"Your call is important..."
On average businesses spend 96% of their marketing budget on inducing calls while only 4% of their budget is spent on call center activities. With budget allocations like this is it any wonder why businesses aren’t seeing results from their on hold marketing?
Over the next two weeks I’m going to discuss with you why your on hold marketing is not reaching its potential and I’ll give you ideas on how you can improve.
Lets start by outlining what the main issues are:
- Customer service
- Poor technical standards
Customer Service
I’m not sure what the percentages would be but I can safely assume that one of the top priorities for companies is the service they provide to their customers. In fact, many businesses will state in their mission that they will provide excellent customer service. Here’s the problem we lie through our teeth, a lot. Think about the last time you called a company and received the message “We are experiencing higher than normal call volume…” This may be true but I find it highly unlikely when I call at 2am.
The other message we hear a lot is “Your call is important. Please hold.” If I am really important you’d be on the phone with me right now. No?
It’s not all bad but you should understand the economics here. To have an agent waiting for every call would put a serious strain on your organization. On hold systems make sense from cost perspective. They also make sense for three other reasons – reducing drop calls, improving mood of callers and increasing sales.
What I am suggesting to you is that you change your message not the medium.
Case in Point – WestJet
I want to point out a company that does this really well, WestJet. Now, it has been over a year since I’ve last had to call them but when I did they made light of the fact that you are on hold. They didn’t dance around it and neither should you. They used a time estimation for how long you would be waiting. Plus, WestJet also used the time as a opportunity to provide you with useful information.
The end result: I came out loving WestJet for being honest and providing excellent service. And look I’m spreading the word.
Okay, that should do it for today. Please check back next week for the second half where I’ll cover some of the technical problems. If you have any questions please share in the comments below.