How long should my music on hold script be?
~ This was posted on - November 30, 2008
Messaging-on-hold is far more than just plugging music into a caller’s while they wait. Don’t let an opportunity to go by to tell the caller about your business! However, using music can create an audio atmosphere that will make them more receptive to what’s being said.
In our experience, a typical on-hold paragraph should be no longer than 20 seconds. Here’s why:
1. Shorter than 20 seconds: It’s difficult to introduce, develop, and conclude a relevant idea. At 10 seconds, all you can get in is a web address, and “thanks for holding”.
2. Longer than 20 seconds: You run the risk of your caller not hearing the beginning and/or end of the message. If your average caller is on-hold for 20 seconds, and you’ve got a 30 second paragraph in the mix… their education will be “fragmentary.”
For businesses where no introduction is needed, like a fire department, you can get right to the point. www.ccfd6.com often is 70% scripting, and 30% music – and the scripting is concise and informative.
Most businesses need to develop a little background for the caller, like in this example for www.aact.com and their remote video surveillance:
VIDEOFIED REMOTE
JUST BECAUSE YOUR TRAILER, SHOP, OR RV DOESN’T HAVE A PHONE LINE DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN’T BE FULLY PROTECTED. ALARM AND ACCESS CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES IS PROUD TO INTRODUCE VIDEOFIED – IT’S COMPACT, PORTABLE, BATTERY POWERED, AND RUNS ON CELLULAR TECHNOLOGY. BUT IT GETS BETTER THAN THAT – THE ALARM TRIGGERS A VIDEO CAMERA AND THE VIDEO CLIP GOES RIGHT TO YOUR CELL PHONE. THANKS FOR CALLING ALARM AND ACCESS CONTROL TECHNOLOGIES!
Writing for on-hold messaging is definitely it’s own genre, and Hold Time Studios will perform it for you – just tell us the idea and we’ll run with it!