Message & Music On Hold
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.
Quality On Hold Communications Crucial To Business Customer Service Efforts
When your customers or prospects call your business and you need to put them on hold, do you leave them hanging in silence or listening to a poorly-tuned radio station? Certainly, you would rather have them experience on hold communications that include promotional and informative messages about your business set to pleasant background music.
Your on hold script content possibilities are endless… from letting callers know they are still connected and you will be with them as soon as possible, to answering commonly asked questions and promoting newly added products and services.
You may think your clients and prospects do not care for or even notice your on hold communications. In fact, if asked directly, most people would tell you they have a negative perception of music on hold, but this is a general perception and the reality is they are listening. And the more interested they are in your offerings to help them solve an immediate need, the more likely they are to listen to your messages on hold.
On Hold Communications are important to presenting a polished image. In addition, callers to your company are a captive audience, for when they inquire about your product or service, they are already interested and their mind is open to any message you send because they are looking for your product or service to fill a need or solve a problem.
A professionally produced phone on hold message program can make the time on hold seem shorter, which helps your business avoid having callers form a negative impression of your company. Nobody likes to be put on hold, but it is much worse when there is nothing to listen to or the audio quality from a static-filled radio distracts even the most rabid fans of your buiness.
Don’t underestimate the value of your On Hold Communications. It is a crucial part of your customer service efforts and adds value to your business with information and sales messages about your offerings that help you control what your callers hear and enhance your company’s image.
