The music on hold at your business may not seem that important to you, however it may be even more important that you realize. In a tough economic time when we’re all trying to do the most we can to stay afloat, certainly we do not need “bad press” from our callers. But that just may be what people are saying about your company.
We now live in a world where social media cannot only be tremendously beneficial for your business, but it can also be a business killer if your customers are posting negative feedback about your business. Here’s why you need to re-think what your callers are hearing on hold, or what their caller experience is like. Social media comments spread like wildfire which can have a tremendous impact both good and bad.
Just today (May 6) these are some of the literally hundreds of “tweets” about how people are complaining about bad on hold experiences.
“The hold music at this place is a torturous.”
“Just sat on a bridge listening to hold music for 10 minutes.”
“Don't you love it when you're on hold but there's no hold music? Always makes me wonder if I've ended up in phone limbo.”
“just been put on hold. first line of hold music: "i'm going to make love to you, that's all i wanna do"
“OK I'm still on hold... Haven't even talked to a real person, yet. Glad I have Twitter to distract me from the really bad music...”
“I hate being put on hold...especially when they play this terrible classical music.”
“These people just better not have me on hold for TOO LONG! This "hold" music is the worst”
ARRRGGGHHH! That "on-hold" music Monarch Airlines Customer Services plays is driving me to the limits of sanity...
“On hold with my bank. I hate their hold music.”
“Is there anything worse than loud boring music in broken speaker while on hold? Should be illegal.”
“Don't you just hate the silly music they play whenever you're put on hold?? Its never anything you wanna hear!”
As a business owner, you may not have a choice. Some “on-hold” time is going to happen. The problems start when you ignore your callers on hold time or mismanage it. Studies show that 88% of callers prefer on hold messages when placed on hold versus silence or music. And that 20% of callers make a purchasing decision based upon information they hear while on hold. Impressive numbers, but one of the most impressive statistics is 50% of callers hang-up within 12 seconds when waiting in silence, and 34% of those callers will never call back. This means lost calls, lost business and lost revenue.
Customers buying habits have changed, and for the most customer loyalty has been tossed out the window. Today customers want “great” customer service and value”, not just in the products or services they are purchasing, but also with the company from whom they choose to business with. So if you think having callers wait on hold in dead silence or listen to boring elevator music is good enough….then think again!
Surprisingly, your music on hold & messages can spark a customer’s interest and increase the average sale. For example, if you call a business about a specific product or services and you’re put on hold for a moment. A recording comes on that tells you about other products or services that you may not otherwise have known about — causing you to ask for more information or come in and see for yourself. Not only is music on hold a great marketing opportunity to communicate to a captive, targeted audience, it also reduces callers perceived on hold time, keep them waiting on the line longer and creates a positive impression of your brand. Now that’s what you callers to tweet about!