On Hold Marketing Services Help To Excel Business Growth!

Businesses both large and small are always seeking to find the next big advertising craze, yet you may be overlooking one of the most time-tested and proven marketing concepts which is right at your finger tips – on hold marketing messages! Considering that the average hold time in America is 45 seconds——you have a significant opportunity to tell your callers exactly what you want them to hear about you.

You might be thinking what can I do in a mere 45 seconds? The answer. A lot!!! While on-hold message marketing may seem rather basic at its core, the reality is callers are going to get placed on-hold at your business, and where else can you gain such a highly targeted, captive and interested audience? If you do it right, your on-hold advertising can powerfully build your brand, and make connections with customers and prospective customers that can be a goldmine.

Research going back decades has shown that callers prefer to hear something other than silence, a radio station, or sleepy Muzak while waiting on hold. Through well-crafted marketing on-hold messages, you have the ability to promote your brand, up-sell other products and services and answer frequently asked questions, enhancing your relationship with each and every caller.

Messages on hold are one of the most diverse marketing systems available for your business. It wears many hats and solves many problems: marketing, sales, customer services and public relations all rolled into one. Sure, most companies use their on-hold message to sell more product and enhance the caller experience, but all on-hold marketing users agree: Keeping their callers from hanging up is a priority! The right on-hold marketing message can accomplish all of this, and more.

Reducing Caller Abandonment.

Some companies see caller abandonment (callers who hang-up before giving you the chance to serve them) as a low-level metric, however many should be focusing on the bigger picture! Caller abandonment is a common, yet costly occurrence, because lost calls mean lost revenues and leads to increased costs. No other on hold solution has proven to dramatically reduce caller abandonment rates and increase customer satisfaction than on hold messaging. In fact, The North American Telecommunications Association reported callers with silence on hold will abandon their calls in less than one minute, and 90% hang up within 40 seconds. Callers listening to information while on hold will remain on the line for up to three minutes longer. Additionally, Jefferson Denneandrus, a research firm, found when callers were presented with On Hold Messaging versus silence or a radio commercial they would stay on hold longer, they were more likely to exhibit interest in the product advertised, they were more likely to retain information, and they were less agitated.

Capitalizing On Impulse Buys

Did you know that over half of purchases in the U.S. are unplanned? For years retailers have successfully used a variety of marketing tools to entice customers to make these unplanned purchases. However creating impulse buys isn’t limited to just retailers, and almost any business can use on hold marketing to increase impulse buys. In fact a study from U.S. West Communications showed that when using on hold marketing, requests for products/services mentioned on hold increased by more than 20%.

Here’s just one example of how pizza restaurants use message on hold marketing to make the most of impulse buys. A customer calls a pizza parlor during dinner hours. They’re placed on hold before taking their order, and while they’re holding, they hear about a cheesy- bread special for just $1.99 with any order. They weren’t thinking about cheesy- bread when they called, but it’s beginning to sound good and when you return to the line, to take their pizza order, the caller also places on order for cheesy-bread sticks all thanks to their on-hold advertisement. On hold marketing messages can be used to upsell/cross-sell companion products, service/maintenance contracts, extended warranty plans and much much more.

Improve Efficiency.

Often times callers to your business are need of general information. Your receptionist is busy and has to place them on hold while she takes care of callers in line ahead. These calls can cause longer hold times and the less than happy callers. Include some of your more frequently asked questions in your message on hold content such as hours, locations, website address, return policies, etc. This will help to reduce hold times, and allow your staff to work more efficiently as this can give them one less blinking on-hold button to answer.

Diffuse Negative Emotions

We’ve all heard the expression; “it’s like rubbing salt in the wound.” One of your customers received an incorrect shipment from you. When they call you, they’re frustrated and angry! How you handle this call can be the difference between retaining a customer and losing one forever.

You can either rub salt in the wound, by asking them to wait in dead-silence bringing them to their boiling point, or when your customer service representative places the caller on hold to check their order to figure out what happened, they hear a pleasant sounding voice with calming music and information assuring the caller that “you’re doing everything you can to come back to their call just as soon as possible” and that their “satisfaction is important.” This diffuses a negative situation by reassuring your customer that you’re truly doing everything possible to take care of them and their concerns.

Shape Brand Perceptions

What’s worse than calling a company and being placed on hold in silence—it leaves one wondering if they’ve been hung up on. Or worse yet, they begin to form a negative opinion about your brand because it appears you didn’t think through every aspect of your relationship with them—in person, on the phone, and on hold. Too many companies miss opportunities to shape how their customers feel about them—all because they neglected their callers’ on-hold experience

Savvy marketers and customer-service managers are realizing that hold times are having a huge impact on their businesses. It’s time to make your hold button work for you, rather than against you! When you seek the services of seasoned message on-hold producers, they will guide you with best practices, and craft well-written, interesting, and a balanced blend of marketing messages about your company that encourage the caller to continue holding, increase sales and present your company is the best light possible.

Got questions about on-hold marketing, or how it works? Drops us a line in the comments section, and we’ll provide the answers you’re looking for!