On the surface, the marketing funnel is designed to generate the strongest, most qualified leads for the sales team, which theoretically increases the chances of conversion. Marketers go through massive volumes of data to create target demographics and hit that group hard as a way to nurture leads and slowly bring them along the sales cycle. However, according to new research, this practice could seriously hurt revenue potential by negating a large portion of possible buyers.

A recent study conducted by Catalina suggests 53 percent of a brand's sales volume comes from consumers outside the target demographic. So, if more than half of a company's revenue is generated by individuals it doesn't consider target customers, then who exactly are the customers? Ultimately, it takes a tremendous amount of data research and the mixing and matching of various demos to create an ideal consumer, but to extract that information businesses must have general appeal.

Take your on hold messaging for example. Suppose you are targeting men over the age of 35. The contents of your messaging or the hold music you select may focus on this demographic, but as studies show, the bulk of your sales may be with women 35 and younger. Ultimately, it's hard to tell just who the ideal customer is without first appealing to general audiences. That's why your hold messaging should resonate with anyone calling for information about your organization.

Doing so will have a stronger appeal to the average caller, which will give you a larger potential sample size of potential prospects. This will go a long way toward enhancing your marketing strategy to focus primarily on those who end up buying from your brand.

The purpose of on hold marketing is to inform the caller and keep them engaged while they wait to speak with a live representative, but there is a certain way organizations must go about doing this. There is a fine line between being informative and turning off the caller with too much info, and organizations must ensure they stay on the right side.

Hold messaging must be constructed in a way that does not confuse or annoy the potential customer when they listen to it. Using technical jargon can be informative, but if it's not relatable it won't resonate with the caller. Even if it's compelling enough to keep them on the line long enough to speak with the live rep, they might be confused enough so the individual tasked with helping the caller is already starting at a deficit. 

Companies can also come across as arrogant and may not be viewed to be in the consumer's best interests if their on hold messages are more about them than about the customer. 

Adam Franklin, a marketing and social media expert, wrote a piece for the online publication Startup Smart, where he described the seven deadly marketing sins. "Me" copy was number one on his list, as Franklin suggested companies that say "me" and "our company" instead of "you" or "your" could come across as disingenuous toward their customers' needs.

"This is the most common symptom of being obsessed with yourself and not your customer," he wrote. "Take the attention off yourself and focus on your customers."

This philosophy is certainly relevant to on hold marketing, and as OHMA members, we understand how to transcribe audio messaging that speaks to what the caller wants to hear. Our experience and skills allow us to construct a message that fits your needs. 

For a company to be successful, it has to know its customers. Sales and marketing strategies need to be geared toward the type of people that will be buying from that particular organization in order to enjoy the most success from any particular campaign.

Take on hold marketing for example. This blog has talked in the past about using the right music and messaging to keep the caller on the line. Much of this strategy is geared around the use of data to eliminate the possibility of playing anything the customer doesn't want to hear. Remember, the key is to keep them from hanging up before talking to a live representative. However, understanding an audience goes much deeper than that. Knowing exactly who will be buying the products and services you sell will help dictate every word of a hold message.

An article in the online publication Management Today lists understanding the market as one of the most important components of a marketing strategy.

"Define your market in terms of needs, not products", the article says. "Map how it works from end to end, showing quantitatively product/service flows and how you are responding to demand. Identify who the decision-makers are. Understand how - and if - these decision-makers are changing [with the rise of crowd-sourcing, for example]."

On Hold Marketing, a proud member of the On Hold Messaging Association, can offer businesses the tools and resources needed to construct an effective marketing message that will resonate with your target audience and entice them to stay on the line. As an OHMA​ member, we are committed to providing you with the best solutions to fit your on hold needs. 

We are proud to be members of the On Hold Messaging Association (OHMA) because it allows us to showcase just how much we care about providing customers with on hold solutions that fit their business. Our commitment to helping businesses engage customers and generate new leads through the use of hold messaging has been on display for a number of years and, as a member of OHMA, we have an effective way to show off that experience.

OHMA members are the best of the best when it comes to providing these types of services. For starters, companies that become members have to be in the industry for over five years. While we surpassed that requirement nearly 20 years ago, our passion for providing on hold services has not diminished. Our enthusiasm is just as high today as it was when we opened our doors in 1989.

Additionally, more than 50 percent of an OHMA member's business has to pertain to offering on hold solutions, whether that is through music, informative messaging or a marketing strategy. Hold messaging is not a side project or a hobby for OHMA members. It is the embodiment of their mission statement. At On Hold Marketing, that's all we do. All of our efforts are gear​ed toward improving the effectiveness of your marketing.

Ultimately, we take a great deal of pride in not only our OHMA membership, but in the ability we have to help our customers implement the best possible audio recordings into their on hold system. Our membership is proof of our passion, but the entity itself has always and will always exist. 

The term "content marketing" is being thrown around in business circles a lot these days, but surprisingly few people understand exactly what it is. The general understanding is that it's text written for a company's website that's designed to improve its online presence. Yes, that's an incredibly important component, but its impact is felt in more areas than just website copy.

It's best to think of content marketing as a strategy, and not an action. Blogging, for example, is an important piece of the strategy, but it's only one component. In essence, content marketing is creating something that represents the business in the minds of potential customers. Whether this is done with text, imagery, video or audio messaging, everything a company creates has to be viewed as a part of that organization.

Hold messaging is content that gets used for marketing purposes, so whatever the caller hears has to serve as a positive representation of the business. Just because the content is not on the company website, doesn't mean its words aren't important. 

Think of the content you write on your site. Its purpose is to engage the visitor and keep them reading. The purpose of an on hold marketing message is to keep the caller listening. If the web copy is dull, the reader will probably leave the website. If the hold audio is boring or non-existent, they will likely hang up.

Remember that content is all around us and can be consumed in a number of different ways. By working with an on hold solutions company, that aspect of your content marketing strategy will be in good hands.

When business slows down, it's not time to panic. In fact, savvy professionals can use it as an opportunity to enhance business by rebranding and implementing new marketing strategies.

Suppose an organization starts to fall behind its primary competitor. This is no time to throw in the towel. It's a chance to gather marketers and strategists and formulate a plan to freshen up the company's image and make a stronger name for it against the competition.

This process often takes place after quarterly results. If a company's profits are stagnant or if it even suffers a quarterly loss, it may be an opportune time to initiate a rebranding strategy. It's important to note, however, that this sort of action doesn't have to be drastic. Subtle changes can yield results that are just as impressive.

For example, Burger King recently revealed its first quarter earnings, which indicate that the company suffered a 1.4 percent decline worldwide and a 3 percent drop domestically. To counter this, the fast food chain tweaked its menu offerings.

According to an article in the online publication Nation's Restaurant News, Burger King is answering its critics by tweaking the marketing of its menu to stress the fact that it includes both affordable and elegant food items.

"We believe that in order to be successful in today's market, we must highlight premium items that build check and brand equity balanced with value promotions, such as the $1.29 Whopper Junior and the '2 for $5' special," Alex Macedo, president of Burger King North America, told the news source.

Hold messaging is a great way to vocalize a new marketing strategy. If an organization wants to slightly rework its message or focus on specific items, this can be done with an on hold marketing campaign. It's important to remember, however, that this strategy is ideal for organizations with a long-term plan. Working with an on hold marketing services provider will allow businesses to create messaging for extended use, which will only allow this tweaked strategy to reach more individuals.

Data can assist any marketing initiative. No strategy is impervious to the benefits of gathering information, analyzing it and using that data to adjust processes in order to reach a more targeted audience or improve the impact made on the customer. On hold marketing programs, while typically developed to serve as long-term campaigns, can be improved with the use of data.

Prior to constructing a hold message for marketing purposes, businesses need to establish a firm understanding of their audience. The purpose of hold messaging is to keep callers on the phone so they can speak with a live representative, and any communication that comes across as off-putting or unpleasant will ultimately result in lost sales opportunities. As a result, businesses need to focus their efforts on generating content that makes callers happy or, at least, pleases them enough so they want to stay on the line. 

If a caller doesn't like what they are hearing, they won't stick around to keep listening to it. While an unfortunate choice of music can certainly have an adverse effect on a caller's attitude, the wording of the hold message can be just as harmful if it rubs the consumer on the other end the wrong way. But, if businesses do their research and determine what market they want to reach and discover what makes that specific demographic tick, they'll be able to formulate really effective audio messaging that will greatly impact the effectiveness of their marketing efforts. 

It's important to understand there has to be a balance between pleasant and informative communication. Businesses have to use their hold messaging as an opportunity to share important details about their organization, so simply bombarding the caller with positive music and dialogue might not work. Companies should find out what their potential customers are interested in as it pertains to their organization and use that data to make their messaging even better.

Partnering with an on hold solutions provider will help businesses use data and create hold messaging that truly resonates with the caller.

Think back to the last time you received a telemarketing call. You were probably sitting down to have dinner with your family (it always seems to be at that time) and once the phone rang and you got up to answer it, you were bombarded with a hard sell. It was likely an unpleasant experience and you probably hung up the phone in anger after hearing a few seconds of the sales pitch. 

People typically do not want to hear a hard sell over the phone. The feeling people get when they receive an unwanted telemarketing call can continue when the individual is calling the company. When someone calls an organization, they likely have some interest in what that company is selling, so marketers may want to take this as an opportunity to force their products and services down the callers throat. This is not advised. 

Hold messaging gives companies an opportunity to convey important information to callers. It's here where marketers can use their creativity to generate audio messages that paint the organization in a positive light. However, on hold marketing strategies that lack subtlety can be hazardous. They can come off as intimidating and pushy and can have an adverse effect on an organization's sales efforts. 

Instead, it's best to pique the caller's interest with mentions of products, services and why your particular company is the best fit for their needs without trying to actually sell anything. Boring messaging or silence can cause callers to hang up, but aggressive dialog on the opposite end of the spectrum can be just as damaging. Finding a healthy balance will go a long way toward improving a company's on hold marketing efforts and winning new customers. 

Brand management is an essential component of any organization. Everything attached to a business - from the content of its marketing messages to the color of its office window shades, represent what the company is all about. When prospective customers call an organization, everything they hear will automatically be associated with that business' values and mission.

Constructing an on hold marketing message that puts the company in a positive light is certainly important. Each and every word spoken through the hold messaging should be chosen carefully and used to represent the business in the best possible way. The same goes for hold music. 

The tune that is ultimately selected to play while callers wait on hold can make or break the chances of that individual staying on the line to speak with a live representative. While very few people want to wait in silence, even fewer want to listen to something unappealing to the ear.

Remember, once a company decides to go with this music - even if it didn't compose or record the piece - the organization will be represented by it as long as it continues to play for callers waiting on hold. That's why it's so important to make the right decision about what music to use. 

A depressing song probably won't lift the caller's spirits as the minutes tick away. An egregiously slow song could put the caller to sleep before they even get a chance to ask questions about the organization they are calling. Business owners tend to have an image that they associate with their company. The music should represent that image. If the organization is laid back, the music can reflect that. If it's very corporate, the tone of the song should be a bit more serious. 

There are many choices out there, so finding the best music could be a challenge. However, working with an on hold solutions provider will help companies implement the song that fits them the best.

There's really only one question that must be asked prior to investing in any kind of product, service or new strategy for your business: "What's the point?"

Ultimately, it's important to know why a certain decision is being made, because once that question is answered, organizations have a specific motivation and goal in mind to fuel their efforts. Take marketing for example. Yes, the point of marketing is to generate sales leads and close new business, but how does one get there? To some people, winning new business is a blanket statement with little meaning. Of course everyone wants to win business, but why marketing? What can marketing do to help attain that ultimate goal?

An article in Business 2 Community addresses these questions and lists seven ways a new marketing strategy can grow a business. They develop of a brand or message, help audit the current strategy, profile buyers and the marketplace, evaluate the competition, determine the marketing mix, find eternal and low cost options and, finally, set organizations up with a long-term program that can yield impressive results for the next one to five years.

Businesses considering implementing an on hold marketing strategy can experience each and every one of these benefits: brand development and current system auditing, for example. Hold messaging reminds callers of the brand, message or mission statement of the company they are calling. It's important to develop a message they want to represent the business and then stand behind it. Playing it as part of the hold messaging will let callers know what a company is all about.

This sort of strategy can be measured against any current or former marketing program. If businesses are yielding stronger results due to their hold messaging than they were, say, building an email blast campaign, that kind of information can be integrated into future strategies.

Increased sales are the goal, but on hold marketing can accomplish smaller victories along the way to the ultimate destination.