Perhaps you’ve just heard an on-hold message on your competitor’s phone line. Or maybe you listened to quite a few over the holiday season as you placed countless orders for must-have gifts. Whatever it was, something clicked and you realized your business was missing out on a terrific marketing tool by not using an effective on-hold messaging system. The question is, how do you choose an on-hold messages company that provides the professional, polished advertising image you demand? What will the program entail? What kind of payment options can you expect?

Choose Your Message Carefully

First, it’s important to recognize that the goal is to provide your customers with stimulating information to help them pleasantly wait to be served. You want the script to be compelling to your callers, not full of patently padded fluff. You want to use on-hold time to create a great impression of your company and impart information that conveys the benefits of doing business with you. Look for a company that will work with you to create customized on-hold messages.

Accept Only Top-Notch Voice Talent

Be sure the service you choose uses top-notch voice talent on your program. It is imperative that you get clear assurance that the voices you hear, and approve of, in the company’s standardized demos and on their website, are the voices your customers will hear. Ask if the company will provide you with a free, no obligation demo specific to your company. This is preferable to buying first and trusting the company to meet your expectations and to not use low-quality voiceovers.

Decide How Many Recordings You will Need

Examine the type and frequency of the calls your business receives. If your call volume consists mainly of new, non- repeat customers, you probably won’t need to purchase a program that provides more than a few new messages over the course of a year. In this case, quarterly updates should suffice. On the other hand, if your business generates many repeat calls from the same customers, ask the on-hold service provider about unlimited messaging plans, and expect a good discount for making this choice. Also, see if the company you are considering working with subscribes to a service similar to the Nielsen Rating to give you an idea of how vast your on-hold audience is and to determine the type and size of program you might need to keep your program from becoming stale. Based on what you learn, find out what the company charges for message changes.

Get a Clear Understanding of What You are Buying

The lingo used in the on-hold messaging market can be confusing. Be sure the provider you are considering clarifies the meaning of words such as “productions” and “messages” when describing what they will be delivering. Get them to be specific---do they mean the length of messages in minutes? The number of words? And exactly what are the options for message lengths? Just be sure you understand what you will be receiving.

Judge Your Comfort Level with the Company 

Check out the little things that may seem innocuous at first, but could snowball once your program is rolled out. Is the company responsive to your inquiries in a timely manner? Will they give you guidance and work with you as a partner in developing your program and bringing you up-to-speed with the world of on-hold messaging? Do you feel pressured by their representatives? Is their turnaround time for delivering your production acceptable to you? Do they provide service options such as foreign language translation or callback services for your callers?

Weigh Your Payment Options

If you comparison shop, you will find a wide variance in pricing between vendors. One vendor may charge a monthly service fee to essentially rent the message and equipment, while another may charge on a per-message basis, but provide ownership of the message and equipment with full usage rights. Look around to find what works best for you.

The bottom line is you are purchasing a marketing tool that will be the voice of your company to your customers for hundreds of hours over the course of each year, so taking the time to carefully choose a messages-on-hold vendor will produce a positive payback on many levels.