How Often Should I Change My On Hold Message

For those readers who see the value in the question, but don’t yet have an On Hold message program, here’s what On Hold is all about. 

When your customers call and are momentarily put On Hold, you lose control of the customer. Since you’re not tending directly to them, their behavior can take some undesirable turns.  For instance, some will hang-up…and many will hang on for a bit, all the while growing just a little more frustrated in their, albeit incorrect, perception that you’re ignoring them.

A music and professionally voiced message on hold program, if properly created, will occupy the customer until you can take their call.  This reduces the ill effects of silence or radio On Hold.  The fun part is that we can use topics about your business to inform and entertain them, while also making hold time more enjoyable.

What questions should be asked when considering how often to make content changes?

•       What expectations do I have for my On Hold message?                                                                 

      (just noise?, inform?, entertain?, branding?, image building?)

•       How often does my typical customer/client call?

      (do they call several times weekly, or only a couple of times during the year)

•       What external changes during the year have an impact on the needs of my target market? 

•       How often does my internal product or service offering change during the year?
•       How much time am I willing to spend thinking of new topics?                                                      

Raising Expectations – If your expectation is to only have some kind of noise on hold, there is little reason to change the content.  At least callers will know they haven’t been disconnected.  However, an unplanned and out of date message On Hold program can influence your callers to hang up or at least cause them to be in a less-than-friendly mood once their call is taken.   A little planning and use of proven On Hold messages studies can turn a potential hang-up into a loyal and long term customer.  Raising expectations to include current, accurate, and engaging content will bring results in the form of improved branding, awareness of your breadth of product and service offerings, and simply a better caller experience.

Typical Caller- Let’s use a visual analogy of your callers On Hold experience.  Think of any roadside billboard that you pass in your daily travels…and now think of yourself as the owner of that billboard and the drivers as your typical callers On Hold.  If the drivers see your billboard daily, then it makes sense for you to change the billboard content frequently, say monthly or quarterly.  However, if they only see your billboard several times a year, then changing it annually can be just as effective, not to mention more economical in terms of your time and money.

To use a concrete example, think of someone you call a lot. A good example may be a distributor of something you consume or resell in quantity. You’ll likely experience hold time frequently and things that would cause you to become impatient (or even hang up) could be silence On Hold, an On Hold message that repeats often, or On Hold messages that you’ve heard repeatedly over several calling experiences.  Since the typical caller is On Hold more often with a distributor, frequent content changes should be considered.

On the other hand, think of someone you call infrequently. A good example may be your tailor or dry cleaners. Since you call infrequently, this kind of business can change their content once or twice a year without the caller noticing, and the business can still realize their higher expectations for their On Hold messages.

External Influences – The needs of your target market have a significant impact on what you inventory and promote…and these needs can change due to lots of forces.  Even physicians see changes in what tests and treatments are needed due to seasonal sports injuries.  The social event-filled holidays can make dental patients think about tooth whitening.  Businesses of every kind can see their inventory change due to seasonal and weather changes. Consider how your market changes during the year and see these changes as opportunities to make your On Hold message more current, more relevant, prompting callers to ask for more information.

Internal Offering Changes - Consider how your inventory and promotions change during the year due to supply-side changes in availability, model changes…even changes in your staff can have an impact on your offering. New people bring new talents and skills.

Your Time- Using the above mentioned criteria for selecting a content update frequency is legitimate.  However, if one hasn’t the time to think of new topics and approve our written scripts, then planned updates may not be completed.  It may be better to select a less ambitious plan and order content changes as time allows, than to fall short of a structured plan.

It’s your call.

Ok, surely it’s your call, it’s your business and you call the shots. Beyond that, it’s “your call” in the sense that your advertising dollars paid for that inbound call.  I like to say that the “ringing” noise your telephone makes is the sound of your marketing dollars trying to get back into your wallet!

Just as walk-in customers get an impression about you by their experience in your lobby or reception area, they also get an impression of you from how their telephone call is treated.  Keeping a current and engaging On Hold message reduces hang ups and makes hold time seems shorter while enhancing your professional image.  And speaking of professional image, the benefits of fewer hang-ups and improved customer service alone justifies the relatively low cost.  Any direct sales activity can be considered as gravy. 

Ask us to help you evaluate the right update plan.   We'll help you maintain the right image while maximizing the results of your On Hold Marketing.