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.