There are a few common on hold script mistakes that can weaken your on hold messages. Luckily on hold script problems are easy to fix.
- Don’t forget to focus on the customer. Merchandising pro Stew Leonard (the Guinness Book of World Records credits Leonard with having “the greatest sales per unit area of any single food store in the United States”) has a rule that the customer is always right. That can also mean that the customer is the reason we do everything, and without the customer we wouldn’t be here. So why not address the customer’s wants/needs/problems as a way to start ever message? Most companies fill their script starting every sentence “XYZ Company has” and “XYZ Company is.” We write your messages from the customer’s point of view. We think that more effective messages start “Are you looking for,” “Do you have problems with,” and “What do you do when.” Don’t be fooled: your company name isn’t the reason customers buy from you. It’s because you solve their problems
- Don’t flatter yourself. Avoid “laying it on too thick” and continually praising what you do with lavish and exaggerated language!
- Less is more. (That’s a line from the book you read in High School “1984”) The longer you make your script, the more chances you’ll have to fill it with low value ideas. Focus every message on your profit makers, and the products or services that lead to loyal customers.
- Old news is no news. Do you do the same thing you do today as you did last year, or 5 years ago? The customer who calls you regularly wants to hear new information, not the same old messages from years ago. It’s probably time to update your messages
- Don’t try to sell too much: instead, write to help your customer. The more you help them, the more they’ll want to buy.
- Don’t apologize. It doesn’t help or make hold time less annoying. Your customer wants help, not apologies.
- Avoid clichés. The average recording uses the same clichés (I heard one yesterday: “Our years of hard work have earned us the reputation as being the best in the field” Do you really think anyone believes it when you brag like that?
- Don’t be fooled by script writers who cut corners at your expense: they put in a bunch of facts in the first message or two, then give you generic messages after that.
- You’d like your customer to visit your website. Just saying “You can learn more about us at our website xyz.com” Why would anyone “want to learn more” about you? Instead try this: “For details on how the XYZ Widget can reduce friction, last 20% longer, and streamline inline changes, click on the “XYZ Widget” tab at our website xyz.com. Which would be more tempting to you?
On hold script mistakes are easy to correct
You can have a great marketing tool if you don’t make the same mistakes everyone else does. Want a candid opinion of your script? A great one is as easy to write as a lousy one. Email it to me at hart@informermessages.com and I’ll call you for a Free 15-minute Strategy Session that can improve your messages today!