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Additional Article Information: =============================== 850 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line Distribution Date and Time: 2007-04-24 10:24:00 Written By: George DaSilva Copyright: 2007 Contact Email: mailto:george.daSilva @thephantomwriters.com For more free-reprint articles by George DaSilva, please visit: http://www.thePhantomWriters.com/recent/author/george-dasilva.html ============================================= Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters: ============================================= If you use this article on your website or in your ezine, We Want To Know About It. Use the following URL to let us know where you have used this article, and we will include a link to your website on thePhantomWriters.com: http://thephantomwriters.com/notify.php?id=4744&p=load HTML Copy-and-Paste and TEXT Copy-and-Paste Versions Of Article Are Available at: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/d/on-hold-call-drops.shtml#get_code --------------------------------------------------------------------- Increase Sales And Customer Satisfaction By Reducing On-Hold Call-Drops Copyright (c) 2007 George DaSilva Audiodex http://www.Audiodex.com Nearly every business faces the prospect of putting customers on hold. According to the Telemarketing Magazine, "over 70% of business callers are put on-hold..." As the person pushing the Hold button, we understand that there is a good reason for doing so, but for the person at the other end of the call, it can be one of the most annoying experiences in life. According to a CNN Survey, "the average person spends 60 hours per year on-hold..." That leaves people a lot of time to be annoyed by on-hold calls. A quick pass-off to the next person in the chain is one of the most important steps a business can undertake to ensure customer satisfaction and retention. People simply do not like being put on-hold. Fortunately, there are other methods a business can employ to keep people happy during those minutes of on-hold time. We will take a look at those additional methods in just a moment. Telecommunication Companies Add To The Conversation As a means to help their own customers grow, the major telecommunication companies have asked the public about their reactions to on-hold communications. AT&T Reports: * An estimated 70% of business callers are put on-hold. * An estimated 60% of business callers put on-hold hang up. * An estimated 30% of these callers don't call back! For every caller who does not call back, that is one less customer buying from the company who had put them on-hold. Customers are hard enough to acquire without businesses letting them be thrown away so casually. Answering The Call Of On-Hold Times As a business manager, the on-hold question is one that demands to be answered. With the high number of callers who quit a company over on-hold wait times; managers really need to address this weak point of their business in a positive way. The obvious answer to the question of on-hold times is to reduce on-hold time by answering calls quickly. But the truth is that not all companies can answer calls as quickly as their customers expect. Think about computer technical support. Some tech support calls can run into hours, although most technical support calls can be resolved in twenty minutes. When call centers begin to stack caller's on-hold, the average on-hold time can mushroom in very short order. In other industries and in customer service calls, the Average Handle Time (AHT) is three minutes. No matter the AHT figure, the stacking depth of callers will affect on-hold times. A National Study Published By NORTH AMERICAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATION Reports: * Callers receiving SILENCE-ON-HOLD will abandon their calls in less than one minute; 90% hang up within 40 seconds. * Callers receiving MUSIC-ON-HOLD will stay on the line 30 seconds longer than those who receive only silence. * Callers receiving INFORMATION-ON-HOLD will stay on the line for up to 3 minutes longer. What is Information-On-Hold Exactly? Also called a Message-On-Hold, it is a customized recording that callers will hear when they are placed on hold. Altogether, callers who receive INFORMATION-ON-HOLD will stay on the line for an average of four minutes - * three-and-a-half minutes or eight times longer than the caller who receives the SILENCE-ON-HOLD treatment. According to a poll by Cellular Marketing Magazine, "over 85% of callers prefer on-hold messages over silence..." Based on the customer retention possibilities only, Message-On-Hold is one of the most valuable tools a manager can bring to his or her business processes. But, Message-On-Hold also deliver another unanticipated advantage... Message On-Hold As A Marketing Tool Now one might think that Message-On-Hold is just another fancy way to keep your callers entertained. But truth is, Messaging-On-Hold is far more important than something to help customers kill time while they are on hold. Messaging-On-Hold is a highly effective marketing tool. Message-On-Hold is basically an infomercial about your business. Yes, it will keep your callers entertained, reducing caller hang-ups. But more importantly, it will help to sell the products and services that your business has to offer. According to US WEST COMMUNICATIONS, Message-On-Hold delivers: * 40% increase in retention of callers on-hold * 15% increase in inquiries * 12% increase in requests for products and services mentioned on-hold By informing customers of additional products and services, one-in-eight on-hold customers are requesting information about those additional products and services. What other marketing tool do you have in your arsenal that can potentially deliver a 12% increase in your sales at such a small overall cost? The Final Analysis With the possibility of losing 90% of your callers within 40 seconds as a result of Silence-On-Hold, and the foreknowledge of 30% of those callers never calling you again, the Message-On-Hold option could help reduce the number of lost customers and the overall costs of keeping existing your customers happy. Add to that the possibility of increasing your sales by another 12%, then Message-On-Hold is probably one of the most cost-effective marketing tools in your arsenal. Take a few more minutes to visit our website and learn more about this most exciting marketing tool. We will be happy to help you at every step of the process of setting up an effective Message-On-Hold system for your business. --------------------------------------------------------------------- George DaSilva lives in San Diego, CA from where he operates a Message On Hold business. Learn more at: http://www.Audiodex.com --- END ARTICLE --- Get HTML or TEXT Copy-and-Paste Versions Of This Article at: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/d/on-hold-call-drops.shtml#get_code ..................................... 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