Have you thought about your on hold message goals? You’re not alone. Most companies that try on hold messages never even think about goals, or talk about “giving callers something interesting to listen to,” or “sell more.”
On Hold Message goals really do help
I had a conversation with a someone who called after looking at our website, www.informermessages.com. The caller, a business owner asked about on hold messages. He asked the “frequently asked questions” about price, length, how long it would take, and music. Then I asked him a question: “What do you want to accomplish? What are your on hold message goals?”
He thought for a few moments, and then answered “I guess I want to sell more.”
Knowing that he had lots of different products, I asked “Sell more of what?”
“Everything” he said.
I asked: “Are there some products that are more profitable than others?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have some products that aren’t profitable”
“YES”
“Are there some products that lead to other sales?” (Think peanut butter needing jelly, or pretzels needing beer!)
“Oh yeah, I guess there are”
“Are there some products that lead to lifetime customers, and not just a single purchase?”
“Yes”
Now we had something to talk about. Setting specific goals for your messages on hold is important if you don’t want to be disappointed.
On hold message goals help you measure success
Lots of people tell me that their messages on hold don’t work. Then we quickly figure out that they were never designed to work, because they never set on hold message goals, or even thought about them. Messages on hold are a marketing tool like any other. You wouldn’t advertise in the New York Times or on National Television unless you knew what you wanted to sell. So why not set goals for your messages on hold? Because they’re inexpensive? Or because most people who try to sell them to you never take the time to talk about your on hold message goals.
Use your on hold message goals to develop a strategy
The first step in developing effective hold messages is thinking about your goals. Then you use the information to develop a strategy, and then to write a script. Anything less, and you might as well just use music on hold. What are your on hold message goals?