Waiting stinks, no doubt.
Whether you’re in a long line for coffee, an endless traffic jam or an emergency room reception area, waiting can be one of life’s most frustrating experiences.
The reason? You’re not getting what you want and there’s nothing you can do about it.
While waiting, you’re not in control of the situation; you’re at the mercy of other people who may not share your priorities.
Author Judith J. Wurtman, Ph.D. says that being forced to wait on hold is annoying for yet another reason: “It implies that our time is not important.”
In a Psychology Today article, Wurtman suggests taking charge of hold times by embracing the opportunity to complete tasks, like chopping vegetables or writing overdue thank you notes. “Patience,” she writes, “is helped when we are distracted by something positive.”
How Can You “Distract” Callers?
The key to keeping your customers and prospects on hold from feeling frustrated and ignored is caller-focused On Hold Marketing. Not generic pleasantries. Not the “your call is important to us” message repeated every 45 seconds.
Engaging On Hold Marketing content can provide callers with information they can apply to make confident buying decisions.
Engaging content can entertain. Our Humor On Hold, for instance, has been encouraging callers to laugh for decades.
Engaging content can give people another reason to like your brand. It says that you’ve carefully considered this point in the customer journey and you’ve chosen to remind callers that their time IS important.
Your customers will still encounter negative waits in check-out lanes and at drive-thru windows. Just make sure that any time they spend waiting on hold with your company is never wasted.