What is Messaging On Hold? A message on-hold production is a customized recording that callers will hear when they are placed on hold. Now one might think that that is just another way to keep your callers entertained, but the truth is, on-hold messages do far more than just help callers kill time while they are waiting. On-hold messages actually are a highly effective marketing tool. They are basically an infomercial about your business. Yes, they will keep your callers entertained avoiding hang ups, but more importantly, they will also help to sell the products and services that your business has to offer. Studies conducted by major telecommunication companies revealed that approximately 20% of callers that are placed on hold will actually make purchase decisions based on what they hear while they are on hold.
Here are some interesting Message On-Hold statistics:
Results of studies performed by 3 of the major telecommunication companies:
AT&T REPORTS:
- An estimated 70% of business callers are put on-hold.
- An estimated 60% of business callers put on-hold hang up.
- An estimated 30% of these callers don’t call back!
A NATIONAL STUDY PUBLISHED BY NORTH AMERICAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION REPORTS:
- Callers with SILENCE-ON-HOLD will abandon their calls in less than one minute; 90% hang up within 40 seconds.
- Callers with MUSIC-ON-HOLD will stay on the line 30 seconds longer than with only silence.
- Callers with INFORMATION-ON-HOLD will stay on the line for up to 3 minutes longer.
US WEST COMMUNICATIONS FOUND THAT INFORMATION-ON-HOLD RESULTS IN:
- 40% increase in retention of callers on-hold
- 15% increase in inquiries
- 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned on-hold
MORE ON-HOLD FACTS:
- Telemarketing Magazine – “Over 70% of business callers are put on-hold…”
- OfficeTeam Survey – “The average executive spends 17 minutes per day on-hold…”
- CNN Survey – “The average person spends 60 hours per year on-hold…”
- CNN Survey – “Without music or messages, 60% of those on-hold will hang up and 30% won’t call back…”
- Cellular Marketing Magazine – “Over 85% of callers prefer on-hold messages over silence…”
- Telemarketing Magazine – “Surveys show that 15% to 20% of callers make purchases based on information they heard on-hold…”
So, to sum things up: On-hold messages let callers know about the different products and services a business has to offer; they act as an additional salesperson presenting this information in a somewhat entertaining yet highly focused and effective manner; they are far better than subjecting callers to dead silence; and on-hold messages contribute far more to a businesses profitabilty than playing a radio station that runs commercials for other businessers over your telephone, posssibly even a commercial for one of your competitors.
