When customers call your business do they hear the messages you want them to hear or do they hear a radio station selling your competitors’ products, music that could put them to sleep or even nothing? As a business owner you have the opportunity to take advantage of this time with a captive prospect or customer by providing valuable information about your company and products. The objective of this guide is to talk about on-hold advertising and why you should take advantage of this marketing opportunity for your business.
 
What is On-Hold Advertising
 
On-hold advertising is a great opportunity to provide your company information such as hours of operations, products and services as well as any special announcements. Also known as music on hold, messaging on hold and telephone hold, an on-hold message is usually around four minutes long. The most effective messages are well-written, interesting and convey messages about your business that encourage callers to continue holding.
 
There are many advantages to having on-hold advertising. First of all, on-hold advertising gives you an opportunity to create a positive first impression. The more successful company you are, the busier your phones will be and more customers will be put on hold. Companies who use on-hold messages sound bigger and it makes them sound more professional and customer friendly. You can provide basic information like your company hours and your company website. Why not use on-hold advertising to communicate the common questions that your receptionists receives every day, so he or she has more time to work on other important projects?
 
Second, it helps you keep more customers. The average hold time is around 40 seconds and callers are less likely to disconnect if they are given information and music delivered in a professional and pleasant manner. Research has shown that if a customer hears silence when they are on hold, 60% of them will hang up after one minute and more than one-third will never call your company back.
 
Third, it will help you increase your sales and profits, which is after all the reason why you are in business. An example of this is marketing your company’s current special or promotion. Let’s say that you call your local pizza place and while you are on hold you hear a list of specials including a family meal deal that includes pizza, breadsticks and soda pop. Now when the customer service rep takes the call you are ready to order the family deal, not just one pizza. By marketing your special with your on-hold message, you have just increased your sale with one customer, so imagine the opportunity to share your specials with all your customers!
 
Solutions for Your On-Hold Marketing Solution
 
There are many solutions to help you get your on-hold advertising started. Solutions include on-hold devices that you can purchase for a very reasonable price to integrate into your phone system or online companies who will help you brand and market your company message using web-based interface products.
 
It used to be that only be that only businesses with PBX or KEY phone systems could have on-hold audio. With new products now any business can have on-hold audio. Intellitouch sells the OHP-7500, which has an integrated analog adapter module allowing it to provide on-hold audio content to ordinary analog and popular "KSU-Less" phone systems. The module is a landmark achievement that allows millions of businesses without PBX or KEY systems to have on-hold audio for the first time, ever. The OHP-7500 works with virtually all analog and KSU-less phones and is simple to activate by pressing the hold button on any phone extension. The module supports up to four incoming lines and provides on-hold audio on up to 50 phone extensions.
 
Other manufacturers who sell on-hold solutions include: NEL-TECH and, ONHOLDPLUS. Remember to check if the phone has an analog line interface, if it requires a specific phone system or if it requires a music-on-hold input jack. There are many features available you can choose from including digital flash memory, integrated CD capability, USB or PC connections, LCD panel controls, built-in monitor speakers, royalty-free music, software to let you create new on-hold audio content with voice or music and much more.

The Bottom Line

What message do you want to send to your customers when they call your business? With on-hold advertising you can build your company’s image, communicate your company message and advertise any current specials. While advertising this way is simple and cost-effective, on-hold advertising is one of the most effective marketing tools available today. On-hold advertising should be an integral part of every company’s marketing plan.