While quick and painless for most, others lose sleep when considering all the musical selections available for their on hold message recording.  

Here are some things to consider that will hopefully simplify the process for you:

Are more of your callers male or female?  Men and women respond differently to music.  A major study found that time spent on hold was perceived to be shortest for men when classical music was played, but for women, the wait seemed longer when listening to classical.  Female callers perceived a shorter hold time when light jazz was playing.  Rock was the least preferred across both gender groups and produced the longest waiting time estimates.  Read More

What is your average hold time?  The longer the wait, the more important your selection.  You may like the choice you made, but how does it sound after three minutes or more?

What do your callers expect?  If your business sells cool auto accessories to a younger clientele to ‘trick out their ride,’ soft jazz music on hold may not be effective in keeping them excited about your business, especially after hearing an energetic radio commercial that motivated them to call in the first place.  At the same time, a caller to a dentist office might be surprised to hear a message about implants or root canal surgery, set to energetic alternative rock.

Overall, ask yourself, is this selection a good fit?  Sometimes a gut reaction leads to the best decision.  Afterall, you know your successful business better than anyone.
 

‘Can you hear me now?’ Certainly that question is familiar to you since cell phones began taking over the world in the late 90’s.

How about this one ‘Are You There?’ or ‘Did They Hang Up On Me?’

You may have heard those questions before or asked them yourself when calling a business that placed your call on hold in dead silence. No cricket sounds… nothing.

This is the reality for thousands of companies across the country that place callers on hold and leave them wondering if they are on hold or were disconnected.

To make matters worse, a new study reveals that over 50 percent of calls to businesses are made from mobile phones. As we learned in December (See ‘Why Does My Cell Phone Break Up When I Hear On Hold Music?’) mobile phones are optimized toward human speech, not music, so even if you have music playing on hold, without a message, callers often feel abandoned quite quickly and simply hang up.

You spend too much money and put in too much effort getting people to call your business, don’t turn them off when they do. A custom on hold message and music program will make callers feel connected to your company and reduce hang-ups.

Alternatives to on hold messages are available, but not very encouraging.  Consider your options:

1. Nothing (Silence) – Why would you want to give a valued client/prospect the silent treatment? You’ve spent advertising dollars to get someone to call your business, but it doesn’t have to stop there! Callers who wait in silence also do not know if they have been disconnected or abandoned. Studies show that 90 percent of all callers hang-up after 40 seconds and that 72 percent do not call back. Caller abandonment rates are extremely high and cost businesses millions annually.

    
2. Playing the Radio – This is one of the greatest ways to advertise other businesses, including your competition for free! Sounds kind of ridiculous, advertising other businesses to your customers for free doesn’t it? Well, that just may be what you’re doing if you play a local radio station on hold. U.S. Copyright laws also require that a business pay for the rights to play a radio while on hold or be subject to fines. These fees are collected by organizations such as ASCAP, BMI and SEASAC.

    
3. Canned Music – Can be a very expensive alternative to on hold messaging. Although having something for your callers to listen to while on hold is certainly more beneficial than ignoring them with silence, you are still missing out on numerous marketing opportunities.

• Educate callers about your products & services
• Introduce & promote special offers
• Generate traffic to your company’s web site
• Enhance your company’s image
• Decrease caller abandonment (lost calls, hang ups, etc.)