The ROI From On Hold Messages
You may already know you need to replace the silence or the static-filled radio your callers currently experience while waiting on hold.
For years, multiple studies have found that when callers were presented with On Hold Messages versus silence or a radio commercial, they would stay on hold longer, were more likely to exhibit interest in the product advertised, were more likely to retain information and were less agitated.
A better customer experience is better for your business, but if you invest in professional on hold messages, what is your return on investment?
If you have been reluctant to acquire custom on hold messages for your business because of how much it will cost you, we are hoping to convince you that it may be the single best investment you can make today in terms of both tangible revenue and intangible customer experience.
Lost revenue opportunity
There are three ways your business is currently losing revenue if callers are placed on hold in silence or a poorly-tuned radio:
1. On average, seven out of ten callers are placed on hold. -Inbound/Outbound
2. The average person will spend 1.2 years on hold. -Woman’s World Magazine
3. 34% of callers who hang up will not call back. -Voice Response, Inc.
You may be thinking, “There’s no way my on hold time is that important to my customers.” Well, a recent survey by Infomax, Inc. found that 88% of callers preferred On Hold Messages to other hold options, and 16% made purchases based on an on hold offer.
Convinced yet?
Consider for a moment how much you are really losing because of the reasons noted above. If you do the math, you will find the numbers astounding. In addition, “94% of all marketing budgets are spent on inducing a customer to call, while only 6% is spent on handling the call once it is received.” -Inbound Telephone Call Center
Lost control of image and branding
Poor service on hold distracts callers and can ruin their perception of your company.
8 to 15% of a company’s customer base is lost each year, 68% is due to indifferent or negative phone treatment. -Oren Harari of The Tom Peters Group
Customers left on-hold without any background music felt that a 30-second on-hold call actually lasted 90 seconds. Furthermore, customers thought a 30-second on-hold call that used music-on-hold last only 15 seconds. -AT&T
Callers hang-up the fastest when when experiencing silence on hold. -North American Telecommunications Association
It’s pretty clear with results like these that hearing nothing on hold or static from a radio is a waste of valuable marketing time and destructive to the bottom line.
The solution is simple and cost-effective
Caller surveys point the way:
88% of callers preferred On Hold Messages to other hold options, and 16% made purchases based on an on hold offer. -MaxiMarketing
Callers stay on the line up to 25% longer when provided with On Hold Messages versus “dead air” or “background music,” and up to 17% longer than radio. -Infomax, Inc.
41% of American consumers have initiated a purchase over the phone in the last year.” -American Teleservices Association
When you consider all the reasons noted for lost revenues due to silence on hold or a poorly-tuned radio and then note the average cost to acquire a professional on hold message and music recording that solves all of these problems, ranges from $199 to $699, depending on your hardware requirements…
The cost doesn’t seem so high anymore, does it?
On Hold Music and Customer Satisfaction
NPR Marketplace recently published an article about on hold music that posed the question: Does music actually make the experience of being on hold any less frustrating?
Most of us can probably answer that with ‘I don’t know’ or ‘maybe’ and the research supports it.
Scott Broetzmann is the president of Customer Care Measurement and Consulting, which asked 702 households to rate their on-hold experiences on a scale of zero to ten. Zero being deeply unsatisfying. “And on that zero to ten scale, playing music while you are on hold averages a score of 5.37 — in effect a neutral score. It doesn’t really have any impact on satisfaction of consumers while they are waiting on hold,” says Broetzmann.
This result is not really surprising and left us wondering that maybe we should ask, compared to what? On Hold Music only tells half the story, in that the music is important, but not that effective without on-hold messaging.
Hold messages engage callers and keep them interested enough not to hang up while they wait. Messages can market a business or simply inform the caller and great music combined with creative writing and a professional voice talent makes it a complete package.
From the survey noted above, it was no surprise that silence on hold had a negative impact on customer satisfaction.
So why then do companies do things that have either no impact or a negative impact on customer satisfaction? Emily Yellin spent years trying to answer that question. She’s the author of “Your Call is Not That Important to Us.”
Where companies go wrong, according to Yellin, is spending huge amounts of money on things like surveys and focus groups to find out what customers want. “Meanwhile, they have this department called customer service where customers are calling and trying to tell the company what they think of them and they are being put on hold, they are treated poorly and then customers walk away frustrated,” Yellin says.
Yellin looked at how companies calculate the cost per call of each customer service call they field. Businesses use this number to find the right balance between keeping costs low and not angering customers with long wait times. Yellin says the companies that really get it right never put you on hold for more than one minute. Read More
Phone On Hold Coverage For Insurance Agents
As an insurance agent, your commitment to earning the trust of prospects and clients is crucial to remaining competitive in the market today.
Customized phone on hold messages that inform callers about your agency allow you the opportunity to highlight your expertise and promote your specific areas of available insurance policy coverage.
GO On Hold can create an effective script for your business and our experienced voice talent will record your hold messages with a warm and personable delivery that will help you in acquiring or keeping the confidence of your callers.
The professional sound of your phone on hold messages will impress callers and provide them with valuable information, such as any multi-policy discounts or other important features you offer that set you apart from your competition.
Other advantages to implementing phone hold messages include the following:
1. Callers remain on the line longer. When people are placed on hold and hear nothing, they normally hang up, on average after about 30 to 45 seconds. With a custom on hold message that provides them pertinent details about your insurance agency set to pleasant music, that time normally increases to as long as three minutes.
2. You are more likely to be considered an expert. Many callers on hold who experience silence or an annoying beep will perceive a business as inexperienced or unprofessional. A custom phone on hold message program presents your agency as having their act together and makes waiting callers feel more comfortable with their choice to remain on hold.
3. Captive audience. Marketing messages on hold are a salesperson on auto-pilot and provide those interested in exploring your agency an overview of what your business is all about during a time they cannot help but be captive to the message, with their phone stuck to their ear.
Phone on hold messages allow your agency to take advantage of a cost-effective marketing tool that guarantees your potential and exisiting clients will hear about your policy options for protecting individuals, families, businesses or property anytime you must place them on hold.
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