The alternatives to on hold messages are not very encouraging. Consider your options:

1. Nothing (Silence) – Why would you want to give a valued client/prospect the silent treatment?  You’ve spent advertising dollars to get someone to call your business, but it doesn’t have to stop there!  Callers who wait in silence also do not know if they have been disconnected or abandoned.  Studies show that 90 percent of all callers hang-up after 40 seconds and that 72 percent do not call back.  Caller abandonment rates are extremely high and cost businesses millions annually.
2. Playing the Radio – This is one of the greatest ways to advertise other businesses, including your competition for free!  Sounds kind of ridiculous, advertising other businesses to your customers for free doesn’t it?  Well, that just may be what you’re doing if you play a local radio station on hold.  U.S. Copyright laws also require that a business pay for the rights to play a radio while on hold or be subject to fines.  These fees are collected by organizations such as ASCAP, BMI and SEASAC.
3. Canned Music – Can be a very expensive alternative to on hold messaging.  Although having something for your callers to listen to while on hold is certainly more beneficial than ignoring them with silence, you are still missing out on numerous marketing opportunities.

• Educate callers about your products & services
• Introduce & promote special offers
• Generate traffic to your company’s web site
• Enhance your company’s image
• Decrease caller abandonment (lost calls, hang ups, etc.)

The advantage to having an on hold message and music program is you always have control of your customer’s perception of your company.  Nobody likes to be put on hold, but hearing the radio or silence, or maybe that annoying beep-beep sound, is a constant reminder that only makes that experience worse.   A professional, on hold message and music program will polish your image to a captive audience waiting on hold.

They have chosen to call you.  Have them listen to you.

When your company plays the radio on hold, your customers are hearing the following:

• Commercials from other businesses – are any of them competitors?
• Announcers are talking, but not about your business
• Music is playing, but does your customer like that song?
• You’ve tuned in the soft rock station – is the reception clear?

Ever wonder why you hear so much static when listening to a radio station on hold?

Most company phone systems are located near a server and other electronic equipment in a closet or small room. This confined area creates a lot of interference and as a result, nearly every radio on hold is filled with static!

Food for Thought:

Imagine someone standing in front of your business everyday. They distract attention away from your business by talking to your customers about the weather and other businesses. Certainly, you would call the police before you let that happen. Now, think of a caller to your business being placed on hold and hearing the radio.

Customer service. Every business strives to make it priority number one and in a perfect world, each customer would receive immediate, productive service.

Ideal, but highly unrealistic.

What really happens is approximately 70 percent of callers to businesses are placed on hold.

While they wait, are these prospects and customers of your business suffering-in-silence? Have they lost focus on their call to your business because they’re listening to the radio?

If you’re serious about building a solid corporate image, consider a custom on hold message and music recording.

You’ve spent time and money building your business. Don’t lose credibility by giving your customers the silent treatment or allowing the local radio station to control the message your customers hear.

With custom on hold messages, your company can quickly offer information about your business to waiting callers who are already interested in your product or service.

There really is no better targeted prospect.

You can use your on hold message recording to direct callers to your website, blog or Facebook page for additional information or specials. Once you connect with them online, you can encourage customers and prospects to share your brand with their friends and associates through their social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.).

That’s some powerful promotion, all started with a simple on hold message program.