Best marketing tool? Your after hours Message! This on-hold messaging should be the message people hear when calling in past your work day hours. You need to let people know how best to do business with you. When the customer gets a ring tone, silence, on hold music after hours they are less likely to call back and do business. Hearing this message will continue to help set the tone for the caller 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 situation. Often people will call after hours to see what time you are open the next day. This is a perfect situation to give them information they would expect and then tell them a bit about your brand products and services.
Smart Companies understand the value of their brand messaging and broad based marketing to customers even after hours!
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! How often have you heard about companies acquiring a customer because they heard information they were looking for when the company was not open. Using your after hours message is a a smart curtesy that can pay huge dividends.
Best marketing tool? Your after hours 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.
Often 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 after hours with on hold messaging to notify customers of times of operation, brands you carry and 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 messaging experience!
Best marketing tool? Your after hours 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.