Instead of having on-hold callers listen to a single repetitious message or the sound of silence, a the dealership has found a way to put the time to good use.

Southside Motors sells  Nissan vehicles. The dealership teamed with audio branding specialist On-Hold Systems to better engage with, and retain, callers.  They found that Keeping callers holding on Audio marketing helps engage/retain!

The dealership’s audio branding was part of a comprehensive strategy. “You’ve got Google, social media, email, direct mail,” says Joel. “But you can’t forget about the final stage when they’re on hold with you.”

Audio impressions

The dealership had more than 5,000 calls coming in every month when the initiative began. Joel says the need to project a polished image to those callers was crucial. “I think if they get put on hold to silence, it damages their impression of the company,” he says.

The goal: “is to find brand-appropriate music and voice, and the opportunities dealerships have for the things they’d like to talk about.”

Joel  recommends music composed specifically for the phones and a variety of male and female voices tailored to the feel of the dealership to communicate the messages.  For 25 years On-Hold Systems has been producing music just for the  On Hold Messaging Market.

Filling up what had been dead air also offered a chance to give callers a better understanding of the dealership’s offerings. “It doesn’t just give you a professional feel,” says Joel. “It allows for cross-marketing.”

Some dealerships, conscious of the need for on-hold branding, stop at one repeating message. But Joel  includes an array of messages — no fewer than seven, no more than about 14 at any given time — to minimize repetition. A single repetitive message, says Joel, is often tuned out.

The dealership also changes messages monthly to promote new marketing pushes, remind callers of ancillary services and prevent the on-hold audio from becoming stale — another pitfall, Joel warns.

Calls for service

The messages include information about the brands, company history, parts and service, new-vehicle offers and new initiatives or events.

The messages are loosely targeted, but more than half of all calls are related to service, setting up opportunities for repeat business.

The Dealership Marketing offers a Smart Repair program encompassing such services as paintless dent repair and other small repairs that might not warrant booking a vehicle in to a body shop. The program is regularly presented in the on-hold messaging.

“A customer is unlikely to say, ‘I called in for sales but I want to take you up on your small-to-medium repair offer,’” Joel says. But the suggestion made on-hold marketing is designed to get callers thinking about returning to fix a scuff or a dent.

 Each client is assigned a dedicated account manager who ensures that the audio messages happen.

Listening longer

Callers are listening. As call volume increased on-hold times fell slightly. But those who were placed on hold stayed on longer — hearing more of the message.

Maximum hold-to-hangup times increased by 8.8 seconds on average, to 33.2 seconds, since the dealership adopted the audio messaging.

Answered calls that result in transactions are the goal of the business, and the on-hold messaging is distinctly secondary, but  the results are a twofold gain beyond simply sounding more professional.

While not a controlled trial, Joel suggests that the increasing volume of calls that connect with staff may be because callers are more engaged, and therefore willing to hold longer. The longer they hold, the more likely their call will connect. In the meantime, a larger amount of branded messaging is delivered.

Joel acknowledge that it can be difficult to gauge the returns of the audio marketing. “By the time they’re calling you, the lead has already been generated,” Joel says.

“But even if you get only a couple of extra services out of it, it repays the cost.”