On Hold Marketing to Engage Your Callers

It seems most of the behavioural research on callers put ‘on hold’ during a telephone call has been carried out by the American organisation NATA and commercial telecommunications companies. The gist is that most callers are put on hold either during their telephone conversation or before they have even had a chance to say anything. NATA reports that silence on hold results in 90% hanging up after a matter of seconds. So how can this alienation of potential customers be minimised? Using on hold marketing will keep your callers on the line and the incentive is obvious. Research shows an increase in retention of callers if there is some form of music, information or entertainment provided while on hold.

The development of on hold marketing has spawned a huge amount of analysis of the type of music, the volume level, the length of time each track is played before looping or being interrupted by information, content of the information, the tone and pitch of voice used to deliver this, male or female, the list goes on. These and other factors have an effect on the caller’s response. Playing jazz has been shown to create the impression of a shorter wait, play rock music and the wait seems longer. Either way, playing music will keep the caller holding for 30 seconds longer. If the music is interspersed with informational content, the caller may hold for three minutes longer – so it’s worthwhile planning the nature of that information. It’s rather like distracting a child from a potential tantrum by changing the activity – they need new stimulation in order to stay interested. So do frustrated callers – giving them on hold marketing to replace their frustration can only be a good thing.

At 5G Communications, we offer state of the art audio marketing systems and the best digital marketing technology available including music libraries, bespoke audio scripting and professional voiceover artists to create the most engaging on hold experience for your callers.