Rain, sleet and snow – oh my!

It’s well known that as a nation, we don’t react very well in extreme weather conditions. We’re unprepared for snow, excessive rainfall, floods, high winds, and in some cases (gasp of horror), sunshine!

What we’re saying is that it’s not unusual for businesses to suffer downtime as a result of extreme weather conditions. Sometimes it’s inevitable and regardless of the size of your organisation, you can’t stop Mother Nature!

Business as usual

What you can do however, is prepare for such events by planning a series of auto attendant and out of hours messages. Many businesses use these services to provide their customers with opening hours, DDIs and emergency contact numbers, but they can also be used for ‘in case of emergency’ situations. If your business is closed due to unforeseen circumstances you can tell your customers instantly. And if business hours change or you need to relay vital information regarding business operations, you’ll be able to inform your client-base quickly and efficiently – and your customers will thank you for it.

Okay – so weather like this doesn’t happen very often, but when it does it can throw us off guard. By simply asking your on-hold marketing provider to create a few additional messages, you’ll be able to stay ahead of the game.

Bad music on hold. Everyone’s heard it – and almost everybody’s wanted to scream about it. After all, there’s only a certain amount of time you can listen to a tinny version of In the Hall of the Mountain King without going halfway mad, hanging up, or worse, never bothering to call again. So when so many organisations make such a bad first impression, what’s the alternative?

Music or muzak?

Badly produced music on hold has a surprisingly long but mostly unpopular history. Too often it’s associated with muzak – lift music – not to mention all those aching elbows, long afternoons and rants about customer complaint systems. It’s unpopular because by and large it feels like an afterthought – it’s usually of low quality, repetitive, or just plain irritating. Maybe all three.  And above all? Poorly made on-hold music is a waste of your resources and your customers’ time – especially when you consider how much money you spend trying to get people to call in the first place.

Using on-hold time effectively

On-hold marketing should be about captivating your audience. Your callers ring up to talk to you about your services – to make enquiries, even buy something. They’re discerning and they’ve chosen you instead of your competitors, so it’s really not the time to annoy them, turn them off, force their hand. It’s an opportunity to build on a client relationship, or even better, establish a new one. So it’s time to minimise the impact of making them wait – and instead, let them know you’re sorry to keep them waiting, and that you’re on the way.

On-hold messaging: Connecting with callers before they’re connected

On-hold messaging does this by combining effective, high-impact messages – voiced by professional talent – with quality on hold music, created with high-end production values. It’s designed to be both entertaining and informative, and done well, gives your callers access to your latest news, your newest products, your flagship services. Even better, it proactively talks to your audience instead of frustrating them.

Ultimately, you’ll be engaging – not simply otherwise engaged.