More and more companies are doing on hold marketing while callers are on hold. Using an on hold message is important over on hold radio, having a repeat message on or having nothing at all in that you will be able to enhance the image of the company, to motivate the callers to act such as to buy, to tell callers about available products and new product lines, to talk about your strengths and specialties, to promote your company's website if you have one, to thank the callers for holding on and to assure them that someone will serve them soon, meaning you will hook them for a lot more minutes.

Just as important as using an answering machine recording is keeping your answering machine recordings fresh. Having an outdated message is just like driving to the wrong location and typing in a website address that is no longer in operation. If the information you give is outdated, there is a risk that the clients will not get what you are offering them. You should also update your phone numbers and your extensions as you change your hold message.

Updating your message ensures that you list the latest products, technologies, or services. An on hold message is an effective marketing tool that enables you to turn callers to potential clients/customers. Having updated on hold answering machine recordings enables you to include recent affiliations with organizations, award winnings, and accreditations. These are important because they give you credibility in your customer's eyes and they give you an edge over your competition.

Regular callers memorizing your answering machine recordings are disadvantageous in that they will start becoming frustrated and bored. If you fail to change your on hold message, callers will think that you do not have much to offer. Keeping your hold message fresh enables you to mention new staff who may need mention as well as new endorsers for your products.

Keeping your on hold message fresh enables you to include the latest information about your company. This is important because it is not everyday that people will have researched on the company and what it has to offer before you call. Keeping the content fresh also ensures that you include the latest projects and milestones that you might have celebrated. Consumer needs are always changing (people get bored easily) and following the latest trends ensures that you are up to date with your younger callers.

Having an on hold message, which is basically the message your callers hear while waiting to be served, is important because between 16% and 20% of callers make purchases based on the offers they get while on hold (according to Maxi Marketing), because the message brings down the call abandonment rate by as much as 90% and increases hold time by as much as 500% (according to Better Business Marketing), and because you are able to enhance your company's and your brand's reputation. Hold message is also important in that you will be able to promote new products/services, to motivate the callers to act, to talk about your strengths and specialties, to highlight achievements and awards, to promote your website, and to thank callers for waiting and to assure them that they will be served soon. You should be careful when choosing your On hold message since some hold messages do not connect with callers.

For answering machine recordings to be effective in connecting with callers, consider using available resources. You need not start from scratch to generate your on hold script. There are many resources that you could get from different sites, from brochures, and from marketing materials. The scriptwriter could get the wording for the script directly from such resources or he/she could get something complementary. You should particularly go for on hold scripts that have led to the success of other businesses.

For your hold music to connect with your callers, choose your tone carefully. You should take this message as your 'virtual receptionist', meaning the tone should be friendly. Voice selection is very important and it should be based on the type of business that you are running.

You should highlight your strength if your answering machine recordings are to connect with callers. It is only after you set your company apart from your competitors that the message will have the desired effect. Do not shy away from including recent recognition and awards as well as affiliations with prestigious associations in your answering machine recordings. You should also indicate if you are a member of consumer protection agencies such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB). This enables customers to see you and your business as being credible and reliable.

Do not overload your callers with information. Cramming too much information on your hold music such as detailing all the products that you have to sell will overwhelm the callers and you will not pass the intended message across. You should also avoid technical jargon. The message should be concise and it should have a memorable and catchy appeal. Do not forget to include a call to action such as telling the callers to buy from you, to visit your website, to ask questions, and to learn more about you.

You could connect with the callers by covering all the bases. Most callers are looking for simple information such as the hours of operation, your physical address, your fax number, and the URL of your website. You will save the caller's time as well as your employee's time if you include this information on the on hold message.

On hold music or music on hold (MOH) is the music used in on hold marketing. Phone advertising, as the term suggests, is advertising done while callers are on hold. MOH systems are integrated into telephone systems that are designed for businesses via audio jacks on the telephone equipment that are labeled 'MOH'. The music is important because it will pass a message about your company across (such as reminding your clients about available referral programs and cross-promoting the products/services on offer) and because it will keep callers glued to the phone until someone is available to serve them.

The on hold music could be customized. The customized music could promote new product lines, it could motivate customers to act, it could highlight your strengths and specialties (such as awards and accreditations), it could promote your website and its special features, and it could thank the callers for holding and assure them that someone will serve them soon.

The on hold music could come from the radio. You could play music from your local radio station through the MOH jack. You however need to know that re-broadcasting radio music is illegal and you could pay a fine of as much as $1,500. The greatest demerit of radio on hold music is that there is no control over the music that will be played. Some of the music played could be offensive to the callers, it will be interrupted by commercial breaks, and you could even have ads that promote your competitors.

You could get your on hold marketing music from commercial CDs and MP3s. This source of music is advantageous in that you will have control over what is played, but you first need to get permission to play the songs from the mechanical copyright owner and the title copyright owner.

You could use stock MOH CDs for your phone messages. These could come with or without voice-overs such as 'your call is important to us'. Music from such CDs is advantageous in that you will pass a message across, but it is often generic since it is not customized for individual businesses. You could get custom-designed MOH from companies involved in on hold marketing. This type of music is advantageous in that you get to control the music genre and content, you could include your message in the music, and you will not have copyright issues. Yet another option is online on hold. All that you need to do is hook up to the Internet and get automatic content updates.

Most companies used to have repeat messages or nothing at all while callers were on hold, but the trend is now towards radio and advertising on hold through messages and customized music. Radio on-hold is advantageous in that the company does not have to spend money on professional voice talents, script writers, and production facilities and in that radio is interesting and keeps callers glued, but on hold advertising has a lot more benefits.

With on-hold advertising through messages or customized music, you need not worry about copyright issues. Note that radio stations are allowed to broadcast, but re-broadcasting is illegal and it could fetch as much as a $1,500 fine. On hold advertising/marketing is advantageous over radio on-hold in that playing on hold music from the radio means that the music is susceptible to cracking music or static while this is not a problem with on-hold messages. The cracking music and static is hard on the ear and this will be detrimental to your company's image. The ads that come between music are also irritating and they could cause the caller to drop the line.

Advertising on hold is advantageous in that there is no risk of playing your competitor's ads. If you are playing music from a local radio, chances are that there will be ads from your local competitors. With answering machine messages you get to pick the type of music to play. This is important because music with a slow tempo will lower the wait time. You also get to control the tone of voice that is used. The tone used goes a long way in promoting your course.

On hold advertising ensures that you pick content that will add value to your marketing campaign. The content could be cross promoting all the products/services that you offer, enhance your own, your company's, and your brand's image, promoting your site and any of its special features, motivating the callers to act such as to visit your website, and to ask questions, or to make a purchase. On hold marketing through answering machine messages or customized music is also advantageous in that you will be able to pass your specialties and strengths across and to give such information as the awards you have won, your accreditation with such bodies as the Better Business Bureau and the relevant government and industry regulatory bodies, and membership to professional bodies. This will go a long way in enhancing your credibility. The hold music message could thank the callers for holding and assure them that they will be served as soon as possible thereby, reducing the call abandonment rate.

There is a trend towards On hold marketing messages for  callers waiting on hold and away from on hold radio or dead silence while holding. Advertising on hold is gaining popularity because most callers will drop the call when they are put on hold if there is no engaging information being communicated. Recent research indicates that as many as 60% of callers who are put on silent on-hold hang up within forty seconds while callers who are put on-hold with on-hold messages stay for as long as 3 minutes. This poses a challenge for most companies that have many callers (such as those that offer customer service) and it is particularly challenging for companies in the outsourcing world such as call centers andBPOcenters. According to Better Business Marketing, having an on hold message will reduce abandonment of calls by as much as 90%. According to Maxi Marketing, as many as 88% of the callers have indicated that they prefer on hold messages to other options such as on hold music.

Placing callers on hold is important because research shows that 55% of all communication is lost when people speak over the phone (people like seeing body language) and this leaves 38% through the tone of voice 7% through words. This means giving an on hold message in the right tone will do wonders for your sales and your company's/brand's reputation.

On hold advertising is an effective advertising method that will complement other advertising methods such as branding. Advertising on hold is advantageous in that you do not need to pay a salesperson to do your promotions, meaning you get to save money. You do not need to train anyone or to pay for vacations and other perks. All that you need for on hold advertising is a recorded message. In the message, you will be able to enhance the image of your company and the brands you are offering, to promote your company's website and its special features, to motivate your customers so that they can act, to promote any product line that you may have, and to talk about your strengths and specialties.

These messages enable you to thank your callers for their patience and to assure them that they will be served soon, further ensuring that they will stay on longer. Some people opt for on hold radio, but the music and the messages from the radio will not have anything to do with your company and you may even end up playing competitor commercials unwillingly.

 On hold music, as the term suggests, is the music that is played while callers are on hold. The music could be mainstream music or music produced for the company for phone advertising. This music is important because between 16% and 20% of callers make a purchase depending on the offer they hear on hold according to Maxi Marketing, making phone advertising an effective marketing tool. Music prevents boredom which in turn reduces the call abandonment rate.

When buying on hold music, ensure that it is fully licensed for use by your business. Note that playing unlicensed music will result in hefty fines due to infringement of copyright laws. The current out of court settlement for this crime is $1,500. You will need a digital player to play the music. The player will help with such tasks as phone line equalization. You could buy custom on hold music. This is one of the better options since you get to control content, the music genre, and the hold time.  Most companies get this music from companies specializing in on hold marketing. 

The music to use for on hold marketing should not come from the radio or commercial CD's or MP3 containing the music. You would need to license the music radio stations play, since these stations have the right to broadcast the music, but the right to re-broadcast it does not belong to them. You could buy your music from subscription music sources. You could get subscription music if you have cable TV service since this is the mode of delivery. Subscription music sources enable you to use the special music services, but often don't provide any custom advertising for your business. These music channels can be re-broadcast with no piracy concerns.

You could buy royalty free music as your on hold music. This music is available over the Internet in office supply stores. This is one of the cheapest sources of this type of music, but note that it might be a bit humdrum. Most businesses prefer custom on hold marketing. Using an adapter that helps connect a digital player and input source of your telephone, load the music or custom on-hold program by copying the files (or dragging them to the digital player), or by having the player shipped pre-loaded with your program.