I was recently placed On-Hold at a financial institution, and heard this On-Hold message:

Anatomy of an On-Hold Message

I was struck by a couple of things, and since Prosound did not produce this On-Hold message, I’m going to break it down for you here.

First of all, it’s not just a “thank you for holding” message. There’s more information in there to let me know I’ve called a financial institution.

It has holiday closings listed, which is fantastic! (It’s always good to communicate closings and hour changes with your customers as much as possible!)

There are tips for online shopping security, as well as shopping in the “real” world.

And there’s even a reminder to change your clock back to Standard Time on Sunday, November 7th.

So, what’s missing?

Nowhere…not once…ever…is the name of the financial institution listed. Go back and listen again, if you didn’t catch it. It’s all right; I’ll wait.

“So what’s the big deal?” you might ask.

Here’s the thing:

This strategy is quite brilliant actually—but only for the On-Hold message production company. It has created a set of messages that is recorded once, and sold over and over again to financial institutions nationwide.

The strategy is not so brilliant for the bank that’s using it, and here’s why:

• It doesn’t reinforce the name of the bank to each and every customer.
• It doesn’t help strengthen the bank’s other marketing and branding efforts outside the bank, like it could if it were part of those efforts.
• It lacks a distinct relevance that only a unique On-Hold message can provide. Relevance is created by connecting with the perspective of the listener. The more specific you can be in your messaging, the more believable your message will be.

Every business has a story to tell.

Telling the story that is uniquely yours will create stronger relationships with your clients and prospects, making it a much harder choice for them to leave you, or to choose your competition.

I admit that finding your unique story is more difficult than simply selecting a few pseudo-customized-for-your-industry messages. But your customers and callers will thank you.

Keep these things in mind as you approve your ad copy…whatever medium it’s in:

• Ads that fail in one medium will usually fail in others.
• The medium is not the message; the message is the message.

And the message is what matters most!

On-Hold Options

This TED video from Julian Treasure has a lot to teach about the use of sound in business. Take a moment to watch it, and then I’ll point out a few ways you can make the most of this information.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSjx_fVLIrM[/youtube]

First, you may have noticed some pretty big numbers….a drop of 66 percent in productivity in open-plan office environments and a sales drop of up to 28 percent in a retail environment when inappropriate sound is present.

I especially liked his observation that we, “…move away from unpleasant sound and toward comfortable sounds.”

Telephone Sound is one of eight types of commercial sound that Treasure talks about. If you haven’t thought about the rest of your soundscape, your phone sound signature is a good place to start. A Caller Experience expert can help craft your phone sound to be a reflection of your business goals. You can go from there into more purposeful and directed tactics for every other element of sound in the business.

If you already have a unique soundscape in your advertising, in-store experience, products and services, you’ve made that expert’s job easier, but no less urgent.

Crafting and producing an On-Hold message is not good territory for Do-It-Yourself business marketers. As a business owner, you’re likely only to mention information that’s important to you, while failing to take a customer-centric view. You risk falling into instruction mode instead of taking an informative and (if appropriate) entertaining strategy.

But not all On-Hold message companies are created equal. Here are some of the pitfalls to watch out for from any On-Hold provider:

• They offer “canned,” pre-produced, or fill-in-the-blank messages.
• They expect the business owner to write the scripts.
• They leave it up to you to remember to make changes to your message throughout the year.
• They make no attempt to customize your message to match the sound signature of your business and other marketing efforts.
• They provide equipment that doesn’t allow instant updates, flexible scheduling, and constant monitoring.

A great On-Hold message provider will:

• Thoroughly uncover the key values of the business.
• Dig deep enough to find the important facts for the message.
• Provide turn-key support and quick response for updating messages.
• Provide advanced playback equipment.
• Monitor your system’s actual playback on a regular basis.

I like Treasure’s first three golden rules of commercial sound:

1. Make it congruent (with the core values and other sound elements of the business).
2. Make it appropriate (to the intended listeners).
3. Make it valuable (by offering more than a caller expected to hear).

So, what’s holding you back?

If you’re abusing your customers by delivering a bad phone experience, it is one of the easiest marketing touch points to fix.

If you’re not sure what kind of experience you’re delivering, get it evaluated.

If you currently offer flat, dead silence, that’s the best place to start.

One question I get asked in the On-Hold message consultations my company offers is whether or not a company can benefit from a custom On-Hold message.

So how will you, the busy business owner, know when an investment to reach your callers while On-Hold will return good results?

How many calls do you receive?

Over the course of a day, a week, or even a month…how many calls does your business receive? Have you ever thought about counting them? Have you ever tried?

You could get your receptionist or employees just to make a quick tally whenever they answer the calls. It might not be the most technologically advanced method, but it will give you a better understanding of how many calls you do receive!

How long are callers On-Hold?

I talk with some companies who tell me, “We don’t put people On-Hold,” but willing it not to happen doesn’t mean it never does.

Being On-Hold is a fact of life for most businesses. But On-Hold time really falls into two categories:

1. Long hold times…like call centers, tech support, and customer service. These are hold times counted in tens of minutes. (I know…I was On-Hold with American Express for forty-two minutes!)

2. Short hold times…these are hold times that we often don’t think about. Being transferred to another person, sent to voicemail, or waiting while someone looks up our order. These hold times are usually measured in seconds. You may be On-Hold for ten seconds while going to voicemail, thirty seconds while being transferred to the person with whom you would like to speak, or for a minute or two while someone looks up your order or checks the stock of an item.

These two very different categories require different approaches. But for category #2, which most small businesses fall into, optimizing that On-Hold time can bring great value to the caller.

So how do you measure it?

Spend two days asking your staff to track how many calls go On-Hold or are transferred. Again, a simple tally will work. Monitoring a few of those calls will give you a great idea of how long the average hold time is at your company.

With that information, you can begin to measure the value that a custom On-Hold message can bring to your company.

And if your business really is one of those that doesn’t put people On-Hold, you’ll find that out as well.

Quantifying the Caller Experience will give you a clearer picture of the areas where your Caller Experience can improve to maximize customer service.

Remember, you can’t improve what you don’t measure!

Most On-Hold messages are cheesy. Cheesy because they talk about things that callers don’t care about, in a way that doesn’t make callers want to listen. For example, reminding you that “Your call is important to us” and to “Please continue to hold” simply frustrates your caller even more! Cheesy because someone simply didn’t take the time to ask, “Will our callers think this sound cheesy?”

Most On-Hold experiences are not fun and engaging. Most callers would ask not to be put On-Hold…and some will demand not to be!

But with a little effort and thought, you can create an On-Hold experience that has callers asking to be put back On-Hold!