Recently I was reminded by an actual event at how poorly some companies are at handling their inbound phone calls:
I was given the task of handling the Friday lunch order for our office. I called a local sandwich shop to order lunch, and low and behold – I was put on hold. Now obviously I’m being sarcastic as you would expect to have some on hold time when calling a restaurant during the lunch rush hour. So I’m waiting and waiting -- there was “No message”, “No music”, “No Nothing!” …simply dead-air. No staff person even came back to check to let me know they would be with me soon to take my order, or to see if I was still breathing. After watching my computer screen, now showing me that I have been holding for over 2 ½ minutes I began to feel that they forgot about me! It felt like I was already waiting on hold for 20 minutes. So, I hung up and called back to try and place my order again, only to encounter the same frustrating experience. So that was it. I hung up, and called for pizza instead. I called, was asked to hold briefly by the staff member, heard about their specials on their hold message, the staff person returned to my call and I proceeded to order the lunch specials including all the extras I had no intention of ordering initially. So there you go I paid more for the pizza and other items that were included than I would have for the sandwiches. That’s money calling in and the sandwich shop just ignored it! When will businesses give the same attention to phone calls that they do people standing in front of them?
In today’s fast-paced world where everything can be done with just a snap, it takes an ample amount of patience to wait. For some, waiting means a waste of time. Now, you’re lucky if your callers don’t mind waiting, especially the old ones. But, how about prospective clients? Have you ever considered the idea that they may be running on a full schedule and won’t have time to wait for a couple of minutes?
When faced with these conundrums, music on-hold and messages can serve you best because it’s not just about marketing. It’s also about keeping your customers entertained while they wait for their concerns to be addressed. You see, when someone calls, they will always expect a top-caliber support quality no matter how frequently they contact you, and with messages on-hold, you’re giving your callers the best quality of assistance over telephone.
Remember that the customers are the reason why business is good. So, when your company can’t give the support that your callers need, there is a greater chance of losing them. You can’t apply the notion of “letting them go and if they come back then it’s meant to be,” because you never let the customers go! The goal here is to keep them for as long as it takes and the only way to keep them is to give them what they need. With this, the best thing you can do is to give your customers the right assistance that they deserve. First impression counts in this industry so don’t forget to put your best foot forward for every call you get.
This is why on-hold messaging is an important tool for every business. It’s the perfect marketing strategy for any brand that would want to give their clients the customer satisfaction they deserve whilst promoting their products and services right on the spot. Studies show that callers will remain on the line up to 3 times longer with on hold messages versus any other on hold solution. So, with giving callers messages on hold -- The wait will be worth it and if there’s a need to wait for a long time, the entertainment would keep them occupied, making the whole experience pleasurable. Now, isn’t this the best treat for any customer and company?
One of the most overlooked profit centers in the business is on hold marketing. It is estimated that customers who are exposed to on hold messaging, where a call-to-action is communicated, are 80% more likely to try a new product or service or take advantage of a special offer.