(by Anthony J. Stagliano)

Messages on-hold are an important part of call processing. Companies who professionally create and produce your messages provide a cost-effective way to provide your callers with better service.

SUGGESTED TOPICS
The content of the messages is limited only by your imagination. Marketing Messages, Newton, MA suggests these ideas to get you started:

• Introduce new products or services.
• Feature promotions or specials.
• Invite customers and prospects to visit you at the next trade show.
• Give customers tips on saving time or money.
• Give office or showroom hours, address, even directions.

A business telephone system is expensive and the cost per call goes far beyond what is reported in a business' monthly telephone bill.

A staggering statistic shows that businesses spend approximately 92% of their marketing budget to get customers to call, but only 8% to handle the inbound call. This part of telephone customer service is known as the "back end," and it's where businesses often fall short.

Even with the most expensive and sophisticated telephone systems, businesses handle this back end poorly. Untrained staff who take inquiries over the phone, poor call transfer and routing procedures and callers who wait long on-hold all contribute to bad service and potential caller abandonment.

Caller abandonment occurs when a caller becomes frustrated, hangs up and calls someplace else. Data from Voice Response shows that 9 out of 10 callers will hang up or abandon when placed on hold and more than one-third who abandon do not call back. Who will they call? Your competitors.

A professional messages on-hold provider helps improve your business's service on the back end. While customers hold. They listen to professionally made messages that provide information about your business.

Research shows that business callers like messages on-hold. An independent study by Maximarketing shows that 88% of callers prefer messages on-hold to other options such as silence or local radio,. This number becomes even more important considering that, on the average, seven out of every 10 callers are placed on hold.

The belief that each call is important was never more true. With more and more business being done by phone, businesses can't ignore potential revenue from those calls. Successful businesses are focusing on customer service. In terms of call processing, companies round out that focus with professional messages on-hold.

THE RIGHT MESSAGES ON-HOLD PROGRAM SUPPLIER
Bare bones messages on-hold combines professionally written copy (scripts) spoken by professional voice talent over music. There are many companies who provide one or two parts of a messages on-hold production and some who provide comprehensive, turnkey programs.

Like any value-added service, a messages on-hold provider should maintain a high degree of professionalism in its creation, production, and execution. It's on the quality of the messages that a messages on-hold company is ultimately judged. Consider the following:

• The writing - The best companies will assign a creative person to your account. That person should have a professional writing background and experience with your business. The writer should also experience writing on-hold medium.
• The voice - Using professional voice talent also makes a difference. The "right" voice complements the message and adds appeal and character to the script. How a message is delivered is just as important as what is said.
• The music - It's important to mix your on-hold messages with appropriate music. Music gives the caller time to think about each message without overwhelming him. Most messages on-hold users find upbeat music. - jazz, classical, big band and light 50's - to be the most effective. The company should maintain a large library of licensed music so the music matches the message.
• The production - A messages on-hold company that has its own studio and professional technicians can produce tapes conveniently and efficiently. It eliminates the need to use an outside studio. This is cost effective and ensures quality productions with fast turnaround.
• The equipment - A messages on-hold company should offer and stand behind quality playing equipment. The latest industry technology is a digital system. Digital units reduce the chance of tape or player breakage since they don't have any moving parts.
• The message program - On-hold messages enable a business to convey a variety of messages to its business callers. Some message ideas include new products/services announcements, additional office locations, policy changes, business hours, schedules, industry news, sales and specials, tips and trivia. A prescribed message program should include tapes that are the correct length for playback. To keep callers interested, your company should change messages on a set schedule - monthly, bimonthly or quarterly - depending on the rest of your company's marketing activity.
• The credentials - Check out the company's service capabilities. It should have experience in a wide variety of industries and clients from diverse areas of the country. A roster of their clients will give insight into the company's reputation.

OTHER BENEFITS OF MESSAGES ON-HOLD
While a message on-hold program is a cost effective way to round out a business' call processing system, it also provides a viable medium for communication.

For example, if the average hold time is 30 seconds and a business receives 100 calls a day 260 business days a year, more then 200 hours of hold time is generated each year. You can transform that unused time into a communications tool by using messages on-hold. The added time will enhance service to existing and potential customers.

Compared to many other peripheral telephone features, messages on-hold are very cost effective. Companies factor the costs into their existing marketing budgets. The cost is well justified. In fact, many businesses directly attribute sales leads to messages on-hold where a product was featured.

Messages on-hold have been instrumental for many businesses in rounding out their call processing and providing a medium for communications. Providing on-hold programs also shows callers the company values its customers. In a time when competing for new business is so expensive, most businesses can't afford to deny their customers value-added services such as messages on hold. Can yours?