If you’re thinking about upgrading your customer calling experience but still aren’t sure if the return on investment is going to be worth it, consider this.
Over 70% of businesses’ callers are put on hold, according to a report by Telemarketing Magazine. If you aren’t using a system for maximizing the potential of this customer touchpoint that reaches more than two-thirds of people who call your business, you could be missing out. A professional hold messaging system gives you a chance to receive the following benefits and opportunities each time a caller is placed on hold.
Stop Callers From Hanging Up
When someone calls your business, they are one of the most highly engaged prospects you can have. You don’t want them to hang up and disconnect from your business, but that is often what happens when you don’t have a hold messaging system. An AT&T survey found that, “Without hold music or messaging, 60% of those on hold will hang up and 30% of those won’t call back.”
Initiate Sales and Encourage Upsells
The highly engaged audience on the line also creates a prime opportunity to market and promote your products and services. You can actually increase revenue using on hold messaging by sharing information that initiates sales and upsells. A Telemarketing Magazine survey found that, “15% to 20% of phone callers make purchases based on information they heard on hold.”
Generate Interest (and Sales) For Lesser Known Products or Services
When you have the callers attention, you are also able to introduce customers to products and services they may not know about. You have an opportunity to promote offerings that are useful, but unfamiliar to callers. “Information given to customers while on-hold leads to 12% direct increase in requests for the products and services mentioned,” according to a US West Communications Study.
Promote Seasonal Offerings
With a hold messaging system, you can change your script so it matches the seasons. This keeps the information fresh for callers and allows you to promote products and services that relate to the season. For example, an auto shop could promote snow tires in the winter and air conditioning services in the summer.
Help Customers See Why They Need Your Products and Services
You on-hold message strategy allows you to do more than just mention your products and services. You can actually use your messaging to explain why customers need your products and services. Your script can include educational information that tells customers about the benefits of your offerings.
Speed Up Answering Times
A hold messaging system provides a better calling experience from start to finish as you can also integrate VoIP Phone Solutions into your system. This routes calls to off-site locations and expands your ability to answer calls in a timely fashion and communicate with customers even if you are out of the store or office.
Shorten Call Times
Calls are answered more quickly with a phone messaging system, and they are also handled faster. By incorporating the use of interactive voice response (IVR) and auto attendants, your hold messaging system can quickly route calls to the appropriate department while ensuring that calls are answered professionally and promptly.
Reinforce Your Branding
Strategic and professional hold messages even help your brand stand out in a customer’s mind. When you use branded voice talent and a message that reflects your business’s style, tone, and voice, you reinforce your branding. Your provide callers with a look into who you are and what you do, which helps you stand out from competitors, leave a lasting impression, and create brand loyalty.
Position Your Business as a Premium Company
On-hold messaging elevates your brand in other ways. It also shows that your business is committed to using the most advanced technology to provide the best experiences for your customers. Unlike other businesses that leave their customers in silence on hold, you can stand out and show off the professionalism and quality of your business.
Decrease Strain on Human Resources
With a hold messaging system that provides the useful information that callers are seeking, you can even decrease your use of human resources. You don’t need to rely on staff for answering caller questions. Instead, you can include information (such as hours, address, directions, etc.) in your messaging so callers get what they need without talking to a staff member. A study on Jiffy Lube found that 56% of incoming callers received the information they needed via the on-hold message versus speaking with a live employee.
Drive Traffic to Your Website
Callers can get the information they need during a hold message or they can be directed to other resources, like a website, that provide additional details. This benefits callers because they don’t need to wait on the line. It also helps your business as driving traffic to your website gives you other opportunities to promote and connect with customers on a different medium.
You may think that manually managing your phone lines or using a basic hold function is enough for your business.
But, when you consider that a typical business puts more than ⅔ of their calling customers on hold and look at the benefits and opportunities that a hold messaging system can bring, it’s easy to see that you could be missing out by ignoring the value of the customer calling experience.
Want to learn more about the benefits of a strong hold message? Get our free ebook, “Is Your Customer Calling Experience Costing Your Business?” to see what other opportunities you could be missing by failing to optimize your customer calling experiences.
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