By Candice Hynoski-Ouazzi

“One cannot not communicate,” Paul Watzlawick, a communication theorist, once said. Whether it’s words or silence, we are constantly communicating at all times in all places. That’s why it’s crucial to take advantage of every opportunity to spread the word about your company or organization’s valuable services and programs through audience specific mediums such as on hold messaging. One particular organization seeing real results from on hold marketing is Bayada Nurses.

By partnering with Spectrio, Bayada Nurses is able to give a voice to their brand in both service and support offices. Four script categories- adult, pediatric, full service and support- deliver on hold messages targeted to particular audiences, which ensures that the right caller is hearing the most effective message.

Bonnie Long, Communication Manager for Special Projects at Bayada Nurses, explains the benefits of targeting specific audiences, “If a parent calls one of our pediatric office for the first time, he or she will hear a message that explains that we provide services not just in the home, but also in school as well. Callers are hearing about services that they may not know about.” She adds, “On hold is just one more way to share information with people.”

Through on hold messaging, Bayada Nurses not only paints an audible picture of their nursing, rehabilitative, therapeutic and personal health care services, but also demonstrates how their philosophy, The Bayada Way, relates to their work. “The Bayada Way,” Long explains, “is the foundation for everything we do. We try to keep it visible and in mind, especially with employees. But it’s also important for family members and clients to know that we have a set of values and beliefs that guide our work. It’s not just words.”

To ensure Bayada’s branding is consistent across the board, each quarter all locations play new messages about their services and standards of care. “Some of the messages we include on hold relate specific programs and services to The Bayada Way. For example, our Heroes on the Home Front program, which recognizes employees who go above and beyond the call of duty,” says Long, “reinforces our belief that our employees are our greatest asset.”

Are callers really listening? The proof is in the numbers. For example, in the wake of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Bayada Nurses launched a volunteer recruitment campaign to send registered nurses and licensed practical nurses to spend one month helping with relief efforts in Haiti – all expenses paid by Bayada. To promote the campaign, Bayada used the power of on hold messaging. As a result of the strategic marketing plan between Spectrio and Bayada Nurses, seven out of 19 nurse volunteers sent by Bayada to date, learned about the volunteer campaign from an on hold message, which is more than any other marketing strategy used in the campaign.

“Back in May of 2010, I heard about the Bayada Nurses for Haiti program while I was on hold during a phone call with our Charlotte office,” says Beverly R., an RN who works in a Bayada Nurses office in North Carolina. “My first thought was ‘sign me up!’ I couldn’t wait to find out more about it and how I could volunteer. As soon as I hung up, I got all the information and learned that the minimum commitment was for one month.”

Long is spreading the word about Spectrio and the benefits of on hold messaging to other Bayada locations that currently do not have the service. “I’m excited to use the Haiti program as an example of how on hold really works. We could have missed potential volunteers if we didn’t promote this program on hold,” says Long. “We’ve learned through this campaign what works and doesn’t work. On hold definitely works.”

For more information about the Bayada Nurses for Haiti volunteer campaign please visit http://www.bayada.com/haiti.shtm.