The number one concern most businesses have is, whether or not customers will return, and even if so, how many? The number one concern that customers have is, whether or not your business is safe? And, if your products and services are safe? What precautions have you taken?
Most experts agree that even for a long period after re-opening, consumer contact will still continue its shift from in-person, to over the phone. It’s for this reason, keeping your customer at the center of your business strategy is more important than ever. This presents an opportunity for key communication, like never before. With that said, do you have a post pandemic on hold marketing strategy?
Your On Hold Messaging Should In No Way, Sound Like Business as Usual!
If your business is re-opening after the COVID-19 Pandemic, and you let callers hear that same old phone on-hold message that you’ve always played, then you’re telling them it’s business as usual. However, for your customers, it’s in no way business as usual. They want to know; Is your business safe? Are your products and services safe? What precautions have you taken? How are you adapting to “my” needs and concerns.
Post-COVID-19, customers simply won’t have money to spend in the coming months, those that do will have different needs than they did before and you have to be ready to address them, whatever that means to your business.
Your new messaging should explain that your organization (and people) care, and therefore you’ve followed recommended guidelines, and implemented the necessary measures to ensure customer safety. After establishing the new “ground rules for engagement”, your can address more obvious caller needs and questions. However, relevance is what matters, and your messaging should inform callers how you’ve adapted to this new landscape, whether it’s touchless take-out, contactless pick-up and delivery, or other new innovations that may have been born as a result of COVID-19
If you haven’t had on hold messaging before, then now is the you must invest in the caller experience. Competition for customer business is about to become fierce. You can’t afford to lose to business due to caller abandonment (callers who hang up before giving you the chance to serve them!).
Use Auto Attendant Greetings as a Source of Information Management
Any organization can use their telephone to educate, update and motivate callers who are naturally concerned about how life is changing in this time of coronavirus crisis. Your automated phone attendant recordings should also be a source of information management. By informing callers of any changes in business hours, location closures, advanced ordering/scheduling options, etc.
Final Thoughts…
Wherever the COVID-19 evolution of the consumer lands, don’t be surprised if it’s profound and lasts well into the future, along the lines of the aftermath of the world wars, the Great Depression, and more recently the Great Recession or 9/11.
While we’re witnessing drastic changes in how future business will be conducted, such as work from home being a norm, zoom conferences, etc. However in a world where Amazon delivers us everything, and Instacart takes care of shopping and delivering our groceries, the one thing that remain certain in an uncertain world is, customers still prefer contacting businesses via the good old- fashioned telephone!
Are you ready to add on hold messaging to your business, or even if you have messages, are you ready to develop a post COVID-19 Pandemic marketing strategy? Contact Original On Hold and our team will make the process easy and successful.
