Strike a Chord: Make Your On-Hold Message Resonate

If you’re already using on-hold messages (or are thinking of starting), you know that you only have a limited time to share value with your callers. But what kind of value are you really sharing? Often, on-hold messages include the latest sales and offers or answers to frequently asked questions. These are great things to include, but let us give you one other idea: your emotional-based marketing message.

Every business has a beginning, a “why” it does what it does. For some businesses, customers are well aware of the why because it permeates the corporate culture. For some, though, not even the owner or founder is sure of the why. This may be especially true for a company that started as a one-person organization and grew quickly. The only driving factor might have been to fill a need, but there’s usually something more below the surface.

What is the reason the business you’re in was started? Here are some examples of “why”:

• A financial planner saw too many women getting divorced and unaware of how to handle finances after the split, especially when the husband had managed money during the marriage.
• The owner of an outsourced human resources firm saw his father struggle to grow his business while being unsure about what was needed to take on new employees.
• A marketing consultant wanted to live her life without limits—and enable her clients to do the same.

The benefit of sharing your emotional-based marketing message with your callers is that they begin to feel connected to the company when they know the “why.” A simple, short message about the beginning of the business or why you do what you do can go a long way to building raving fans and improving customer engagement.

Integrated Marketing Reaps Huge Rewards

While the term “integrated marketing” might be a buzzword thought to be limited to those who live and work on Madison Avenue, the truth is that most business professionals practice it on a regular basis. Like most things in life, marketing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Every time you speak to someone, answer the phone, post on social media, or make an update to the company website, you’re marketing—and the likelihood is that you’re doing all of those things. The question then is: Are your marketing efforts integrated?

Branding is a huge component of marketing, and the company brand should be consistent no matter how customers are interacting with the company. That impression may start, or be supported by, your customer service professionals on the phone. If you’re in a busy company, you’re probably putting customers on hold—maybe for a few seconds up to a couple of minutes. The mistake many companies make, however, is that they let that time just pass by…silently.

On-hold messages can bring that marketing message to the phones, where companies have a captive audience. The brand message can be carried through in bite-sized nuggets to share extra services, specials, and even answers to frequently asked questions. The point is that you don’t want customers to be waiting in silence. In fact, studies have shown that callers will wait on hold longer AND ask about the promotion they just heard when offered some on-hold messaging.

So make a 2012 resolution to integrate your marketing by including on-hold messaging. It’s cost effective and will give your customers something more than silence, because sometimes, it’s NOT golden. Call us at 866-800-HOLD to get started.

Your Call IS Important to Us. Really.

When callers call in to your company to reach a customer-service professional, they may only have a quick question to ask, one which may already have an answer somewhere else. How about directing those customers to different ways to connect with you and find out those simple answers?

If your customers’ calls are important to you—and, of course, they are—you want to resolve the reason for their call faster rather than slower. What if the answer is on your website in the FAQ section? Or they can reach an associate via social media during your high-traffic phone times? You can utilize your on-hold messaging to provide those alternative ways to reach you to give them even better customer service.

Some businesses may find that a message on their on-hold system can be a great way to answer those common questions. For instance, an electricity provider may let callers know which areas don’t have service while they’re waiting to call in the outage. If you receive questions that frequently, incorporating them into your phone system is one solution.

Remember that your on-hold messages are just one component of an integrated marketing campaign, which may include social media, direct marketing, website, and advertising. The more closely you can link all of those—and create a reason for customers to interact with you on multiple levels—the faster your efforts will pay off.

So, when you script your new on-hold message, consider adding the different ways your customers can reach you quickly to find out the answers to their questions. You’ll see that your customer service level and the customer experience will get better and better!

Have a question about creating your new on-hold message campaign? Contact America On Hold at 866-800-HOLD.