The On-Hold Messaging Association says 70% of business callers are put on hold. Make sure that time is put to good use by telling your on hold customers or prospects about how you can solve their problems, or to introduce new products. This audio point of purchase is an opportunity to direct your message to the people who are already interested in your business — because they’re calling you.

One more statistic – 12 to 16% of on hold customers will make a purchase, based on your excellent music on hold.

What makes an excellent on hold message? According to Hold Time Studios, a personal touch, appropriate humor, briefly explaining your unique solution, are all factors. Another is adding some good music on hold for a total creative marketing package.

Patrick Bolan, owner of Hold Time Studios, and sister company Hold Time Music, says some of his clients report their customers ask to be put back on hold; they were enjoying themselves so much!

Radio or print ads can cost thousands, and let’s not even think about the cost of a TV spot, but on hold messaging targets your best customers for as little as $350. Your cost depends on whether you have multiple locations, how often you want to refresh your scripts and whether you need to purchase equipment.

It’s helpful when making business decisions to hear what others have experienced in your situation. Visit Patrick’s testimonial page to read some great reviews and then give him a call.

What do you like to hear on-hold? We’re used to getting silence, static, or the radio. Nobody remembers music on hold paragraphs that are long, boring, and full of superlatives packed into lists of services. All of these present a bleak, if not crummy image of the company that’s being called.

Maybe you remember a cool on-hold message that was creatively written, mixed with a bit of humor… or better yet – sound effects? www.holdtimestudios.com can do the boring stuff, yes, but why when for the same price you can engaging and educational music on hold?

Skip the boring studios, toss the old radio – and try us out.

Oh, yes… there are statistics to back us up. Here they are:

AT&T said,

“70% of calls are placed on hold for 30 seconds or longer. If a callers listens to silence, with commercial call will suffer a 75% abandonment rate. For first time callers, more than half will not call back.”

CNN said,

“The average person spends 100 hours per year on hold.”

Cellular Marketing Magazine

“Over 90% of callers prefer on-hold messages over silence.”

Telemarketing Magazine said,

“Surveys show that 25 to 40% of callers make purchases based on information they heard on-hold.”

So, does that sound like a good $1.50/day investment for your marketing budget?

It’s the Razzies for Music On-Hold. First let’s start with our top three music on hold paragraphs at the studios.

The Best Three Paragraphs We’ve Ever Recorded

WHAT’S THE DEFINITION OF AN OPTOMIST? A MUSICIAN WITH A MORTGAGE. HERE AT BEACOCKS WE’VE GOT PAYMENT PLANS FOR JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING, AND MUCH MORE FORGIVING THAN A MORTGAGE. THANKS FOR CALLING, WE’LL BE RIGHT WITH YOU.

*If a toilet is over-flowing, is it just a simple clog? Does the toilet need to be repaired? Or, did your son’s favorite action figure “go for a swim” and never return? We don’t “guess” over the phone. Our technician will give you a complete evaluation and accurate price up-front … before any work is done. We’ll back it with a warranty …. Adventuresome Power Rangers excluded. J

IF YOU’RE SPENDING TIME AROUND EXTENED FAMILY THIS HOLIDAY SEASON, TAKE A LOOK AROUND… THOSE WRINKNLES WILL BE COMING TO FACE VERY NEAR YOU WITHIN A FEW YEARS – BUT THEY DON’T HAVE TO. YOUR SKIN CAN BE CLEAR AND BEAUTIFUL AT ANY AGE. WE’LL BE RIGHT WITH YOU.

You can hear some of these at http://www.holdtimestudios.com/marketing-ideas.php

And how about two for the worst.. holy cow, these were bad; And in these two cases we didn’t write them … they read like a As-Seen-on-TV script….

HAVE YOU TRIED EVERYTHING TO RID YOURSELF OF CELULLITE? DID YOU KNOW THERE IS A NON SURGICAL SOLUTION FOR THIS PROBLEM? DR. ++++ KNOWS THIS IS NOT A MATTER OF WILLPOWER OR LACK OF SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS. FORTUNATELY, THERE REALLY IS A WAY TO GET RID OF CELLULITE! IT’S CALLED MESOTHERAPY, AND THE ++++ CENTER IS THE WEST COAST’S LEADING PROVIDER OF THIS REVOLUTIONARY WAY TO GET RID OF CELLULITE. IT IS LIFE CHANGING. DON’T WAIT – INQUITE TODAY ABOUT HOW YOU CAN GET RID OF CELLULITE AND SAVE 25% OFF YOUR PACKAGE!

And so much information, that you won’t recall any of it…

PROTECT YOUR FAMILY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM YOUR FRIENDS HERE AT HECHT AND HECHT INSURANCE AGENCY. WE OFFER A WIDE VARIETY OF HEALTH AND LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES. INCLUDING BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP LIFE AND HEALTH PLANS, MAJOR MEDICAL AND EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN AS WELL AS WHOLE, AND TERM LIFE, IRA’S, AND ANNUITIES. AT HECHT AND HECHT INSURANCE AGENCY, WE BELIEVE THAT NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU FAMILY’S HEALTH AND PEACE OF MIND.

Yick. .!

There is often undue consternation over what style of music should be used for a company’s telephone on-hold message. The music must support (and not distract) from the MESSAGE about your business.

1. Understand that you’ll be choosing a genre of music – you won’t be able to use that U2 song unless you’re ready to pay thousands upon thousands of dollars in copyright fees.

2. Choose a style that fits your businesses image, not just your favorite genre. It’s a classic marketing mistake to pick artistic bents that you enjoy, instead of what’s most effective for your target audience. It’s Marketing 101, folks. Once I installed a system where the Owner-Doctor of a veterinary clinic was a classical music aficionado, and insisted her on-hold messaging use the same. The “up” nature of their voiceovers was a poor match for soothing classical music.

1. When in doubt, aim for the Lowest Common Denominator among your telephoning audience… it’s light jazz – because it’s least likely to annoy your callers compared to rap, rave, bluegrass, country, and so on…

1. Follow the industry trend. From our experience, here it is:
   1. Banking and financial: Classical Music
   2. Veterinarian and Dental: Light Jazz
   3. Automobile: More aggressive jazz
   4. Business Services: Bluesy jazz, without blaring horns.
   5. Day Spas: Neo-classical, or New Age
   6. Manufacturing: Light Jazz
   7. Adventure Sports and Gyms: Rock to Rave
   8. Retirement Planning: Big Band (boomers love this style)
   9. Locally rooted businesses: Heavily dependent on local music influences.
   10. Businesses who deal with stressed out callers: Neo-classical.
   11. General Restaurant: Light Jazz
   12. Expensive Restaurant: Mellow piano Jazz (we call it “smoky” around here)

Our tagline for Hold Time is “Good things come to those wait.” Maybe it should be, “We think about it so you don’t have to!”.

Hear samples at www.holdtimemusic.com, and www.holdtimestudios.com

Hold Time studios gets this question a lot. Here are some tips:

1. Messaging on-hold that changes even 2x per year is more effective than never changing it at all.
   1. Your customers are your best base of revenue – right? Aren’t they the ones who will spend the most time transferred or on-hold on your phone system? They’ll know if you’re playing the same old production every time they call… and they won’t learn anything new about your company. It’s a lost opportunity.
2. Is your business seasonal?
   1. For some business, like Hold Time Studios customer www.beattygrouptravel.com, they’re marketing to people who want to escape the rain in the winter. An inexpensive marketing tool like music on hold can zero in on that seasonal target.
   2. Example: IT WAS THE BRITISH THAT ORIGINALLY STARTED THE SNOW-BIRDING TRADITION WITH BY TRAVELING IN DROVES IN SWITZTERLAND ON GROUP PACKAGES IN 1902, BUT WE BET THAT YOU’RE LOOKING FOR MORE SUNLIGHT. HERE’S OUR RECOMMENDATION: HEAD SOUTH. REMEMBER THAT THE ENTIRE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE – AFRICA AND SOUTH AMERICA – IS ENGULFED IN BEAUTIFUL SUNLIGHT. THE BEATTY GROUP’S TRAVEL DIVISION CAN DO MORE THAN TALK TO YOU ABOUT IT WHEN WE RETURN.
3. Are you promoting calendar events?
   1. A 4^th of July sale needs to be gone by July 5^th. In many cases, this requires a new production.
   2. The more calendar events, you advertise while on-hold – the more production you’ll need per year.
4. How often does your product line up change?
   1. Most businesses are constantly changing and adapting, the letting their customers know about new ideas in the marketplace. On-hold-messaging is an excellent and inexpensive way to keep them informed.

In my experience, industry averages look like this:

Banking institutions: 12 changes per year

Automobile: 4 changes per year

Medical Services: 3 changes per year

Government and Utilities: 3 changes per year

Small retail: 2 change per year

For Hold Time Studios customers, you’ve got all the options for packages in music on hold, see it at http://holdtimestudios.com/packages.php

You may think that on-hold is for putting people to sleep, but that’s because you’ve never heard well written script. One of our more interesting clients is a second-hand gadget retail store – www.ilikestuff.com. Potential customers call stuff to get a valuation on their Xbox or Blackberry, and Stuff uses their on-hold to keep them waiting just a bit longer.

Warning: the following sample is not for everybody, but it works great for Stuff.

YOU MAY HAVE WONDERED HOW WE CAN TELL WHAT AN ITEM IS WORTH. A FEW YEARS AGO WE HIRED SOME READERS FROM THE PSYCHIC FRIENDS NETWORK, BUT THEY DIDN’T WORK OUT. WEREN’T TOO GOOD AT GUESSING PRICES. SO WE BOUGHT SOME BOOKS, AND YOU CAN SEE THEM WHEN YOU BRING YOUR STUFF IN. WE’RE HERE TO HELP- PLEASE REMAIN ON THE LINE.

What I’ve heard is that callers actually ask to get put BACK on hold to hear more the paragraphs! Now, that’s a great compliment.

Here’s another technique: Ask the question, then provide the answer in the next paragraph. Here’s www.golfscorecards.com, encouraging callers to re-order brochures.

REDESIGN PENALTY 1

WHAT’S THE PENALTY WHEN A PLAYER STRIKES ANOTHER PLAYER’S BALL ON THE GREEN IN STROKE PLAY? THE ANSWER IS COMING UP.

REDESIGN PENALTY 2

IF YOU PUTT INTO ANOTHER PLAYER’S BALL, IT’S A TWO STROKE PENALTY. WHAT’S THE PENALTY IF YOU WANT TO REDESIGN YOUR SCORE CARD WHEN YOU RE-ORDER? NOTHING – BECAUSE WE DO IT FREE. PLEASE LET US KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT AS SOON AS WE RETURN TO THE LINE. THANKS FOR CALLING GOLF SCORE CARDS INC.

Read more good reasons at http://www.nfib.com/object/3654938.html, and hear it done the right way at www.holdtimestudios.com

Many people believe that on-hold messaging is only for big, expensive telephone systems like Vodavi, Toshiba, and NEC. Not true! A phone system purchased at an office supply store will not have native Music-on-hold capability, but there are third party adapters available to turn a small phone system into a marketing machine!

Here’s how they work:

1. The adapter is installed before the phone reaches the central phone unit.
2. Sensing a “hold” signal or a voltage shift within the phone line, the music stored on the player will automatically begin to play when the caller is put on hold.
3. In my own experience, adapters that sense the voltage shift, like those at www.skutchelectronics.com, are far more reliable than the tone-emitting adapters shown at www.intellitouch.com. They’re also custom made and cost more.

Hold Time Studios has successfully installed third party on-hold adapters for small offices, like www.lathroportho.com – they thought they were stuck with the weird background music played on their KX series Panasonic 3 line phone. “Not so!” I told them. Now they’re fitted with a Skutch CK1p and a RUF 2700 player from which Hold Time Music loads new productions several times a year.

Wiring a third party analog adapter to your phone system may take some time. If you can afford it, we recommend using a telephone tech.

Commercial grade systems are much easier, because their engineered to recieve MOH, like your computer is designed for a USB plugin.  learn more at http://holdtimestudios.com/phone-system.php

When you’re first looking at adding a music-on-hold or messaging-on-hold advertising production to your phone system, you need to decide whether the message should change frequently, or if your script will work for years and years.

If your company’s logos, brochures, website, and customers has changed over the last ten years, then shouldn’t your on-hold messaging? Shouldn’t the music behind the message be as contemporary as your company’s image?

For a static unchanging production, our sister company, www.holdtimemusic.com, puts it this way, “If your business never changes, neither will this production.” Since most companies change and adapt with their customers needs and new technology, why would you advertise the old stuff to your existing customers?

One of our customers, www.carstar.com, is coming out with a new environmentally friendly water based paint that takes a little longer to dry, but looks just as good as the toxic synthetic paints that are commonplace in the industry. Carstar updates their production quarterly, so Hold Time Studios can inexpensively inform their existing customers about the value-added benefit of using water based paint as soon as Carstar is ready to bring it to market.

If the phone line is your primary way of communicating with employees, wouldn’t you want to spent a few dollars to “roll out the red carpet” with a dynamic relevant marketing piece that nearly every caller will hear? And, it costs far less than a brochure-run or mass media advertising.

It’s Hold Time Studios: Good Things Come to Those Who Wait!

Hold Time Music and Marketing started as an idea in a business research class, and then – armed with a graduate degree in Music and an M.B.A., we’ve found our way into hundreds of phone systems around the country – almost exclusively by referrals. We’re very proud of our company, and grateful for our clients.