On Hold Caller Scenarios That Are Bad For Business

Whether it is a new customer or not, the people you place on hold are captive audiences for your business. If handled right, you can convert their inquiry into positive action. Since putting a call on hold is inevitable, many companies use different strategies to make sure that they deliver the most rewarding experience to calling customers. However, there are many companies that still tend to neglect what the customers actually hear while waiting on hold. And most of the time, it causes terrible impact to their marketing strategies and customer service initiatives.

Here are some of the mistakes companies commit when it comes to callers on hold:

1. Silent Treatment

Even in this day, there are still businesses that just keep the line quiet and don’t play anything. These companies think that’s how it is supposed to be in the business world and often say that they do not have hold time. When this happens, most of the time callers end up frustrated and annoyed.  Silence on hold can undermine your professional image, and gives the perception that you really don’t care about your caller’s time and how it is spent while waiting.

2. Bad hold Music

Companies often get complaints from callers about bad on hold music being played while they are forced to wait.  Since there are no messages playing to engage the mind of your caller, you are wasting valuable on hold time on music that plays over and over again, and may not appeal to them at all.

3. Unprofessional Production, Voice and Music

Recently, a prospective client called us to inquire about the cost of setting up a professional on hold message for their business.  This prospect’s mind-set was “why so much for just a recording”?  So, in order for the prospect to truly understand the value of their investment, the explanation was set regarding cost. There’s copywriters, professional voice overs, licensed music, audio engineers, etc. My point? There’s more involved than you think!

This prospect decided he had a cheaper way of doing things. After making a recording using garage band, and putting on their telephone system, they received numerous complaints. The music was too loud, the announcer clearly had an accent, so the dialect was a reverse affect instead creating a positive one. Lastly, the  on hold script copy was dull, boring and did nothing to capture or keep the caller’s attention.  In the end, this prospect not only contacted us to provide a better on hold experience for callers, but he also had a much greater appreciation of what’s involved in creating successful on hold marketing. The moral if this story is, homemade is for cupcakes, not your brand image!

4. Missed Opportunity

On the surface, playing music on hold seems like another quick and easy solution. However, if you play canned music or the radio, you are missing a golden opportunity for you to keep customers informed about your brand and increase sales.

5. Out-of-date Messaging

Nobody likes 2 day old bread! Canned recordings playing over and over again without any updates or changes can be annoying, especially for repeat callers. No business launches a once for a lifetime marketing campaign, so be sure that you’re updating message on hold content to keep callers informed of the latest happenings about your business.

So how do you fix these on hold problems?

First, identify the problems you have. If you’re not capitalizing on this unique marketing opportunity, then start – immediately! If you’re already using on hold messages, then listen to your message and identify content that should be periodically be changed or updated to provide relevant information about your business.

And lastly, continue to monitor message on hold campaign! Make sure that you’re considering your customers’ experience when they call your business.  Adding an on hold system to your telephone will not only entertain callers, but also provide them with relevant information, enhance the caller experience, improve caller retention and most importantly increase sales.