In April of 2021, the Wall Street Journal called on BusinessVoice – and a few of our clients – for insight into the caller experience.
For the May 20th online article, “How Companies Make Sure You Don’t Hang Up When You’re on Hold,” writer Dan Weil explained the different options available to companies, from “music, marketing and informational messages, humor, silence and an option to get a call back.”
Weil quoted our founder: “Businesses with successful hold programs ‘look at it as part of their overall marketing plan,’ says Jerry Brown, president of BusinessVoice, a firm that helps companies create those programs. ‘You have to look at it not just as a selling tool, but more importantly as a customer experience tool.’”
Weil noted that, “if customers are calling to make a purchase, there is no harm describing products and prices, industry pros say. But it very much depends on the type of company. For certain services, a softer branding message is more suitable. ‘If I’m calling Apple to buy something, I would expect to hear about products,’ Mr. Brown says. ‘But if I’m calling a nursing home to talk about whether my mom might go there and I get hard-sell marketing messages, that’s not so good.’”
A Funny Take
The article also referenced our unique use of Humor On Hold.
“[BusinessVoice client] Binkelman, an industrial-parts distributor based in Toledo, Ohio, has taken the comedic route for its on hold customers. Callers to Binkelman are often put on hold, and the company wants to keep them entertained. It’s about finding humor in products that aren’t sexy – bearings, belts, hoses. (Listen to a sample.)
“Some outsiders might find a few of the jokes off-color, but the company’s customers love them, says marketing manager Rebecca Conrad. ‘We’re in a mostly male industry, where guys like NASCAR and Bud Light,’ Ms. Conrad says. Customers often call just to get put on hold, so they can hear the jokes, she says.
A recent example: “Thanks for calling Binkelman, where we’re changing lives with our pioneering approach to male-pattern baldness,” the voice says. “We slice ContiTech Insta-Grip 300 Push-On Hose into thin strips to make fun toupees that look and feel like the mane of a real donkey. Choose from three colors and four scents. Then, just staple your new rug into place and blammo! People will like you again. Ask for the Binkelman wig shop.”
Learn more about On Hold Marketing and the value of Humor On Hold.