March, 20 2010
Whether a customer is calling to place an inquiry, or responding to an advertisement they have a purpose for calling your business. And although many business owners would like to think that their callers don’t get placed on hold or wait on hold for very long, unfortunately more often than not, this is unavoidable. In fact, studies indicate that more than 70% of all business calls are placed on hold. These same studies concluded that the average hold time for a business is 45.8 seconds, and that 50% of callers would only wait on-hold in silence for less than 21.2 seconds before hanging up (caller abandonment). And 34% of those lost callers, won’t call back. Caller abandonment (hang-ups,lost calls) cost businesses Billions of dollars in revenue!
Let’s face it, no one likes being put on hold. Instead of viewing this in a negative light, let’s focus on how you can start to harness the power of your hold button. Why not add music on hold? Although adding music on hold can help as callers will wait up to as much as 90 seconds when listening to music, they will actually wait up to as much as 180 seconds when listening to music on hold with messages.
How can we limit the losses we may incur by putting callers on hold? First we need to recognize the need to be aware of the experience we create for our clients and prospects over the phone. How are people routed and what do they hear while they wait on hold? Does what they hear make the perceived wait time seem shorter? Does it put the caller in a better frame of mind making them easier to work with? Does it build confidence in your company or brand and does it bring a prospect closer to a sale? This is why you need to consider an on-hold message as part of your marketing strategy.
If these simple principles are adhered to then we can take a documented loss center of our businesses and turn them into a profit center. Customers are getting harder to come across. No matter what industry you are in, utilizing every opportunity to retain existing customers and prospects cannot be ignored. So what can an on hold message do for your business? Well besides the obvious of keeping your caller on the line longer, your on-hold message is an opportunity to impart basic information such as your physical address, hours of operation, and website address for example. But wait, your on hold messages can do even more! What about informing callers about sale items or promotions? How about letting them know about new product innovations, trade shows or even encourage them to follow your social media like facebook, twitter, etc.
Your on-hold message is a fantastic opportunity to brand your company and take advantage of a tremendous markeitng opportunity. It's the perfect time to communicate your unique selling proposition. Considering how many callers get placed on hold, the return on your investment compared to other forms of advertising is huge.
On Hold Inc is a leader in the on hold messaging industry. We have an on hold message solution for any size business in any industry.