On hold music for business is pretty standard. These days so many businesses, like yours, have moved to VoIP Service like Ring Central, Nextiva and 8×8, that just about everybody has the same music on hold. Most VoIP service is built on the same “backbone” so they all have the same features. And one of them is phone hold music. It’s not that important to your phone service company, so they give you the same music that they give your next door neighbor. The same as the Urologist in the Medical Park. The same as the Junk Yard across town.
It’s the same music that you got bored listening to when you called your Cable TV company. Or your car dealer. Waiting on hold listening to it can be frustrating. Have you ever just hung up while waiting? (I have)
No one likes on hold music for business
So make 2023 the year that you get rid of it. Replace it…but with what?
Put yourself in your callers’ shoes. What would you like to hear when you call a business? Information.
You call for information…not music
You’ve done the research. You’ve looked at their website. Now you have important questions and you want help. So why not help your callers? Give their more of the information that they want and that you want them to have. Answers to FAQ. Details about your quality. Information that will help them decide…to choose you.
Three ways to make your on hold recordings productive:
- Provide helpful hints about more of the ways to use your products. Hellman’s and Hunts foods both offer free recipes. Each one is a good reason to purchase more of your product.
- Cross Market: tell callers about other products/services you sell, and the benefits they offer. The most famous is McDonald’s cross selling offer: “Do you want fries with that?” Tell callers about the “other” products you offer that go well with your biggest sellers.
- Upselling: Everyone who calls Japan Airlines wants to fly to Japan. So JAL doesn’t have to sell travel. Their biggest increase in profit comes from upgrades to Business Class. Simply by giving a bit more leg room, and a glass of free champagne, they charge more. I just checked: the difference in the price from Economy to Business class is over $5000.
Are you still using hold music?
If you are, you’re missing an opportunity. You can help your customers better, guide them toward making better decisions, and promote your most profitable products and services.
Not sure how to do it? Or what to tell callers about? Why not ask one of our On Hold Marketing Experts about your best opportunities, and the best way to make the most of them. You can click here to email us, or call today: (800) 862-8896.