IT

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IT – On Hold Messages

Hello and welcome to another “Industry Spotlight” episode in the On Hold Message Maker (Video Guide Series/Podcast series), My name is Carl Hitchmough and today we’re going to run the magnifying glass over the IT industry type roles.  We’ll have a quick look at what you can include in your message, why it’s great to have an on hold message in the first place and how you can use it to inform, motivate and reassure your clients.

So let’s get into it then shall we?

I know you’re busy, anyone in the IT field tends to be, no big revelation there, especially if you provide some kind of customer support over the phone, you can quite easily reach for that on hold button on a regular basis.  Obviously this isn’t your preferred option and you’d like to avoid it if at all possible, but think how many things can bring that function into play.  When you’re getting a few calls at a time, you need to check further into a caller’s query, even if you’re just taking deliveries from the courier at the counter or transferring callers to another, all these very common daily activities can lead to you putting someone on hold.

Now what your clients hear at these times is totally up to you.  The options are pretty endless, from plain old silence, maybe some bell-type muzak that comes with your system, your favourite radio station, a cd from your collection, or an on hold message. Literally any audio source you can plug into the input jack of your phone. It’s pretty obvious what I’d recommend and I can honestly say that’s not just for personal interest.  You see, any of the ones I just mentioned come with a bit of baggage. Some may require specific licences to use and if your taste in tunes is out there or you just play silence on your line, research shows your callers aren’t going to hang around for too long.

So that’s why we recommend you put some thought into this golden opportunity you’ve been presented.  Spend a moment and think about how you can use your on hold time to communicate effectively to your callers, to provide them with something beneficial while they wait.  Make it worth hanging around.  And no matter whether you’re a one man band web designer or run a sizeable tech support operation – the positive impression you present while someone’s on hold will go a long way to attract new clients and keep the returning ones happy.

Now it’s a fair assumption to make that your callers will have a fairly clear picture of what you provide, support, tech products, web design, hosting and the like, but if you think it through beforehand, your on hold will allow you to splash more colour and substance into the minds of your callers and flesh it out with things that they may not yet be aware of.  Your message lets present yourself in a perfect light to an already motivated, captive audience as they await your return to their call.

Think of it as some sort of tireless ambassador for your company.  Someone who is happy to inform, educate them and reassure your callers with endless enthusiasm.

So what sort of things can you mention?

Well before we speak about specific things, just keep in mind how most on hold messages are structured – usually with a bit of information, bit of a gap and then another paragraph and so on.  It’ll probably run for about a few, maybe four or five minutes and then loop back to that start.  That gives you about six thirty second marketing opportunities, with a ten second gap between them.  So you can cover a fair amount in that time.  Like what?

Well we don’t want to spend this time relating too many obvious things people naturally expect you to offer.  That’s not to say covering some of the basics isn’t beneficial.  We just don’t want to waste this opportunity by loading it up with light weight content.  Maybe cover these things in a single paragraph, you know communicate things like your exact location, how to find you if you have an actual storefront or office.  How you prefer your bookings or payments to be made, your opening times and the like.

So write that one down, it’s good to cover the basics in your message.

But getting back to providing value – it would be great to provide answers for frequently asked questions with your on hold message.  Doing so in a clear and simple manner would be of prime benefit.  Maybe mention a simple way to tweak some settings to speed up the machine – you know running virus scans, defragging things a little, empty caches and the like.  I’m no technical wizard so I’m sure you can come up with far more valuable suggestions than me – but you get the point.  Provide value by answering FAQs.

What about any great new products or services you may be able supply?  Don’t forget to highlight these things.  Remember to sell the sizzle on these not just the facts and figures – the “sick of losing those large files when your machine crashes – this new program/drive will never let that happen saving you the heartache of retyping it again etc.“  Once more – you know far better than me what new things would be in demand – so why not mention them.

If your website is a great source of valuable information, by all means highlight the fact and direct people to it.  It leaves a positive impression when you show awareness and compassion for you caller’s time and say something like – “ we appreciate your you’re busy so if you need information on our product range or services you may like to log onto our site for the details, our prices, product range?  Contact us and we’ll call you back promptly” – sort of thing.  This will leave your clients with a positive impression that you actually care about them and their time.

What else?  Well if you have any specials active at the moment – tell your callers.  You could even create a specific “on hold ” special  for you callers.  As in, “thanks for waiting, as a token of our appreciation, when you come off hold make sure you ask about our on hold reward… a discount maybe, a value add on a purchase.  This will not only allow you to check the impact of you on hold message, but will make your clients glad they waited.  May even tell their friends to call and get the same reward.

To sum up things then, if you put a little effort and forethought into it, you can have full confidence that when you press that on hold button on your phone system, your callers are going to feel respected, that you value their time enough to provide excellent tips and thought out content that they can derive immediate benefit from.  And leave them with a very fine impression of yourself.

When used well, an on hold message:

• Enhances your image.
• Ensures your guests are well aware of your key points.
• Upsells your guests to other services you provide.
• Answers commonly asked questions.
• Sets your clients’ minds at ease – reassuring them they’ve come      to the right place.

As an IT professional, you have knowledge and expertise that your clients need, but complex operating instructions and detailed descriptions can often be difficult to convey in layman’s terms. Use your on hold message to provide informative, motivating and reassuring information that will bridge the gap and communicate on a balanced level.  Your professionalism over time builds trusting relationships with your callers, one which should be reinforced in everything you do … including your on hold messages.  If you include some of the things we mentioned, it certainly will.