Hold messages are the recorded messages that play on your phone system for your telephone callers to hear when they’re placed on hold. They’re more important than ever with a “perfect storm” of problems Connecticut businesses face: your staff is leaving jobs that they’ve always done well, you can’t find qualified replacement workers that you can afford to hire, and increasing demand in a post-pandemic world.
Hold Messages work in two different situations
That all adds up to more callers waiting on hold. It happens in two different situations:
- The “classic” situation: when you’re taking with a phone caller and you have to
- look for more information (pricing, inventory, products specs, etc.)
- transfer the caller to the right co-worker
- answer another phone call
- help a customer in person
The “auto attendant” is a telephone system feature that automatically answers your calls. It’s used to replace a “live” receptionist or when you get so many phone calls that the phone system is more efficient at answering them. The typical “auto attendant” has the recorded greet we all know well:
“Thank you for calling. Please hold and your call will be answered by our next available representative.”
We’ve all experienced our call being answered by an auto attendant when we’ve called a bank, credit card company or airline, but the feature is now standard on most phone systems, so using them has become very popular.
Either way, you’re asking your caller to “hold on” and not hang up. The best way to ensure that this happens is to give your callers a good reason for holding: let them listen to something interesting.
What information to give callers
Your callers can usually be broken down into three groups, so there are three ways to hold on to them:
- Customers who want to buy
- Customers who want help
- Prospects
Each group has different desires and needs. So the simple way to come up with a plan for giving them something they’ll be interested in is to listen to their requests. Calls come into your business every day. Keep track of what each group is asking about.
Clients in Connecticut who want to buy might just need to re-order the same product (e.g. “I’d like to make another appointment,” “Please deliver a pizza,” or “I’d like telephoto lens for my camera,” upgrade to a better product, or might need a “complementary” product (They have cookies. So ask “Got Milk?”). This is a perfect opportunity for “upselling” or “cross marketing.”
Clients who want help already use your product or service. They might ask “Is it time for my maintenance appointment” or “Are my test results ready?” You’ve got an opportunity to talk about “customer portals” or “web ordering” as well as “add on sales”. All of these can increase customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
Prospects are still in the shopping process. They’re probably visited websites and read about your products (and your competitors’) but need more information. This is a good opportunity to start giving it to them, or suggest specific links or pages on your website. You can reinforce your USP or mention your high review ranking.
Messages on hold made easy
Sound too complicated? Why not talk with an Informer Marketing Expert who can help you to understand your best strategy for making your messages a valuable marketing tool. You can email us, or call us direct to set up a free 15-minute Discovery Session: in Connecticut call (203) 655-6920. Nationwide call toll free (800) 862-8896.
