If Baby Boomers can get botox and tummy tucks, then why don't companies receive facelifts to improve their image as well? The telephone is the lifeblood of any business. Use it respectfully. Don't leave your clients on-hold to listen to radio static or elevator music. With digital recording and delivery of sound files, professional production of on-hold advertising is both economical and necessary for a positive image. That's right ? it's imperative that the first impression a client receives of your business (even though they may never visit) is how they're treated on the telephone. How many times have you called a business to hear "Thank you for calling ABC Dental Office please hold" before you can get a word in edge-wise." In many cases , what they have on-hold is your first impression of that company.
Music Selection Should be Appealing
At the very least, make certain on-hold music is a decent selection, and that you have permission to broadcast the music to on-hold callers. After all the music chosen is a direct reflection of your business. If you don't get your licensed music from an On-Hold Message provider, you may obtain permission to play certain music on-hold from ASCAP, BMI, or SESAC, the three large performing rights organizations.
Develop Content That Sells Products and Services
Customers who are on-hold are essentially a captive audience. If you want on-hold time to turn into sales, consider hiring a professional producer to mix radio style commercials with licensed music. The copy should be specifically written to cross-sell your products and services. AT&T studies show that people will stay on-hold longer if they hear messages about your company during the waiting period. Do not rely on the "please hold for personal assistance to your call, or thank you for your patience while on hold" type of messages. I believe these type of messages hurt you more than help you.
Answer Repetitive Questions On-Hold
As you're on-hold spots are developed, remember this marketing strategy is a customer service tool as well as an advertising tool. Take the heat from your receptionist during busy call periods and answer those repetitive questions in on-hold spots.
On-Hold Advertising is Economical
Advertising sales are based on the number of impressions. If a business had one call placed on hold every ten minutes during an eight hour day 5 days per week, there would be 11,000 opportunities each year to market their business and services.
How to Evaluate an On- Hold Company
Make certain you get both male and female voice talent, and that the professional voice is pleasing. The studio you use should employ scriptwriters and offer a selection of licensed music to choose from. You choose the music from their library, not the on-hold company. You don't want the same stale music everyone else uses. In most cases all that is needed is an inexpensive off-the-shelf CD player.
Facts About On-Hold Advertising
Eighty percent of businesses have nothing on-hold, so businesses that do set up programs are on the cutting edge. Twelve percent of businesses do have a radio or CD tuned in while their customers are on-hold. Only 8% of businesses have on-hold programs.
The number of companies who use on-hold as a time to advertise are growing. That's because business owners are realizing there's no better way to impress a client who has never been to your office than a well designed, informative on-hold program. Remember in today's competitive market, image is everything. On-Hold advertising is one of the best facelifts a company could have.
By R.J. Paradee, President First Impression Inc. and MediaRight Studios
About The Author
R.J. Paradee is a host of the coast in his Virginia Beach, Virginia studio. He produces professional quality digital sound at his company Firt Impression and digital video through Media Rights Studios - rj@hearditonhold.comn
In order to survive, you have to be happier than... Read More
The failures we have seen in the quality and integrity... Read More
Somewhere in the world is a person who wants to... Read More
As a child, you probably heard, "to thine own self... Read More
Introducing a learning culture into organisations can be difficult at... Read More
As the business world enters a period of hyper-competitiveness, every... Read More
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation... Read More
Here are some quick thoughts on ways to turn things... Read More
Steven Covey had the right idea. There are discreet skills... Read More
Growing companies must always be ready for the next challenge.... Read More
Which documents must I keep for ISO 9001?In addition to... Read More
The Critical Success Factors Focusing on the... Read More
Most agendas for a meeting look like this.* Budget* Payroll*... Read More
Cost cutting has become a necessary and important reality in... Read More
Did you know that an airplane in flight is off... Read More
One amazing, but sadly true, fact of today's advances in... Read More
How can you make the best use of your energy... Read More
Learning to be assertive takes time, courage and the ability... Read More
The following question is usually debated a lot amongst IT... Read More
"It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the... Read More
Last month, my featured article was about creating a "Stop... Read More
About a year ago, I had an opportunity to have... Read More
"Nothing inspires confidence in a business man sooner than punctuality,... Read More
Most of us would like to be better communicators. As... Read More
Todays business environment has changed drastically from just a few... Read More
Don't Let Your Measurements Mislead You ... Read More
"The best Leader is one who knows how to pick... Read More
Part One of Creating Well-Defined Processes SeriesWhat if your sales... Read More
In today's competitive environment, companies realize that a good boss... Read More
Plan/prepare - lack of purpose causes aimless meetings. Know why... Read More
The Fundamentals of Strategic Marketing, Some Key Traits for Greater... Read More
This article relates to the Compensation and Benefits competency, commonly... Read More
I sit on the board of an organization and at... Read More
Office politics! It's just another way of saying: "The employees... Read More
If your organization has people, then interpersonal skills are needed.I... Read More
I recently flew from Seattle to Atlanta, I realized, just... Read More
When asked his secret to success, the author Graham Green... Read More
Becoming a manager for the first time can be an... Read More
Working virtually adds a whole new dimension to the phrase... Read More
Acknowledgement is about recognition or attention from another person. It... Read More
The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never... Read More
Data mining is the art of extracting nuggets of gold... Read More
How do you, or would you, communicate with employees who... Read More
Why risk the embarassment when with a little basic PR... Read More
The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but... Read More
One of the first things I look at when I... Read More
OVERCOMING FEAR OF FIRING "It was obvious that this employee... Read More
Recently a client told me a wonderful story about how... Read More
As a management consultant, I have seen some poorly conceived... Read More
Wouldn't it be nice for business owners and executives to... Read More
If you have a task greater than you can handle... Read More
Effective leaders are known for being excellent communicators. Here's what... Read More
Adults are vulnerable to personal and professional embarrassment from poor... Read More
Nearly all leaders I've encountered are underachievers. They're getting a... Read More
I could begin this article by providing a checklist of... Read More
Firstly you should decide your own reasoning behind considering ISO... Read More
Based on a wild guess by a close associate of... Read More
In fact, bringing your people - any of them -... Read More
Have you noticed that some sound ideas get bad publicity?... Read More
We all know people who are like human dynamos. They... Read More
One Bad Apple I know what... Read More
"Without the chance to meaningfully participate in steering one's own... Read More
If you have company delivery vehicles at your small or... Read More
Recently, I felt appalled to see a political candidate running... Read More
To a narcissist-employer, the members of his "staff" are Secondary... Read More
Email, when used properly, can generate additional direct sales and... Read More
Business Management |