In the age of social media, bad news travels faster than ever before. And if you subject your callers to long hold times and a poor phone experience, the bad news may be all about you. Watch our Marketing Minute video for tips on how to keep your valuable callers happy and your good reputation intact.
Who says On Hold Messaging has to be stuffy and formal? Not us! And neither does the U.S. Education Department. Callers to their offices in Washington D.C. who are put on hold are now hearing a song from the Saturday morning TV classic “Schoolhouse Rock.”
ABC News reports that the federal agency is playing the song “Conjunction Junction” as part of their On Hold Messaging.
Officials secured the rights to the tune from the network, which aired the “Schoolhouse Rock” educational series of musical shorts from 1973 to 1999. “Fun at the department is back,” Deputy Chief of Staff Matthew Yale told ABC News. Now, if a government bureaucrat can have fun with On Hold Messaging, why can’t you? Wouldn’t your callers appreciate getting a smile from their time on the phone?
If you’re considering a Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) phone system, check this information from Premier Technologies first. It lists 10 popular VOIP options and how they interface with On Hold Marketing systems.
For certain companies – but not all – a VOIP phone system makes sense. Click here to read ”What to Consider Before Making the Switch.”
We won a Bronze award earlier tonight at the Advertising Club of Toledo’s 2010 Addy Awards. Our winning entry was a humorous On Hold Marketing production we created for Discount Parts Exchange. Click the play button below to listen.
Congratulations to our good friend Mark Reiter, owner of Level 2 Audio. Projects he contributed to earned nine Addy Awards, PLUS a Judge’s Choice Award and the coveted Best of Show Addy. It was a well-deserved 11-award night for this very talented sound designer / recording engineer!
We also send our congratulations to Martha Vetter, CEO of R/P Marketing Public Relations. Martha was named the recipient of the 2010 Silver Medal Award, the Ad Club’s highest honor.
We just won another MarCom Gold Award for a humorous On Hold Marketing production we created for Walter’s Goodyear in Mission Viejo, California. If you need a giggle, click here to listen.
We’d like to help you win with humor on hold too. By “hooking” callers with humor, we can keep them engaged longer. A funny approach can also make a lasting impression on your current and prospective customers, differentiating your company from your competitors. And when callers are entertained by what they’re hearing, they’ll perceive their hold times to be much shorter. (Here’s one reason that’s so important.)
Want to win with humor on hold? Give us a call: 866/473-9000. Listen to other samples of humorous On Hold Marketing.
By the way, the MarCom Awards recognizes outstanding creative achievement by marketing and communication professionals. The international competition is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, an organization which consists of several thousand creative professionals. Nearly 5,000 entries from around the United States and several foreign countries were submitted to the 2009 competition. For more details, visit www.marcomawards.com.
A quick Twitter search turns up countless complaints about the amount of time people are forced to wait “on hold.” Here are just a few examples:
nancia: I’ve been on hold for 11 minutes. It feels like 11 days. 10 minutes ago from web
jordangreen: Bloody useless 360 support line! Never even got to speak to anyone. was on hold for 15 mins!!! 24 minutes ago from Tweetie
Theworkingdad: i really hate being on hold for godaddy support for 10+ minutes… 31 minutes ago from TweetDeck
jgoorchenko: Back on hold with Wachovia…20 min so far. Friday was 55 minutes with no answer! 42 minutes ago from twhirl
djrocco72: 20 mins on hold. Pick up already!!!!! about 1 hour ago from Twittelator
Twitter and other social media tools can expose your company’s weaknesses to a tremendous number of people faster than ever before. But they also provide you with a great opportunity to get honest feedback from your customers.
So, if long hold times, specifically, are common at your company, take steps to fix the problem before you earn an indelible reputation for disregarding your customers’ pain.
- Hire an answering service to take calls during busy periods.
- Add in-house staff to handle incoming calls quicker.
- Invest in hardware and/or software that gives callers the option to receive a call back rather than waiting on hold.
Think you can’t afford those solutions? Then ask yourself if you CAN afford to convert loyal customers into online brand assassins.
Another fix: make sure your On Hold Marketing (OHM) is providing valuable information to your callers. If you dare to use your OHM to brag about your company while leaving callers on hold for 10 or 15 minutes, you’re asking for Twitter trouble!
Your content should always be focused on your CALLERS’ wants, needs, and questions. Give them information they can really use so their time on hold is time well spent…and nothing to complain about!
