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The Essential Telephone

The telephone was invented in 1876, and despite the tremendous leaps in technology since, it’s still a very effective instrument of communication. It’s also a primary entry point into your business and an important marketing tool.

Let’s Do The Marketing Math

Most people are shocked to learn of how much time their callers spend on hold. Do you know how long your customers are holding each year? (Click here to use our Hold Time Calculator.)

We’ll assume your company phone rings just 10 times per hour, that you’re open 10 hours a day, and that, as you transfer your callers or look for the information they need, you put them on hold for an average of 30 seconds. Now, prepare to be amazed…

  • 10 calls per hour X 10 hours per day = 100 incoming calls per day
  • 100 calls X 30 seconds of hold time = 50 minutes of daily hold time
  • 5 business days per week X 50 minutes of daily hold time = 250 minutes of weekly hold time
  • 52 weeks per year X 250 minutes of weekly hold time = 13,000 minutes – or more than 216 hours - of hold time per year.

Most companies could not afford to produce and buy 216 hours of television or radio time or the equivalent in print impressions each year. But simply by employing On Hold Messaging from BusinessVoice you can take advantage of at least that many hours of free marketing time each year just by putting callers on hold.

“Thanks for all your help. That's why I love working with BusinessVoice - you always come through for us!” - Laura Ostrout / Flexcon

And we used very modest numbers in our formula: just 10 calls per hour, just 10 hours of operation per day! What if your company receives dozens or hundreds of calls per hour and is open 16 or 24 hours a day? The marketing impact of On Hold Messaging increases dramatically…and for not a penny more. That’s a fundamental difference between On Hold Messaging and other marketing channels such as TV or radio, newspapers, magazines and websites that sell banner ads - the price of On Hold Messaging does not increase as your audience grows.

The value of another phone-based marketing service - TeleGreeting - is just as impressive when you run the numbers. Call us to learn more about the marketing power of your telephone: 866/473-9000.

On Hold Messaging Association