For companies that rely heavily on phone calls, on hold marketing presents a major yet often overlooked opportunity to actively engage callers, promote products and services, and ultimately grow your business.
Implementing brief, professional on hold messages while customers are waiting on the line allows you to educate listeners, boost sales, and reinforce branding. Follow these tips to maximize value from your phone on hold time:
Create Informational Messages That Add Value
View your on hold messaging as a chance to provide useful tips, insider knowledge or interesting facts related to your industry. For example, a landscaping company could offer gardening advice for that time of year while a dental office provides oral hygiene tips.
A cleaning service may share DIY spot treatment recommendations. The key is to make messages succinct while focusing on informative content that establishes your expertise. Callers are more likely to stay on the line and recognize you as a trusted resource.
Promote Current Special Offers and Events
Dedicate a portion of the on hold messaging to reminding callers of any special promotions, sales, new product launches, upcoming workshops, or seasonal discounts your business currently has happening.
This on hold time is a direct channel to spotlight time-sensitive deals and offers precisely when you have a caller’s attention. Keep these promotional segments short, compelling, and conversational to entice interest.
Reinforce Your Unique Brand Personality
On hold messages also provide an opportunity to let your brand personality shine through. For example, an upscale restaurant may opt for smooth jazz background music while a nonprofit could use their time to share details on their mission and community impact.
Consider using branded music along with greetings voiced by actual staff members to give a taste of your culture and style. Keep messaging aligned across phone, website and on hold platforms.
Vary Message Content to Maintain Interest
Cycle through a few different yet complementary on hold messages to keep repeats to a minimum. For instance, you may have one focused on an upcoming product sale, one that provides related usage tips or insider info, and one that shares a company milestone.
Short segments of 20-30 seconds each are recommended to avoid repetition fatigue. Refreshing content maintains interest.
Thank Callers for Their Patience
Gratitude goes a long way. Be sure to incorporate a warm thank you or appreciation within messages to reassure customers their call is important. Friendly phrases like “Thanks for your patience” and “We appreciate you holding – we’ll be with you shortly” show respect for the caller’s time. This thoughtful touch strengthens positive sentiment.
Keep Messages Brief and Simple for Comprehension
Resist the urge to pack too many complex ideas into short on hold spots. Callers will not retain excessive information. Prioritize highlighting one or two key points and express them clearly and succinctly using welcoming language. Consider having brief messages followed by instrumental interludes. Quick bites work best.
Refresh Content Frequently to Stay Current
Stale, outdated on hold messages reflect poorly on businesses. Set reminders to review and update content every few months at minimum. Promote new offers, remove expired promotions, and record messages relevant to upcoming holidays and events. Keep it fresh.
Invest in High-Quality Production
For best results, invest in professional message writing and production. Hiring voice over talent to deliver greetings with a warm yet polished, nuanced tone establishes credibility. Licensing high-quality original music compositions as background makes messages more impactful. Poor audio risks callers hanging up.
Leveraging your phone on hold time to share valuable information, promote products and reinforce your brand is an easy yet highly effective way to actively connect with callers and grow your business. With compelling, professional on hold messages, this captive audience becomes a valuable marketing channel.
