Message & Music On Hold
Effective Advertising
How much have you spent to get prospects to contact your business?
When they do call, how much have you spent to convert that prospect to a customer?
If you were a prospect calling your company, were placed on hold and heard silence while waiting, how long would you stay on the line?
Many companies do not think they put their callers on hold, or only place callers on hold for a short period of time.
The reality is placing callers on hold is necessary in business. In fact, 70 percent of all callers are placed on hold (source: AT&T).
Why not turn that time (even if brief) into one of the most important marketing opportunities available for your business.
What Happens… When You Press The Hold Button?
- Do callers think you hung up on them because they hear nothing?
- Are callers suffering to the sounds of a poorly-tuned radio station?
- Nice music, but a missed opportunity to promote your products and services?
There are many good reasons why every business should have an on hold message and music program:
- Why give a valued prospect or client the silent treatment?
- Your callers on hold are a captive audience to a lot of commercials.
- You’re in business to make money. Shouldn’t you promote your business?
but there is only one reason that matters most…
Do you really want people who call your business to perceive your company as anything less than you believe it to be?
Image is everything. Perception is reality. It’s up to you to decide if that time on hold is wasted, or an opportunity to inform your callers about your products and services.
Professionally produced messages on hold create a positive, professional impression of your company. Studies show that what your customers hear while on hold has a dramatic effect on how they perceive your business.
Virtual Phone System Makes Small Business Sound Big
GO On Hold has fielded numerous inquiries over the years from small and home-based organizations and businesses looking to acquire a professional on hold message and music recording, so the perception of their business would be comparable to that of big corporations.
Most small businesses do not have a conventional phone system, so presenting any on hold audio has been a tough task. For live calls during the business day, GO On Hold has solved this issue with the OHP-6500 On Hold Adapter. This unit works with nearly any phone… even your home phone.
But as the Web becomes the center of business and phone call quality online now rivals traditional analog telephone lines, a virtual phone system allows companies of any size to sound like a corporate giant. And with little or no equipment to purchase, this option works with your existing phones and the cost can be as low as $8 per month.
When you acquire a virtual phone system, there are zero changes to how you run your day-to-day business, except how your telephone calls are answered and distributed. The automated attendant feature available from most providers allows you and your employees to work anywhere, using any phone, and callers won’t perceive your company as anything, but everyone working out of the same office.
Most small and home-based businesses have only 1 or 2 phone lines or maybe just a cell phone. Certainly, you know there are drawbacks to this (can only take one call at a time, calls going to personal voicemail, no music on hold, etc.) Now envision your callers first hearing a professional automated attendant greeting with directions and instructions to push 1 for service, 2 for accounting, or a specific extension for you or an employee. Customize it anyway you wish… the sky is the limit.
Now imagine, a caller presses extension 1, but you are talking on the phone or all lines are in use… many virtual phone systems have a call queuing opportunity that tells callers they have reached ____ and the next available representative will be with them to assist. Your callers will never know you have only 1 or 2 telephone lines!
Further, while callers listen to music on hold with messages, you receive a notification they are waiting. After checking the caller ID, you can then finish the call you are on, place that person on hold and take the other call, or direct the new caller to voicemail.
If you can relate to any of the above, a virtual phone system probably sounds appealing to you.
At GO On Hold, our office has 4 phone lines. A traditional phone system was too expensive, so we signed on with RingCentral in August, 2009 and immediately improved our call management at an affordable montly rate. Feel free to call us anytime at 1-800-963-6968 to hear a live example of how this works and then imagine the possibilities for your business.
To learn more about virtual phone systems, be sure to visit www.virtualphonesystemcentral.com. You can review providers and compare features, and most offer a free-trial to make sure it’s right for you.
