Follow these 3 rules to win sales with your on hold marketing campaign

Because telephone on hold messaging is such an affordable and inexpensive form of marketing, it is often overlooked as an actual sales tool. This is a big mistake!

So many businesses focus on bringing callers in, but so few focus on what happens after the call is made.

Once you begin viewing it as an effective form of communication with customers and potential clients, your business will reap the benefits of a successful on hold advertising campaign.

Rule #1: Plan your entire year of on hold advertising during your annual sales and marketing planning process.

Make it a point to include on hold marketing whenever you sit down and think about your marketing strategies.

Decide when your message changes will take place, and plan for the new messages to coincide with promotions, special events, holidays, and discounts.

Then, mark your calendar and/or inform your on hold account manager. Keeping your on hold company in the loop will kick start the process for each update, as they will send update reminders and work with you on your scripting and audio needs.

Rule #2: Change your on hold music, voice, and overall script often.

The number of times you change your programming depends on how active you are in the marketing department. Some businesses inherently have less marketing needs than others.

Retail is notorious for a fast-paced sales and marketing structure, and therefore would be a prime example candidate for a dynamic on hold marketing campaign.

All businesses should consider changing on hold messages at least twice a year. During the course a year, business information is likely to change, such as locations and store hours.

Holidays make great on hold marketing campaigns. 4th of July promotions, Christmas music, and Halloween productions can be an opportunity to sell more products and entertain customers at the same time. Check out our Halloween on hold production here:

Rule #3: Include a call-to-action early in the message.

Unless your business has unusually long hold times, this rule should apply. Even if you only change one line in your on hold production to reflect a sale or an event of some kind, the call-to-action should read fairly promptly within the script.

This does two things:

1) Allows callers to actually hear your advertisement before a representative picks up the phone, and

2) Turns callers into buyers. Callers are more likely to buy your products or services after being “primed” for sale, especially if there is some sort of incentive in place to buy.

While it is easy to dismiss telephone on hold recordings as a sales tool, outsmart your competition by staying on top of this easy marketing approach. Utilize these 3 rules to guide you through your sales and marketing processes year round, and you will see ROI coming directly from your on hold message campaign.