Every business has done it, and done it more than once. You place a call to a business, and you either are greeted by a person immediately, or you hear the click of a machine of some kind picking up the phone. The machine, will then proceed to either ask you to hold, to leave a message, or begin playing terrible elevator music. As a business owner, you need to realize that your on hold message is another opportunity for you to communicate with your customers. You need to recognize that callers on hold is a venue for you to increase sales, and to serve your customers better. If you have a professional and informative on hold message you'll see an increase in sales and customer satisfaction.
There are many negatives that must be avoided at all costs when recording any kind of phone greeting. By all means, you must avoid cheesy or annoying music on hold. And your phone systems’ auto attendant greeting is like the sign outside your business. You certainly wouldn’t make a homemade, hand-painted sign, so don’t let Suzie in the order department be the voice of your business. More hang ups on a pre-recorded message are due to this than any other single factor. Seek out a professional auto attendant greeting from a company that will give your business the right sound for your brand.
You should also try to avoid hard selling the customer through your hold messages. The on hold message is a perfectly legitimate medium to let your customers know a little about you, and inform your customers about upcoming sales or promotions. Tell them about an upcoming customer appreciation day, or let them know about the special that you will be offering them this month. Every second that they are on hold, is a second that they are a captive audience says Ed Hardy Wholesale, “so you should use that to your advantage”. It is also a great place to offer free tips Ed Hardy Caps, ideas, and suggestions in relation to whatever area of business you work in. Customers always appreciate anything that improves their experience, and a satisfied customer, is a return customer.
On hold marketing provides a soft-sell approach, and also help to reduce caller hang up rates, which is something you want to try to avoid.
From a sales perspective, every phone call is a potential lead. You can never afford to waste leads, which is something almost everyone in sales is well aware of. By using a finely crafted hold message that was recorded by a professional voice over artist, you are giving yourself a chance to retain more leads and convert more sales than any of your competition that use painful hold music or even worse silence, both which increase hang ups dramatically. Professional auto attendant greetings as well as on hold messaging are a fantastic tool, because they are just offering you another way to reinforce your brand.
“There are certain sales truths which are universal, and to which the concepts surrounding on hold messages are derived from. A branded identity is extremely important for a successful company, so any chance to reinforce your brands identity, and brand recognition, is something that should be seized on because it will ultimately help increase your sales. Use your on hold message as another tool to increase both your customer service, and to reinforce the identity of your brand.”