Reassuring On Hold and IVR Messages & Things to Include

Say NO to dead silence. Say NO to cheesy bossa nova elevator music. Instead, remember that your IVR or on hold message is often the first impression callers get of your brand.

Take advantage of this often overlooked marketing tool and share an interesting story or memorable message with your callers. When you humanise your brand, you not only become more interesting, you begin to build trust with your callers before you even speak to them.

Benefits of a creative on hold message…

Placing a caller on hold is a risk. When you create an engaging experience for your callers, you minimise the risk of premature hang-ups and instead create an invaluable marketing opportunity.

Brand Awareness
Share your unique voice with your callers to reinforce your brand. Take a doctors surgery, dentist or veterinary practice for example. Medical professionals typically want to be synonymous with expertise and compassion; take advantage of your on hold message and let your patients know exactly what they can expect when they select your practice.

Trust
Sharing a personal story can build a connection between you and your caller. If you specialise in a specific solution to a specific problem, take time to explain how your company has helped others in the same situation. This informs customers that you are passionate about what you do and will make their needs a priority. That passion translates to trust.

Caller Retention
On hold messages can enhance the caller experience and ease frustration when it answers commonly asked questions. This is also a good opportunity to share your credentials and any minimally invasive products and services that are unique to your business.

Promotion
In addition to telling your engaging story, your on hold message can announce upcoming events, special offers, important reminders such as COVID compliance, office hours and location, as well as your website address.

Benefits of a stripped down, to the point message …

While it’s nice to have an on hold message that has all the bells and whistles, at times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 Pandemic, it is crucial for business to change their tone to make sure key information is given to callers as soon as possible.

It’s not just your customers who are living through these strange times – we all are!

If you want people to understand first time, strip your message back to its essentials.

For example, there are several types of coronavirus. But your customer is only interested in one of them right now.

With this in mind, ignore the little voice in your head that says you’ll look more professional and serious if you specify exactly which virus you’re talking about. If you do this, you’re just introducing more stuff for stressed brains to have to process.

Get rid of the brackets and capital letters. In fact, there’s often no need to mention the virus by name at all. People know which crisis and which virus you’re talking about.

Need some inspiration?

Fill in our Free Demo form and we’ll send over audio examples from your industry and a bespoke audio sample to share with your team.

You rarely get a second chance to make a first impression, we can help you make that first impression count.