Survey Says…

These survey results illustrate the importance and specific values of an On Hold Messaging program.

Pilkington AGR reported that sales of their non-glass products increased 100% 30 days after they implemented a national On Hold Messaging program from BusinessVoice.

Executives spend 15 minutes a day or 68 hours a year on hold.

- USA Today

SP/Barron Propane experienced a 1,100% return on investment from their BusinessVoice On Hold Messaging program within 12 months. During the same period their expenditures for newspaper advertising returned no traceable results.

According to research sponsored by the American Teleservices Association, 41% of American consumers have initiated a purchase over the phone in the last year.

Within the first week of implementing a BusinessVoice On Hold Messaging program, a Forest City Auto Parts store sold $1,700.00 (or 10% of their weekly total) in parts that was directly attributed to their On Hold Messaging program.

Motor Parts, a NAPA distributor, increased their ancillary product sales margin by 56% within the first year of installing their BusinessVoice On Hold Messaging program.

Metzgers PrePress had a customer order $3,500.00 worth of new services in direct response to his learning about Metzgers’ new CD-ROM stamping services while waiting on hold for less than one minute.

The collection office at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence experienced a 95% decrease in call abandonment after implementing an On Hold Messaging program.

On average, seven out of ten callers are placed on hold.

- Inbound / Outbound

Fewer than seven days after installing a BusinessVoice On Hold Messaging system, Tri County Tire sold $700 worth of add-on services to a gentleman who heard about the services while waiting on hold. He had a previously scheduled appointment to purchase the services elsewhere.

88% of the respondents to a survey reported that their customers who were exposed to On Hold Messaging inquired about the products or services they had just heard about. Additionally, 80% of those respondents reported losing fewer calls than before they’d installed their On Hold Messaging system.

- Marketing Messages

Nationwide Insurance found that when it played promotional messages, callers stayed on the line 130% longer.

94% of all marketing budgets is spent on inducing a customer to call. Only 6% is spent on handling the call once it is received.

- The Inbound Telephone Call Center

Jefferson Denneandrus, a Houston-based research firm found when callers were presented with On Hold Messaging versus silence or a radio commercial they would stay on hold longer, they were more likely to exhibit interest in the product advertised, they were more likely to retain information, and they were less agitated.

Survey results found that 88% of callers preferred On Hold Messaging to other hold options, and 16% made purchases based on an on hold offer.

- MaxiMarketing

Callers stay on the line up to 25% longer when provided with On Hold Messaging versus “dead air” or “background music,” and up to 17% longer than radio.

- Infomax, Inc.

The average person will spend 1.2 years on hold.

- Woman’s World Magazine

New Jersey Transit announced that its On Hold Messaging programs reduced call abandonment more than 50%.

34% of callers who hang up will not call back.

- Voice Response, Inc.

54% of the participants in an Associated Press poll conducted in March 2006 responded they can wait no longer than a perceived five minutes on hold before losing their patience. Half of the respondents also said they "refuse to return to businesses that made them wait too long."

According to an AT&T study, more than 70% of business calls are placed on hold for an average of 45 to 60 seconds each. 60% of the callers placed on hold hang up, and 30% of those that hang up never call back.

On Hold Messaging Association