Dead silence during a telephone call is a bad look. Simply put, it often gives callers the impressions that their calls have been disconnected. Your business phone line should never give off such an impression. You shouldn’t just avoid dead silence. You should take opportunities to impress and even entertain your callers while they’re on hold. Enter into the wonderful world of hold music. It has many more benefits than you may think!
It keeps callers both patient and engaged.
When callers are put on hold, their patience can wear thin pretty quickly. However, when you replace silence with pleasant hold music, it can transform the caller’s experience. A catchy tune or soothing melody not only engages callers but also makes wait times feel shorter. This engagement can reduce frustration and increase the likelihood of callers staying on the line until their issues are resolved.
Hold music serves as a bridge between the caller and the company, providing a more pleasant waiting experience that encourages patience.
It reinforces your brand’s image.
By selecting music that aligns with your company’s values and personality, you can create a strong impression on callers. For example, a tech company might opt for futuristic electronic beats. Meanwhile, a spa could choose soothing nature sounds. The professionalism and attention to detail you demonstrate by using custom hold music can positively impact how customers perceive your business.
“Some business owners may be hesitant to introduce hold music because they worry that it will make their company appear unprofessional,” notes Australia’s Image On Line, “However, hold music can actually help to convey a sense of calm and control to your caller. It shows that you are willing to take the time to ensure that each call is handled properly, without rushing the caller off the line.”
It reduces perceived wait time.
People tend to overestimate how long they’ve been waiting on hold when there is silence. In contrast, music has the magical ability to make time fly. By playing hold music, you create the illusion of a shorter wait time, making customers less likely to hang up in frustration. Reducing perceived wait time can significantly enhance customer satisfaction and increase the chances of resolving their concerns.
“USA Business Telephone Today held a study of 30,000 callers,” reports Connor Brooke on Business2Community.com, “They placed each on hold for one minute, but split the callers into three groups…The first group was given silence for the minute on hold. 52% hung up before the minute was up, over half of the remainder (27%) thought they were holding for more than five minutes, and everyone else estimated their hold time as between one and five minutes.”
It can inform and educate.
Who says that all hold music has to be just music? You can turn a caller’s hold time into a useful information session. Use recordings to inform your callers about your latest products, promotions or upcoming events. By the time the call is answered or the hold time had ended, your customers might have learned something new about your offerings. Of course, this can potentially lead to increased sales and customer engagement.
MELO’s cloud-based Commercial Phone Services gives you custom hold music as an automatic feature! To learn more, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-888-MELOTEL or fill out the form on our Contact page.
