Your most effective marketing tool? Your On-Hold Message! This on-hold messaging should be the next message people hear when calling in past the Auto Attendant and transfer messaging. When the customer gets transferred to the service, parts or sales department with in the company what are they hearing. A ring tone, silence, on hold music or a productive on hold message. Hearing this message will continue to help set the tone for the call and carry the customer to the next step of your customer service messaging. Your phone message system or VOIP message system are the most effective, most direct and least expensive phone marketing tools available – if you are using “on-hold” messaging. It’s pretty safe to say that targeting your company information to pre-qualified callers that are contacting you directly to do business will produce the best results for your marketing dollars. The customer spent their time to call in and do business so give them information that is relevant to their request.
Smart Companies understand the value of their educational brand messaging and broad based marketing to customers varied requests!
Having your customer learn targeted information about specific products you offer is only smart as the rule is 80 percent of your new business comes from your existing customer base. Your most valuable customer is the one calling you and is now a captive audience listening to what you have to say before they talk to a live person. the psychology behind this is powerful!
Your most effective marketing tool? Your On-Hold Message!
What are the different ways people get placed on hold when they call a company?
- When you have an Auto Attendant that answers the phone then every call is essentially placed on hold 100% of the time before a live person picks up.
- When the person answering is too busy at the point of contact.
- When someone is transferred they will hear a transfer message and they are on-hold until the person picks up.
- When they are transferred to a department within the company
- When the person you are speaking with has to run and get information you are placed on hold again
- When you have an After hours message.
Placing people on hold is now more critical than ever for businesses with the rising competition for your customers time and money. Let your customers compensate you not your competition. The on-hold message helps to continue the call professionally and educationally as the customer progresses through your companies on hold experience. Many companies lose the customer at this point with silence, music or a dial tone. These are not the best use of the customers time or your resources.
When a company has a wide offering, their customers may not be familiar with all of the products and services that are available, often resulting in missed opportunities and lost sales. An effective way of significantly improving product awareness is to utilize an already captive audience; the caller. This way you can inform, educate and market to callers who are quite literally, all ears. It is by far the most direct advertising you can use. You can also use this valuable time to notify customers of any new promotions, encouraging customers to look at your company and products in ways they never would and enhancing your bottom line. Never underestimate the power of a Quality informative on hold experience!
Your most effective marketing tool? Your On-Hold Message! So think about the impact your are having with each customer that calls into to hear who you are and want you have to offer….That is if you really want to increase your business.