I just spotted an article called “Killer On Hold Message Scripts”. After reading them, I can tell you, they are killer. Deadly to your business, that is.
Your Call Is Important
One of the deadly phrases is, “Your message is important to us”. This is so cliche it’s a running joke. You know, “If I am so important to you, why am I on hold in the first place?” A more valuable message on hold script would demonstrate why the caller is important. For example:
You want your order processed with 100 percent accuracy, and we have a 12-year track record of accurate, on time order fulfillment. Our turnaround time is just 24 hours. That’s the best in the industry.
See how this information might make the caller feel important? “These guys really work hard to get me my stuff…”
To Contact Us…
The caller is on the phone with you, so there’s no need to tell them to contact you. It is a good idea to mention your website, but only do so if you can provide a benefit for going to the site. For example:
New photos and videos of our product in action are now on our website, ‘oursite dot com’.
Facebook And Twitter
We all want more followers so we can extend our marketing reach, but it isn’t enough to just say, “friend us… follow us”. Your message on hold script should always approach your company from the caller’s perspective. Why would the caller want to be a friend? Here’s an idea:
Join us on Facebook to find out about limited-time special offers that are only available to facebook friends.
A Representative Will Call You Back
Some call centers are so busy that the caller on hold is given the option to hang up and get a call back. This is tricky, because you want the caller to be sure that he has not lost his place “in line”. I recently used “press one to have a representative call you back” option at Delta Airline’s call center. The automated system asked me to identify a time to receive a call back. Sure enough they did call back. Unless you have a sophisticated phone system and a really great reason for being unable to get to your callers on hold, do not tell the caller to hang up. That’s as good as saying, “try calling our competitor”.
Theses are just a few of the ways the “old way” of doing “on hold” have been transformed into effective communications here at Easy On Hold. If your message on hold announcements sound like something you’ve heard somewhere else, get going on something new.
