In order for your phone marketing strategy to be effective you need to consider which on hold system is best for you. Should you have music on hold for business? Music and messages on hold? It all comes down to your business, your customers, and what you hope to get out of your on hold space. Set up the right phone marketing by choosing the right on hold message and on hold music.
One of the key aspects of choosing the right on hold setup for your business is making sure that your on hold music/messages represent not only the face of your business, but your customers too. On hold time with customers is a valuable marketing opportunity, and you can’t afford to lose customers because of an inappropriate, boring or irrelevant on hold system.
On Hold Music
The best on hold music is relevant, pleasant and appropriate for your customers and your products/services. When choosing the music for your on hold system, make sure that you have your target customer in mind, and use music that you feel they would enjoy and relate to. You also need to consider the mood that you want your music to set – for example, do you want your customers to feel energised or soothed?
As far as on hold music is concerned, it’s important to keep your wits about you – if your business is a plus sized women’s fashion retailer, ‘Skinny Girls’ by Alan O’Day is definitely not a wise choice. Similarly, if your business is a psychology practice, ‘How to Disappear Completely’ by Radiohead would not be an appropriate option for your clients. Consider your customers and how you would like the music to make them feel, and consider whether your music choice is an accurate representation of both your business and your customers.
Although on hold music is great for entertaining your customers while they wait, it doesn’t inform them about your business or boost sales. A great strategy for your on hold space is to utilise both on hold music and on hold messages in a complementary way, to inform and entertain your customers at the same time.
Even a basic ‘thank you for holding, your call will be answered shortly’ message will increase the likelihood of your customers staying on the line, as they will feel that progress is being made with their call. If you do decide to have both on hold music and messages, make sure that they complement and accentuate each other.
On Hold Messages
On Hold MessagesAll businesses can benefit from the marketing opportunity that on hold messaging provides. On hold Messages can be used to promote:
- Practical information: such as store hours and locations
- Sales, specials and offers
- Your new products or services
- Services that your customers might not realise you offer
The voiceover for your on hold messages is the voice of your business, and should speak to your customers in a voice that they will relate to. When considering the best voice over for your business, there are a few points that you should consider.
First of all, who are your customers? Are they mainly male or female? How old are they? What are their defining characteristics? The voice that you choose should be a voice they will relate to, and therefore listen to.
Similarly to the on hold music, you need to consider the feelings that you want your voice over to inspire – if you would like to energise your customers, a bubbly, energetic voice would be the way to go.
If you would rather relax your customers, a calm and level voice will be the best option. If you are putting messages on hold through your customer service lines, you should also consider which music would best soothe any angry or frustrated customers while they wait.
At Smart On Hold, we know all businesses have different needs. If you don’t yet have an on hold messaging system for your business, or if you’d like to enquire about phone marketing, voicemail messages or best on hold setup for your situation, contact us today.