Why Custom Voiced Messages On Hold?
- Affordable marketing that influences your target audience.
- Build your brand; coordinate with other marketing efforts.
- Easy to implement—works with all phone systems.
The most preferred method of reaching a business is still the phone.
The average person will spend 43 days of his/her life waiting on hold.
Placing a caller on hold is a risk and an invaluable marketing opportunity.
Stewart Gandolf, Healthcare Success
88% of callers prefer to hear information while waiting.
Rapp & Collins
What people don’t want to hear when they call customer service is, “Your call is important to us".
W.P. Carey School of Business
Commonly-used phrases such as, “please hold” can actually increase caller abandonment rates.
8 MESSAGE ON HOLD TIPS
for fewer hangups and more business
Max 50 Words
How much can people remember in 20 or 30 seconds? Aim for 50 words per message (topic). Good script writers write for "the ear" not the eye. The key is to use no more than one idea per topic or paragraph.
Variety Wins
Today's callers crave variety. Gone are the days of one long, boring piece of music interrupted by voiced announcements. The new best practice is to build a library of short, self-contained single-topic recordings, each with its own unique music background.
Be Unpredictable
When callers can detect a pattern, they simply start counting the number of minutes that have gone by. Vary the length of each topic to create the unpredictability that makes hold time seem shorter than it actually is.
Randomized
Use the Easy On Hold® streaming messages on hold system to play topics in a random order. This adds to the uniqueness of the message on hold experience (unpredictability prevents premature hang-ups).
Unexpected
Greet visitors with, "good morning" and "good afternoon". Use simple greetings that reference the day of the week. It's a pleasant, unexpected experience that always makes callers extra-happy.
Timely
Studies confirm: "thank you for calling" greetings increase hang-ups. Project your brand as vibrant and up-to-date. Avoid generic or "general use" messages. Always use relevant, time-sensitive messages.
Prioritized
All topics are not of equal importance. Topics that are the most valuable, topics that are "right-now" important should play for often so every caller is sure to take notice.
Managed
How to stay organized? Scripts and recordings should be easily available online. Text and/or email reminders should alter you when time-sensitive topics are nearing end-dates.