You’ve Got Your Telephone System?

We don’t provide the telephone hardware… BUT… If you are considering using our on hold messaging service you probably already have your hardware from one of our telephony hardware associates. However, if you have found us via a search engine and are looking for a hardware supplier, we can recommend a supplier local to you when providing you with an on-hold quote.

Simply select the ‘recommend a local telephone hardware supplier’ option when requesting a quote.

Want to Learn More About Telephone Hardware?

Although On Hold Messaging Direct does not provide on hold hardware, the following article should give you a good idea of the options available and what to consider when looking for a hardware supplier.

When setting up an office telephone system and on hold messages for your company there are basically two routes you can take.

1. Use an On Hold Solutions Provider – Expensive option

These companies provide custom on hold audio and hardware as a package.

This service was provided by companies that did everything for you from writing your script to installing and setting up your hardware to recording and installing your on hold audio. The positive point is that you do not have to do anything, they do it all; however, the negative aspect is the cost and the contract.

Typically, the contract is for 3 years and if you don’t renew you will no longer be able to use their audio or script. Everything they create for you is copyrighted by them so reusing it after your contract ends is not an option.

2. Separate On Hold Solutions – Much More Flexible

In recent years many specialist telephony hardware providers have emerged offering companies more cost effective ways of acquiring telephone systems. It does require a little organising by you as you will need to source the telephone hardware separately.

As for the on hold messages, OnHoldMessagingDirect.com provide professional on hold audio that can be purchased for an affordable one-time payment, which can drastically cut the costs of your on hold messaging requirements.

The on hold messages are recorded by professional voice overs and combined with background music to create a top class production.

On hold players

You can purchase on hold mp3 players that connect to a compatible telephone. Quite simply this set-up allows you to use a PC to load audio into the on hold player via memory card or USB memory stick. These on hold systems deliver high quality caller experience as the audio comes from an mp3. Once you have your on hold player set up you can order customised on hold audio and install it yourself very easily.

Also, as these machines have no moving parts or software they are extremely reliable and can function for many years.

Larger systems with Menus

There are hardware companies who can advise you on larger telephony systems with IVR and menu options, i.e. Press one for sales, press two for accounts… please hold… etc.

These systems are a lot more involved and require a specialist company to advise and install the right system for you. They may include a server based system called Asterisk or business grade VOIP (Voice over IP) for example.

It will involve renting, but renting this type of system and buying your on hold messaging separately will be vastly cheaper than using a conventional on hold company.

In conclusion

Whether you go for the cheaper or more expensive option depends on your business needs. If budget is not an important factor and you like the idea of having your telephony solution fully covered by one company, then the convenience of using a conventional on hold supplier might be for you.

On the other-hand, if you want a much more affordable option where you own the equipment and on hold audio, you should consider sourcing a telephony system provider for your hardware requirements and use a specialist on hold audio company for your on hold messages and IVR voice requirements. It is affordable, convenient and professional.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us

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It is inevitable that at one time or another, you have no alternative but to put your client on hold; however, make this your opportunity to demonstrate to them how professional your company is. This may be the only opportunity you have to do business with them so you can’t afford to get their on hold experience wrong. It is worth investing a little bit of time to get this right.

The on hold messages and background music need to engage the caller, to defuse potential frustration. Make this an opportunity to educate and create a good impression of your company, products and services.

The On Hold Script

First and foremost, tell the caller where they are and thank them for calling. For example,

Thank you for calling [Company Name], please hold, an advisor will be with you shortly.

Don’t bombard them with lots of information at the start of your script, keep it segmented and concise. If you have 8 pieces of information to communicate, provide 8 short paragraphs so that your audio producer can spread it out over the music on hold. It will be received better in smaller chunks and combined more effectively with music.

After the initial greeting, make the first few on hold messages the most salient. These should be points that the caller will be interested in and ensure that they stay on the line.

For example, if your company is holding an annual event, has a special offer, a free magazine etc. make sure that this information is communicated early on in your messages.

You may say something like…

Stay on the line and request your free magazine when you are connected

OR

Stay on the line and get your 15% discount code when you are connected

Always try to tell them about things that may be of interest to them. Give them an incentive to stay on hold. Telling your caller that you offer a 15% discount at weekends is much more helpful to them than repeatedly thanking them for holding.

Build confidence in your brand and provide your caller with good information. Here are a few ideas:

• Has you or you company won any awards?
• Do you / your company hold any relevant qualifications?
• What charitable foundation do you support?
• Do you attend / exhibit at any industry trade events?
• Do you have a useful blog or article archive?
• What do you do that is unique / not been done by your competitors?

Prolonged On Hold

After may be 1.5 – 2 minutes, it is always a good idea to say something like…

Thank you for continuing to hold, your patience is appreciated.

It is also a good idea to maybe offer some alternative, for example,

Thank you for your patience, please continue to hold and we will be with you shortly. Alternatively, you can send an email to me@mycompany.com

OR

Thank you for your patience, please continue to hold and we will be with you shortly. Alternatively, you can order online at www.mycompany.com

OR

Thank you for your patience, please continue to hold and we will be with you shortly. Alternatively, you can leave a message by pressing 0 and we will call you back.

Caller Frequency

How often do your customers call and get put on hold? If this is infrequent, having a single section of on hold audio created will probably be sufficient.

If your customers call frequently, it may be worth getting your on hold audio updated several times a year or have several on hold sections created in one go. You can rotate these on a regular basis to offer variety. This will give your regular callers the impression that you care about their on hold experience and the change can be very obvious to them, especially if the on hold music is changed as well as the voice over.

Also, don’t be afraid to mix and match voices, a combination of male and female voices can be used to create interest and variety for the caller.

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Image via Wikipedia

IVR is short for Interactive Voice Response, an automated system that uses a touch response telephone to direct your call. You will have one of these if you have multiple departments with lots of incoming calls.

60% of callers put on a silent on-hold hang up within 40 seconds and callers put on-hold with messages and music will stay about 3 minutes longer.

55% of communication is lost over the phone (body language), leaving us with 38% through tone of voice and just 7% through words.

As you can see from these statistics, giving the wrong message in the wrong tone could actually damage your sales and your reputation.

Many companies spend time and money on their visual branding (logo and leaflets) but neglect their telephone audio. Your sonic branding is as important as your visual branding.

This article looks at some of the common mistakes made with IVR and on hold marketing. It also outlines some good techniques to use.

You rang !

It is best to have just a few options on your telephone on hold system. People lose interest quickly so listing every department is not always a good idea. Think about it from the customers’ point of view, what will they be calling your company for? To buy products? Information? To make a complaint?

It is recommended that you keep it to 3 or 4 salient options max if you can. If you think that you need 7 or 8 options, be ruthless; cut it down to the 3 or 4 relevant points. You can always have the 4th option to cover all other enquires.

Remember, the purpose of telephone IVR options is to get the potential client through to the most relevant department as quickly as possible. Failing that, you need to get them to remain on hold until you are able to deal with their call.

Thank you for calling ABC, for sales please press 1 – for product information press 2 – for all other enquiries press 3…

Make it simple and friendly and always use a professional voice over. People relate to it better and psychologically, it is more accepted and expected by the caller. Your company will sound established and efficient and will instantly inspire confidence. You can always tell when a member of the office records the IVR options, you know, the one with the best telephone voice.

Think about the type of voice-over you want to use… What image do you want your company to portray in the mind of the listener? What is your target market?

Using a voice-over style that will connect with your caller is important. You don’t want a mature corporate voice if your company is aimed at 18-25 year olds, and likewise, you don’t want a young radio type voice if your are a firm of lawyers.

Please Hold!

Being on hold can be annoying, however, you can entertain and use this time to inform and educate your caller about your company, services and products. A silent on-hold is extremely cold and the hold time seems much longer than it actually is, which often results in callers hanging up. Give them something to keep their attention.

Music On Hold

Music can alleviate boredom, however, make sure your music is properly licensed for use on a telephone on hold system, otherwise you could face a copyright infringement charge.

Also, do select on hold music carefully. Not everybody has your taste in music… for example, a banging hip-hop track may alienate some of your callers. It is usually best to go for music that is easy on the ear or chilled and relaxing. Royalty free music is a good choice for on hold use as the caller has no preconceptions about the piece – they just accept it as background music.

As with the voice, it is also advisable to pick music that is relevant to the company image you want to portray. It is acceptable for a nightclub to use a pumping dance track, but clearly this would be wrong for an accountants office.

It is good practice to thank the caller for holding, but not every 5 seconds! Many on hold systems work on a continuous loop. I suggest having your ‘thank you for holding…’ message at the beginning and in the middle of the loop. Intervals of 20-30 seconds don’t disrupt the music too much but remind your caller that you care.

Entertain, Educate and Sell!

Don’t waste the opportunity you have when a caller is on hold. You have a captive audience. You have a great opportunity to keep them occupied and educate them about your products and services.

It is best not to blatantly advertise, or to cram as many ads in as possible. A more subtle approach is far less intrusive and more appreciated by the caller. On-hold marketing should use voice and music combined. They are both important elements so let any adverts breath; make sure there is music on either side of them to break things up.

When it comes to writing advertising on hold, make your advert short and to the point. I am not an advertising expert, but, making it engaging and entertaining can really count.

Simple messages can work best, for example:

Thank you for holding, did you know ABC limited sells more widgets in the UK than any other company, and can price match any quote.

This Autumn we have great savings on widgets, ask your operator for details.

You get the idea. Short sentences, no hard sell and let people hear the music before and after the voice; this is when they will take in and process the information.

This article is based on our experience of creating on hold audio packages for many clients. We have a limited knowledge about on hold equipment, but we advise that you always test any newly installed audio.

Phone your company as a client to check that it all works. Is the volume right? Is it clear? Are there anomalies in the system that cause delays or the first split second to be cut off?

There is nothing worse than hearing your perfectly produced on hold audio being butchered by incorrectly configured hardware. Your callers will notice it, but won’t say nothing about it. Not to you anyway!

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Music on hold and voice over needs to be mixed correctly, otherwise it can become needlessly irritating. It never ceases to amaze me that some large companies get this so wrong.

I have just been on hold for about 20 minutes and as a producer of on-hold audio packages I am very aware of the issues. My experience today with a very large mobile phone company highlights some dos and don’ts for companies considering a custom on-hold package.

Consistency

I have just listened to a variety of male and female IVR voice prompts all at different volume levels. I believe the voice-over should be the same person throughout the IVR prompts. The only exception to this is during the marketing messages in the on-hold section. However, there is no excuse for the on hold voice to change in volume from message to message.

Don’t stop the music

I strongly believe that the voice-over during an on-hold section should be mixed with the music. My on hold experience today had me listening to 10 seconds of music before a voice-over thanked me for continuing to hold. At each stage, the music stopped playing while the voice thanked me for holding.

Two things are wrong here...

Firstly, the music should duck, or lower in volume during the voice-over message. Stopping the music lulls the caller into a false sense of security. Every time the music stops you think you are through… then you realise you aren’t!

Secondly, don’t thank the caller every 10 seconds for holding. By all means thank them periodically, but it is always best to mix in a variety of voice-over elements to engage the caller. Product or service related tips or facts, anything other than the same sentence over and over.
The spacing of these messages depends on the speed of the music on hold and the length of the voice-over message. As a producer of on-hold packages, I find it is best to determine the spacing of on hold messages based on how it feels and how it fits with the music bed.

Communicate

The on-hold section can be an ideal advertising and communication channel for you, sending marketing messages directly to your target market. Tell them about those little known services, latest deals, and practical information.

Make your on-hold a positive caller experience. It requires a little forethought but will make a huge difference to your callers.

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