By Steven Kaip, Managing Partner, MusicOnHold.com

Improving Your Business Through On-Hold Messaging

Are you letting valuable business promotional opportunities pass you by? Most of us know that just about every time we call larger businesses - we are going to be put on hold. Some of us also really hate that, so we might (like millions of others) be real tempted to hang-up after about a minute of silence. However, we have also discovered, if we think about it, that we are much more prone to stick with it, if we can listen either to music, or music with ads, than we would otherwise. So, apart from this tendency that many have, here are some other benefits that your business could gain by having on hold messages.

Play Music To Relax Your Callers

In a day of instant gratification, it is annoying enough to have to wait for someone to answer the phone. And worse, discomfort increases with a longer span of time. The result - your employee may get a real earful if the customer has been on hold for a while. By using on hold music and messages of assurance that someone will get to them as soon as they can, has the ability to relax the customer - and enable your employees to have a better day - and a more productive one.

Effective Way To Solidify Your Clients Loyalty

By using instructional messages, a business can use the on hold production as an opportunity to win your clients to your business. Use the time that your customers have to spend on the phone by giving them useful information. Begin with information that is related to your business and goes to useful financial information, health information, or answer commonly asked questions in relation to your business.

Advertise Your Products And Services

What better opportunity could you have than with a captive and targeted audience who is calling you for some information or aspect of your business? By using on hold advertising you are able to get across to your customers such information as:

The latest products

• The latest news and developments of your business
• Recent awards and special recognition won
• Specials and older products you want to highlight
• Seasonal specials

The latest term "Audio Marketing"

There's always a new buzzword around and the on hold industry is certainly no exception. Audio Marketing can be thought of something which is much broader than simply your on hold production, it can encompass your background music, and even begin to define your brand.

Audio marketing could bring your business to new heights by carefully and fully developing this one window of opportunity.

Increase cross-sell and up-sell opportunities

Don't forget, on hold time is the most important time because you have a captive audience. Direct your caller during on hold time, to invite your listener to inquire about the product or service when they can talk with your representative.

Entertain Your Clientele

By providing unique facts, or just interesting information, you have made their waiting worthwhile. If it is interesting enough - they might not even want their call to go through until the current message is finished! Things like On This Day In History..., famous quotes, trivia, etc., you can keep your customers calm, and ready to talk business.

By using on hold messaging, you can actually help your clients to be more willing to call you. Imagine – where would you be if they did not want to call simply because they get bored while waiting! For variety, you might try changing the type of messages on different days of the week - on Monday, use trivia; on Tuesday – focus on daily specials; on Wednesday – famous quotes, etc. Talk to an on hold messaging agency and start today to make a difference in the way business as usual is done around your office.