Update your message…update your caller

How often to update the messages your callers hear On-Hold.

One of the most frequent questions I hear is “how often should I change my On-Hold message?” This is usually coming from a business owner who is already juggling more hats than a hat-stand!

Ultimately, the value of your On-Hold message is measured by the value it brings to your callers. Are your messages relevant? Are you talking to your customer in their language, using the words they want to hear?

So when do you update your On-Hold message?

Here are the factors that should go into that decision;

What is the caller profile?

Which means, is one caller calling once a week, for 2 months? Or are they calling once a day for a week? Once per quarter? Once per year?

How many phone calls do you get in a day?

Understanding your caller profile is the first step towards understanding how to craft your message to be relevant to them.

How long will they hear it?

Consider how long your caller will be listening to your message. (This also determines the length and structure of your On-Hold message, but that will have to be for a different post!)
Are they hearing thirty seconds or five minutes?

A caller that hears five minutes of your On-hold message is going to quickly tire of what they hear. You’ll need to change that quite often to make their call experience a good one.

Be Specific

The more specific you can be in your On-Hold message, the more impact it will have on your caller. Usually the more specific you are, the more you will need to keep your message current, in order to remain connected with your caller.

Tie it into other marketing

Your new print ad was just published. You’re crossing your fingers, and hoping your dollars were well spent. And how the phone rings. What your caller hears while their On-Hold can have a huge impact on reinforcing the advertising you do, or sounding disconnected from other marketing efforts.

Do you update your On-Hold message whenever you change your ad or publish a new one? If you don’t, you’re not serving your customers well. Have you ever clicked a link in an email, expecting to be taken to a spefici product page, or to learn more about something, and instead you land on the home page of the company? You’re left searching for the product or information that you want.

The same thing happens to your caller when your On-Hold message isn’t coordinated with your marketing. Don’t make them hunt for information…they may just start hunting with your competition!

Surprise them!

One of the best ways to keep them tuned in to your message is to surprise them with new information.

Recently I was working through an “uncovery” with a new client that provides mailing services, and they mentioned that a lot of their customers weren’t aware that they also provided document storage, archiving, and shredding.

What a terrific opportunity to connect with people that you are already doing business with, to let them show them how you can help solve other pain points in their life!

Common update times

You will find some fairly common update recommendations from On-Hold providers. These include:

·      Daily

·      Monthly

·      Quarterly

·      Semi-Annually

After reviewing your caller profile, your other marketing, specific products or services you want to promote, and you’ve thought about ways to surprise your caller, you’ll have a much better understanding of how often you should have your On-Hold message updated.

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