One high touch opportunity for small businesses is what customers are listening to while being placed on hold on the phone, says Andrew Begnoche, director of operations for Holdcom.
He says a lot of businesses are losing an opportunity to keep the customer thinking about the core of the business even while waiting for a customer service representative or other employee to get back to them.
"Digital marketing is still a core of business and often goes forgotten," Begnoche says.
Here are Begnoche's quick tips to marketing to the customer while he or she is put on hold over the phone.
Quick Tip #1: Cross-promote services.
Even if the customer is just on hold for a few minutes, it is a good time for the shop to promote the other benefits it offers besides its main service. For instance, let the customer know about a service like a free car wash or detail.
Quick Tip #2: Promote brand awareness.
If the shop has more than one location, this is the time that the business can remind the customer of that fact. Instead of just saying, "Welcome to this location," the shop can deliver a message that says, "Visit our family of shops."
Quick Tip #3: Tie the message into another advertisement.
Tie the message into the marketing calendar. Use the hold time to reinforce a message from another advertisement that might have been on the radio, social media or news.
Quick Tip #4: Keep the message short.
While there is no industry standard, encourage employees to keep the customer on hold for as little time as possible. If the hold wait is over 7 minutes, then reevaluate other areas of the business like back-end efficiencies and the amount of staff available.
Quick Tip #5: Take advantage of peak sales times.
The average amount of time for hold programs is 4 minutes. Make the sales message about 30 seconds and the total advertisement via hold only up to 5 minutes. During that time, make sure the message is consistent and nothing is repeating. Don't just record a short blurb and play it over and over again on the phone.
