If your business conducts any sales calls or customer service over the phone, then there’s a simple way to lose a customer for good.
Incoming callers placed on hold with the sound of silence will abandon their calls in less than 60 seconds, and fully 90% will hang up within just 40 seconds. But callers on hold with music stay on the line for an average 30 seconds longer, while callers given information while on hold will stay on hold for three minutes or more. Not only that, but when callers hear music on hold they believe their wait time is actually shorter than it was in reality, which is why so many companies are investing in modern sound systems for business phone lines.
So even if you pride yourself on your business’ short wait time, the fact is it only takes 40 seconds of silence to lose an incoming lead. The solution? While it might not seem like there’s an obvious connection between sales and installation of sound systems, background music for businesses can help keep customers on the line long enough for a member of your sales team to make his or her pitch. Ultimately, that’s a small price to pay for affordable background music services.
Most startups and small businesses lack the resources of a mega corporation, which means many calls will be placed on hold, if even for a short period of time. But let’s be real, as anyone who’s ever called a cable company knows, most mega corporations have no problem placing customers on hold for what feels like days at a time. If a potential lead hangs up, many of them will never bother calling again.
So if you spend your advertising budget on generating incoming leads, then it’s time to shift some of your resources towards actually getting ready for those incoming calls, rather than placing them on hold and hoping for the best.
Fortunately, background music for business has never been more affordable than it will be in 2016, with business music solutions available for enterprises (and budgets) of any size. And if you couple affordable backgroud music services with other technology, your company could reap major savings. So while investing in new on hold music, consider other needed upgrades like wireless headsets for businesses.
Incoming leads are too important to make them suffer through a silent hold. But you don’t have to choose between lame elevator music and total silence. Work with a technology company providing background music for business phone lines to find an audio on hold solution that’s right for you, and stop bleeding money every time you drop a call.