The BV Blog

Jerry Brown still doesn’t like talking about the years he spent as one of four conjoined quadruplets…or the farming accident that  brought about  their abrupt separation. ”Finding turtlenecks with four head holes was really tough,” he recalls with obvious pain, “but it was nice to always have three fellas to tell your troubles to.”

You’ll learn about other aspects of  the BusinessVoice president’s life when you read his interview in the October issue of Toledo Business Review.

By the way, Harry, Larry and Barry Brown - Jerry’s once-connected brothers - all work on separate elephant farms in the Niagara Falls area. “We still get together a few times a year,” says Jerry. “Well, we don’t actually get together. You know what I mean.”

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We’ve just updated the “Humor On Hold” page of our website. Take a listen to some of the ways we’ve kept callers entertained recently.

And while you’re there, let us know what you think of using humor to brand your company, shorten your callers’ perceived hold times, and improve their on hold experience. Our “YourVoice” poll is at the bottom of the page.

Here are a few recent quotes on the subject from BusinessVoice clients:

“Having humorous on hold messaging has been a benefit to Kellermeyer. Our callers really enjoy being on hold. In fact, some have asked to be put back on hold to finish listening. Our customers are aware that we change our messages quarterly and they make comments about each quarter’s new messages. Also, by focusing on products that are big movers during a specific timeframe, such as ice melt in the winter, customers add on to their orders.” - Jill Kegler / President, Kellermeyer Company

“We at Amazing Space, Inc. would like to pass along our appreciation for an excellent job in producing and delivering our on-hold messaging. We had asked for something very clever, unique, and fun, and your team came through with flying colors on the first shot. And the turnaround time on all aspects of the project exceeded our expectations. Daily we get compliments on the production from customers calling in, and it definitely contributes to Amazing Space’s brand development. Thanks again.” - Dave Parrish / President, Amazing Space

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BusinessVoice President Jerry Brown is featured as a satisfied customer in Buckeye TeleSystem’s new “We Chose Buckeye” campaign. Check out Jerry’s TV spot, his billboard, and his web ad.

Jerry is taking full advantage of his new celebrity. He’s signed on to appear on next season’s “Dancing With The Stars,” he’s already penning his tell-all autobiography, and he’s launching his own line of popcorn and spaghetti sauce.

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We were very proud to be recognized at last week’s Addy Awards ceremony, presented by The Advertising Club of Toledo. We submitted three On Hold Messaging productions and won three awards - 1 gold Addy and 2 silver Addys.

Our in-house Web division, WebArt, was also acknowledged. They received an Honorable Mention for their creation of the Tuffy Auto Service Centers website

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Dennis Staples died on Monday. He was a radio man who spent most of his broadcasting career here in Toledo, Ohio. For a few years, he was also one of our voice talents at BusinessVoice. I didn’t know Dennis well, but I sure did respect his talent.

I first met him at a local recording studio, probably 15 years ago. We were both cast to cut a radio spot for a local company. He was playing Santa; I was supposed to be a young, smart-aleck kid. I remember struggling with how to approach the read, which twist to put on my voice, and just how cocky I should make this character. I never did figure it out to my satisfaction, even after many takes.

But Dennis knew exactly what he was doing. To this day I can hear him “becoming” Santa Claus in my headphones. He wasn’t doing a hack impression of a stereotype like I was. He had created a personality and a point-of-view and knew just how to interpret the copy. By the time we started recording, Dennis WAS Santa Claus. I was sitting four feet from him! I could see him, but he WAS Santa Claus. It was one of the most exciting moments I’ve ever had as a voice talent, being a part of that exchange and working with someone so good.

Back in 1997, Dennis recorded “A Visit From St. Nicholas” for us as part of a larger project. Click here to listen. We present it as a holiday treat for you and yours, and as a final tribute to a wonderfully talented and very nice man.

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We’re mighty proud to have won three top prizes at last night’s Crystal Awards ceremony. The event is presented each year by the Toledo chapter of the Association for Women In Communication.

Our in-house web division, WebArt, won the coveted “glass egg” in the following categories:

1) Corporate Website / Business-To-Consumer / Over $5,000 - Tuffy Auto Service Centers

2) Non-Profit Website / Over $5,000 - Office of Vocations-Catholic Diocese of Toledo

We also won a Merit Award for our own new website, BusinessVoice.com.

Steve Timofeev and Melanie Allen from WebArt did some fine work on all these projects. We couldn’t be happier to have those two on our side.

We won our third Crystal of the night for a humorous On Hold Messaging production we produced for ourselves. Among others, it features this message about Farmer Brown and his On Hold Messaging farm.

Our congratulations to all the 2007 Crystal Award winners.

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Sorry. I can’t help but evoke the emotions of Oscar winner Sally Field each time we win an award ourselves! At least I haven’t played a flying nun on TV…yet.

Our thanks to the MarCom Awards for presenting BusinessVoice with a 2007 MarCom Gold Award for our On Hold Messaging production called “The Ball Game.” (Listen to it here.)

The MarCom Awards is “an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals.” There were more than 5,000 entries this year.

Using humor on hold is one of our specialties, so let us know if we can entertain your callers and shorten their perceived hold times while differentiating your company.

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Marsha Yudkin is a marketing consultant who has mentored hundreds of people over the years. In her October 10th newsletter she writes:

“Some mentorees assume that serving clients means being subservient. They’re surprised to learn that as a consultant, you don’t have to accept the client’s definition of the problem. Indeed, fulfilling the client’s request may lead them to a dead end. Instead, explain why they’d reach their goal faster by taking a different route.”

Do you bill yourself as a consultant? If so, do you have enough confidence in your abilities to proactively lead your clients in a specific direction, or are you just reacting to suggestions they make?

Here’s one example of how BusinessVoice serves clients in a consultative manner. We’re just shy of insistent when it comes to updating our clients’ On Hold Messaging productions because we know that, as with stagnant online and broadcast copy, stale on hold content loses its ability to engage callers and elicit a specific response. This is why we contact clients proactively about updates. It’s why we bring copy points and marketing ideas to the table. It’s why we monitor our key and major clients online to stay aware of news and changes within their companies and industries. It’s one of the ways we serve our clients as a consultant, not just a vendor.

So, are you consulting and leading your clients to success…or merely reacting to their phone calls?

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We were pretty jazzed to win another Crystal Award of Excellence the other night. It’s our fourth overall, and it was presented by the Toledo Chapter of Women in Communications.

This year we took home the coveted crytal egg for an On Hold Messaging production we created for ourselves called “The Ball Game.” It’s our humorous take on a radio broadcast of a baseball game. Listen to it at http://www.bvlive.com/media/BVBaseballOHM060700.mp3

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