Steven Kaip, Managing Partner, MusicOnHold.com, argues fairly convincingly for why you, yes you, need your on hold messaging system to be part of your branding.

"For many businesses, your phone is your main source of interaction between and your clients," he says. "But now, suppose that you take that same number of phone calls -- say 100 per day, and use those on hold occasions for further branding opportunities for your company. By taking your on hold messaging system, and using that opportunity to project targeted advertising into the willing ears of those that are put on hold, you will have greatly increased the effectiveness of your advertising, and are able to do it for pennies per customer."

Many of your other promotions were done professionally, he says: "That added some real power to the branding process. Now it is time to add professionalism to the branding of your company through your on hold advertising."

He recommends talking to an audio marketing company to determine your needs. "They are the experts in the business and can think of things that you won't -- unless you have experience in the field. They will guide you into the selection of the best equipment for you and can develop your messages, too."

Then you need to choose the right system. Many options are now available for your on hold messages system, Kaip says, "everything you need from rotating your messages automatically, to downloading them, to providing voice mail options, and even foreign languages is at your disposal."

Now it's time to design the message. In selecting the right image to brand your company with, "you will need to select whether you want a professional male or female voice, or both. Then your message needs to be designed for maximum interest and impact. You can either write your own scripts, or allow them to help you."

And hey, variety's good too. Spice of life and all that, so you want to provide a wide variety of information to your clients through the on hold messaging system, Kaip advises, such as news about your business, promotional events, new products, and special sales. "In addition, on other days of the week when these are not the main focus of the day, you can supply them with community news with local weather, restaurant specials of the day, this day in history, or humor.

As Kaip says, perhaps a bit tongue in cheek, "this way, every person who listened to your on hold message could conclude their conversation with the representative by saying, 'Could you please put me on hold again'?"