In these difficult economic times it’s worth using every marketing tool available to you. On hold messages are a simple, effective and cost-efficient method of getting your marketing message out to your clients. Think of an on-hold message as a form of infomercial about your business. It’s an ideal opportunity to tell your potential customers about the products and services you offer and the benefits they can bring. No one likes to be put on hold, and many of us feel it’s a complete waste of our time. So if you can turn this into a productive, entertaining 2 or 3 minutes, your callers will appreciate it.

Your company will also appreciate the benefits, as 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.

So what are some of the benefits of using an on-hold message?

1. Introduce new products or services to your customers.

2. You have a captive audience why not use this valuable undivided attention – Entertain and inform them but also remind them that you value them as a customer.

3. Callers are more likely to stay on the line if they hear a message and/or background music. A caller who doesn’t stay on the line is a potential lost sale.

4. Inform your customers of general business hours and holiday time opening and closing times. Use the message to answer frequently asked questions – saving your customer service team time and resources and increasing their efficiency.

5. Tell customers the benefits of using your products and services – remind them how your company can help improve their situation and solve their problem.

Its also important to choose a voiceover artist whose voice reflects your company’s brand and image. Choose a voice that makes your company sound engaging and interesting. A voice that is clear and distinct, but also one that engenders trust and credibility. A professional voiceover artist can deliver a persuasive sales message as well as sounding polite and personable.

r most of the business people, always it seems that music on hold aka music on hold, messages on hold, on-hold messaging, etc is just a little more than the thought. This means that a necessary but trivial need on the level of potted plants, pencil sharpeners or the paper towel dispensers in bathroom and it means that all of these things are etcetera. The public’s perception at large with regard to modern business phenomenon of ‘on-hold music may not matter much. Arguably, this perception is another matter for just a simple reason that you might be wasting a low cost, potentially powerful and easily employed means of educating, motivating and communicating with the callers to do business with you.

If you think that, the only purpose of the on-hold music is just to entertain – use to keep the customers away from boring and irritated while waiting on the hold that they hang – then you are missing the boat. It is obvious that the on-hold music will be able to fill up the empty silence. However, it can be more of great deal to fill up the empty silence and it can act more than fillers. Regardless of the type of industry, all of your customers are individuals-whether these individuals call for themselves or on the behalf of their companies or whatever it might be. These individuals not only have unique needs but they might be there for different stages in the process of buying or else they might have purchased already and might be calling for service issues. They might be long-time, just window shopping or repeat customers.

Regardless of anything, every caller to company is their future customer. What’s more, generally there is no guarantee that the current customers can’t be lost. Moreover, every customer can be a potential candidate for the additional products and services you provide. Broadening the customer horizons is up to you by education them about the product line and the package of services. While the customers are holding over the phone, you tell them about the sales and all the fulfillment processes that you have to offer and allow them to know what all things they can do in order to streamline things and can tell how you can help them. Creative ways can be shared with them and plants some new idea in their head.

For the entertainment vale of the on-hold music, why don’t you bump up a notch while you are at it? Delight the customers with some amusing trivia instead of cheesy music or engage the customers with endearing anecdotes or else you can share the customer feedbacks. On the other hand, you can even go a step up and can tell the customers what your business has done to the society in a more encouraging ways. On-hold music can be used in many ways as described above and through this; you can enhance the image of your business and can save money through advertisements as well.

With all the talk of shrinking 401k’s, disappointing company earnings reports, and bankrupt global empires, it’s no surprise that advertising budgets are prime targets for the corporate guillotine at boardroom meetings the world over. Yet, instead of redefining the phrase “trimming the fat”, allow me to propose a real world “recession ready” solution that will not only make you look brilliant at your next meeting, but will also allow you to advertise through a readily available outlet that is already in the budget. Any guesses? I’m talking about Mr. Bell’s ingenious revolutionary invention, the telephone. With that being said, I can assure you that if your corporate telephone budget is on the chopping block too, my meager attempt at providing advertising alternatives will prove to be small fries when compared to the “bigger fish” you have to fry. Now, before you panic and start reliving nightmares of countless “cold calls” in your head, let me spare you the disquietude. Cold calling is not what I speak of.

While parousing the internet in search of a turnkey advertising medium, that would play nicely with my companies budget and proving to be boardroom friendly in these very uncertain times, Google directed me to http://www.holdforless.com. Now granted, music on hold services are not exactly a new concept but neither have they ever been simple to implement or very affordable for some companies. Holdforless.com dispels this perception by offering an music and message on hold solution that is easy to implement and affordable. Truth be told, I’ve been placed on hold a fair amount of times in my day and, to say the least, I’ve been either overwhelmed with music or underwhelmed with silence, neither of which took advantage of those free moments of potential advertising time to “sell me” on a product, or “close the deal.” If my company were to implement on hold messaging, we’d want just that…”a message.” Not just silence, or just music. Well, I found that the most impressive feature of the holdforless.com website was, for one price, it’s shopping cart would allow me to purchase a message player, choose from hundreds of message scripts specific to dozens of industries, select from thousands of music tracks, and chose whether I wanted male, female, or combined voicing; thus virtually allowing me to customize my industry specific message online. I also reveled in the thought of having a turnkey solution…..no I.T. Department needed!

With a meeting imminent on Monday morning, I had exactly twenty three hours left to be brilliant, so I began to click and scroll and take notes. While researching I found that more than 70 percent of all callers are placed on hold, 60 percent of which hear only silence. I’m thinking, “that’s wasted advertising space that we are currently paying for, but not taking advantage of.” I delved deeper into the stats and found that 30 percent of first time callers that are placed on hold to silence, hang up and never call back. 30 percent! In this economy, that’s a HUGE number.

Armed with these facts, I began to consider how quickly this simple package would pay for itself when compared to radio, newspaper, and other advertising outlets. I thought to myself “if I’m to propose any product to my company, I want to make sure that it passes the “growth test”. In other words, can it accommodate the growing needs of the company as we grow larger. I found that holdforless.com does offer an option to upgrade to a completely customizable message servicing plan as the needs of your company changes. The creative marketing potential here is astounding, and many ideas of how to pitch our products through hold time began to frequent my thoughts.

Upon completing my research, I found one other music and message on hold provider worth noting is http://www.onholdcompany.com. They offer fully customized music and message on hold programs that are written and voiced specifically for your company with all the details you desire to be included within the message. At any rate, I don’t think that one could go wrong choosing either of these companies affordable products or services in these economic times. While parousing the internet in search of a turnkey advertising medium, that would play nicely with my companies budget and proving to be boardroom friendly in these very uncertain times, Google directed me to http://www.holdforless.com. Now granted, on hold services are not exactly a new concept but neither have they ever been simple to implement or very affordable for some companies. Holdforless.com dispels this perception by offering an on hold messaging solution that is easy to implement and affordable. Truth be told, I’ve been placed on hold a fair amount of times in my day and, to say the least, I’ve been either overwhelmed with music or underwhelmed with silence, neither of which took advantage of those free moments of potential advertising time to “sell me” on a product, or “close the deal.” If my company were to implement on hold messaging, we’d want just that…”a message.” Not just silence, or just music. Well, I found that the most impressive feature of the holdforless.com website was, for one price, it’s shopping cart would allow me to purchase a message player, choose from hundreds of message scripts specific to dozens of industries, select from thousands of music tracks, and chose whether I wanted male, female, or combined voicing; thus virtually allowing me to customize my industry specific message online. I also reveled in the thought of having a turnkey solution…..no I.T. Department needed!

With a meeting imminent on Monday morning, I had exactly twenty three hours left to be brilliant, so I began to click and scroll and take notes. While researching I found that more than 70 percent of all callers are placed on hold, 60 percent of which hear only silence. I’m thinking, “that’s wasted advertising space that we are currently paying for, but not taking advantage of.” I delved deeper into the stats and found that 30 percent of first time callers that are placed on hold to silence, hang up and never call back. 30 percent! In this economy, that’s a HUGE number.

Armed with these facts, I began to consider how quickly this simple package would pay for itself when compared to radio, newspaper, and other advertising outlets. I thought to myself “if I’m to propose any product to my company, I want to make sure that it passes the “growth test”. In other words, can it accommodate the growing needs of the company as we grow larger. I found that holdforless.com does offer an option to upgrade to a completely customizable message servicing plan as the needs of your company changes. The creative marketing potential here is astounding, and many ideas of how to pitch our products through hold time began to frequent my thoughts.

Upon completing my research, I found one other on hold message provider worth noting is http://www.onholdcompany.com. They offer fully customized on hold messages that are written and voiced specifically for your company with all the details you desire to be included within the message. At any rate, I don’t think that one could go wrong choosing either of these companies affordable products or services in these economic times.

Since music is so common and customary in our society and culture, we very often take it for granted. Just because you purchase a CD or buy and (legally) download an MP3 file does not give you permission to play the track absolutely anywhere. While you are certainly allowed to play the music for private listening and enjoyment (in your car, at home, etc.), you are not allowed to re-broadcast copyrighted music in a commercial setting without the proper licenses.

Copyrighted Music

Virtually all music you hear (on the radio, in stores, etc) is copyrighted music. This means the artists and those who produced the music hold the exclusive rights to copy, license, and otherwise use the music. Purchasing a CD or music online only gives you the right to private listening (in your car with friends, within your own home or private office), not to re-broadcast the music in a commercial setting such as a restaurant, office building, retail store, or for customers put on hold.

In order to play music for business purposes, you must obtain the proper licenses to do so. For more information regarding licensing, visit the official website of Broadcast Music, Inc: www.BMI.com.

No License?

Since there are virtually millions of pieces of music played every day throughout the country in offices, stores, on hold, and other commercial establishments, it can be very hard to monitor all the music being played. So should you choose to play music for the general public without having the proper licenses, you may not get caught; however, you run the risk of having to go through lengthy litigation and pay hefty fines should you be caught. The BMI and other corporations have stepped up efforts to curb illegal broadcasting of music, by contacting businesses that use on-hold music to ensure they have all the proper licenses.

Fines for this form of copyright infringement can be as high as $20,000 for each individual song or performance played without the suitable license. Such hefty fines can quickly and steeply increase if proven that the infringement was purposeful. Contact a licensing agency to take steps to protect you and your business from copyright infringement.

Creative Hold Messages

For businesses that utilize on hold music or messages for customers, one of the best ways to ensure you are protected is to utilize a creative hold message; this will ensure that your customers hear exactly what you want them to, and that the material playing is completely legal.

Music is so common and widespread in our culture that frequently many of us take for granted the right we have (or think we have) to play it. Most people fail to realize that a legal license is required by law to play any copyrighted music.

Copyrighted Music

So what constitutes copyrighted music? The majority of music (if not all of it) that you hear is copyrighted, which means an individual or group of individuals hold the exclusive right to copy, license, or otherwise use a musical work. Generally those individuals are the people who created and produced the music. Whether it is from the radio, on a CD, or legally downloaded in the form of an MP3 file, the music is copyrighted. Companies (namely retail businesses and corporations with on hold music) are not allowed to play music from compact discs, the radio, or anything other media form for their clients and customers without obtaining the proper licenses first. This means one cannot simply hook up the radio, MP3 player, or a CD to play for customers; doing so will make you liable and result in unnecessary lawsuits and hefty fines.

It is imperative to know the difference between re-broadcasting music in a commercial setting versus listening to it strictly for private enjoyment. Consumers are permitted to buy CDs and legally download MP3 files for their personal enjoyment for them; you are allowed to play the music within your own home, private office, or car. The re-broadcasting of licensed music within any commercial establishment (such as a restaurant, office lobby, store, etc) is not permitted and is subject to legal fines and fees.

No License?

If you choose to re-broadcast copyrighted music in a commercial location without a proper license, there is the possibility that you will not get caught and nothing will happen to you. Since monitoring literally millions of pieces of copyrighted music that play every single day throughout the country is practically impossible, there is the possibility that you will not get caught. However, licensing organizations such as Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) are stepping up efforts to contact businesses that use music (whether in a retail store or on hold) to make sure they have all the proper and necessary licenses to play that music.

Be forewarned that if you do get caught and are charged for copyright infringement (illegally playing copyrighted music), fines can be as steep as $20,000 for each song (or performance) you played without a license. If it can be proven that the infringement was intentional, the fines will increase substantially and rise possibly as high as $100,000. Contact a licensing organization to get the licenses to play the music you want to play for your customers.

On Hold Marketing Messages

One of the preeminent and most secure ways to guarantee the content and music your customers hear on hold or in a commercial establishment is legal and exactly what you want is to get a custom. Music is so common and widespread in our culture that frequently many of us take for granted the right we have (or think we have) to play it. Such a recording will guarantee that your clients customers hear exactly what you want them to while they are on hold; it is a perfect time to nonchalantly discuss products and services you offer without being intrusive or overbearing. Plus, the cost of having such a message created is substantially less than the fees and fines you are likely to incur if you illegally used licensed and copyrighted music.

It’s a tough economic climate at the moment so every business needs to make sure that every marketing dollar or pound is working as hard as possible. Like the majority of companies, you would have spent the vast majority of your marketing budget inducing your prospects to call your company – how much budget have you set aside to handle that call once it is received? The answer is probably not much. The good news is that you don’t have to spend mega money to handle that call and at the same time boost your sales.

A simple but effective method to increase your sales is to implement an On Hold message system. Instead of leaving your callers listening to silence, play them an message on hold which informs prospects of the products and services you offer and the benefits they bring. For a minimal cost you could have a promotional message to play to a captive audience.

An on hold message is crucial to keeping your callers on the line. At a basic level, an on hold message provides comfort and reassurance to the caller that their call is being dealt with and has not been disconnected. If a caller only has silence to listen to while they wait they are more likely to hang up and are likely not to call back. A lost call is a potential lost sale and who can afford to lose sales? Your lost caller is also likely to be left frustrated and angry and may well pass on their unhappy experience to friends and family.

Messages on hold can also introduce callers to products and services they may not be aware of. Don’t assume your caller knows everything that you offer, this is an ideal time to increase awareness and exposure and to cross-sell your product lines. Studies have shown that some callers make additional purchases based on the information they hear while they are on hold.

It is also not as expensive as you may think to employ the services of a professional voice artist to record your on hold message. Professional voice talents can bring their experience of reading persuasive sales messages in a clear and credible manner. They will also provide you with a high quality audio recording to make the listener experience even more positive. So why not consider incorporating an on hold message in your marketing mix.

Are you looking for a simple straightforward pre-recorded voice mail message for your cell phone or business answer machine? Not ready to create your own customised personal voice mail message but would like the benefit of a professionally recorded message by an experienced voiceover artist?

Then stock voiceover recordings could be the solution you’re looking for. If you or your company use stock photography in your website or promotional material or use stock video footage in your corporate videos, then you will be familiar with the benefits of using pre-recorded stock material. Now you have the additional option of using a stock voiceover recording for your phone system recordings or website navigation audio.

A professional voice mail message can help your business project a professional image. Sole traders and smaller organisations particularly appreciate the benefits of using a voice artist for their phone system recordings. Not everyone wants to hear their own voice on the phone recordings. And sometimes sole traders can find it helpful to give the impression of a larger organisation rather than a one-man band. A clear professional voice can leave a positive impression with the caller and reassure them that they have contacted a capable company who values their customers.

Many companies choose to create a customised script, individual to their business and their needs. But sometimes due to organisational change, premises relocation and staffing restructuring, a generic phone message is ideal to bridge the gap until a more permanent message can be recorded.

You can also find stock voiceover recordings for your website navigation buttons. More people are choosing to add a voice to their website design. Not only does it make the website experience more interesting it also has benefits for website visitors who struggle with their eyesight.

Don’t think that a professionally recorded message by an experienced voice artist is beyond your means. Even a customised greeting or message can be obtained at a very reasonable rate. Consider it as an investment as part of your company branding and image making – an investment that will pay itself back in no time at all.

If you are creating an on hold message for your business than its tempting to use it purely as an infomercial about your products and services. On hold messages are a great way to educate your callers about your product line and the benefits they can bring, but you can also use this time to help your callers in other ways.

An on hold message first serves to let your caller know that they haven’t been disconnected or abandoned. If left with just silence, a caller will be unsure whether their call is being directed to the correct person or has been forgotten about. Use the message to thank your caller for making the call and that you appreciate their business and assistance is only moments away.

Also use your message on hold to inform your callers about your business opening and closing times – and if these are affected by any holiday periods. Include your full business location and directions as to how to find you. If your customer service team have any frequently asked questions that can easily be included within your on hold script than this could save them time and increase their efficiency.

Why not notify your callers if your company has any employment opportunities. Satisfied customers could potentially be an excellent addition to your work force. If you’re able to fill your vacancies through your on hold message then this could save your company recruitment and advertising costs.

Why not use this opportunity to show your company as the leader in its field. Tell your callers about any industry awards and recognitions. Publicize your credentials and mention any professional associations and memberships that you belong too. Mention how long you have been working in the industry, tell callers about your experience you have gathered from your years in the business.

You could also offer your callers expert hints and tips – share your knowledge and suggest they sign up to a newsletter for weekly/monthly updates. Giving professional advice and tips will show your callers that you know your business and have the experience that will inspire your customers with confidence.

Use your on hold message to educate and inform your callers. Your callers will appreciate it and so will your bottom line!

If you’ve got your prospects to call your company, then you are most of the way to closing the deal and making the sale. Wouldn’t it be a shame to lose your callers before you’ve had a chance to describe your products and services and tell them all about the benefits that they can bring to them. This could happen if you have to put your caller on hold and leave them on the phone listening to….nothing just silence.

According to studies, after an average of 1 minute 55 seconds on hold most callers will hang up annoyed. And 34% of those callers who hang up will not call back. A lost call could be a lost sale, and how many companies can afford to lose any sales in this economic climate? But there is a simple way to keep your callers on the line if they are placed on hold – play them an On hold message. Callers will stay on the line up to 25% longer if provided with an on hold message to listen to as they wait. In fact, some companies have shown that having a message on hold can reduce caller abandonment by almost 79 per cent.

An on hold message isn’t just to keep your callers from ending the call. It is also an opportunity to promote your products and services and introduce your callers to your product lines they may not already be aware of. Callers have been known to purchase additional products based on information they have heard while they are on hold. So not only can on hold messages retain your potential customers they can also be a powerful sales tool to encourage your callers to spend more.

So when your ready to take advantage of the benefits of an on hold message, why not consider using a professional voice over talent to record your greeting. Aren’t your customers and your company worth it?

On hold messages are a great way to get your marketing message out to your clients. Instead of your callers sitting on hold in silence, use this time to educate and inform them of your products and services. Consider an on hold message as a reliable method to keep your callers on the line and as an infomercial about your business.

So how should the message on hold be structured and what are the key areas to include?

The first area is Educational: Tell your callers about any new products or services you have introduced. Also let them know of any improvements you may have made to existing products and services. Consider using this opportunity to cross-sell related products and services by calling attention to other related business areas. Point them in the direction of your website or catalogue to show the full range available. Impress on your callers the benefits of using your products and the flexible solutions your services provide.

The second area is Informational: This area can really help your customer services department. Use the on hold message to answer frequently asked questions, inform callers of your business opening and closing times. Let them know of any changes of business hours during holiday periods. Give you callers directions to your business premises and the full business address. These standard queries can save your customer service team time and resources and make them more efficient.

The third area is image and brand builders: Tell your callers about your companies achievements. Mention any award or endorsements your business has recently received. Now is the time to blow your own trumpet – don’t be shy in coming forward. Make sure your clients know what they are becoming a part of when they purchase from your company. Use the opportunity to tell your clients your commitment to quality and standards and give them evidence. This information can really help build trust and credibility. The voice you choose to use to present your on hold message can be as important as the message itself. Choose a professional voice artist to prove your commitment to professional standards and a reflection of your company image and brand.