With companies vying for customers’ attention in the traditional and online advertising space, on hold advertising provides a unique, competition-free opportunity to inform potential business leads and close sales. On hold advertising means making use of the time a caller remains on hold while waiting for a call to go through. This time is an opportunity overlooked by most businesses.
It is important to note that in the overwhelming percentage of cases, it is the customer that has originated the call towards your business. Since they have originated the communication, it makes them more receptive to your message. Consider the case of calling tech support for a service that you already use. You have originated the call, meaning that you will not object to listening to a message by the company as you wait. The fact that you are already a customer has a synergistic effect on the message. You are more likely to listen to it and purchase further products or services from the company.
Recent studies seem to corroborate the advantage that businesses get from effective on hold advertising. Figures show that the average person remains on hold for 60 hours per year while executives -decision makers for buying your products and services- spend 15 minutes a day on hold – or 68 hours a year. That time is a prime opportunity for you to sell and indoctrinate them on your brand. Despite these statistics, 94% of all marketing budgets are spent on trying to get a customer to call, while only 6% is spent on handling the call once it is made.
Another interesting fact to consider is that of the callers that are placed on hold to wait in silence, 90 per cent hang up within forty seconds, while callers left to listen to music wait an additional thirty seconds, on average, before abandoning the call. The stat that should cause you to spring into action, however, is that callers that listen to information while on hold tend to stay on the line for a whopping three minutes longer. This provides a great opportunity for the right on hold message strategy to convert them into buying customers or to close upsells.
By better utilizing the time your business’s incoming calls, you can increase your sales and strengthen your branding through an activity that does not require massive spending. A well-produced on hold message that exceeds the highest quality standards can ensure you receive only superior service and programming while maximizing your return on investment.