Finance Marketing Business

Hold music players are such a small piece of equipment but their impact can be astounding. Let’s take a few minutes to discuss how.

As a general rule, the smaller the business, the greater the number of hats management needs to wear. There’s administration, legal, operations, production, fulfillment, customer service, website, internet and computer systems, telecom, tech-support, sales and marketing, just for starters. In the marketing category, there are the various marketing channels – print, radio, tv, web, etc. Oh, yes, there’s also your on-hold music and messaging. Or does that come under telecom? So many things to think about!

If you’ve been putting off adding on-hold messaging – or upgrading your existing on-hold messaging – because you think it’s too “technical”, hopefully this post will help encourage you to pull this project off the back burner and get it handled so you can check it off your to-do list. On-hold messaging is a low-cost, easily implemented, and surprisingly effective marketing channel that allows you to reach a warm market with targeted, timely messages. Don’t let the fear of the unknown keep you from taking advantage of this strategic tool.

Whether you’re considering hiring a professional service such as Holdtime Studios or supplying your own music and or message you’ll still need to add a little bit of equipment to your phone system. Holdtime Studios has a range of options in on-hold music and message players for whatever your application all of which are available at a surprisingly low cost. Alternatives you’ll purchase on your own also come in a range of affordable price points and are widely available. Either way, you should have no trouble finding an on-hold music or message player, regardless of your telephone system. Most of these players are fairly easy to install and easy to use. Lower end phone systems such as those sold at office supply stores may require a little bit of extra adaptation in the form, typically, of one or two small devices plugged “in-line” between the telephone and the player. Don’t let this intimidate you; probably the most “technical” thing you’ll do is read the directions and make sure you plug these little units into each other in the right sequence. I.e., you’re not doing any “wiring”, you’re just plugging things together like tinker toys. (Do they still make those?)

Then, of course, there is the issue of the actual music or message you play on your on-hold music player. Obviously, the more professionally it is produced, the better the image you will project to your customers. In addition to selling hold music/message players, Holdtime Studios provides their clients with a professional grade of audio recording, music, and production for their on-hold messages. What’s more, they also employ professional, creative writers to custom-craft each one of their on-hold scripts. If you assume such a service is outside your budget, you owe it to yourself to look into it before ruling it out. You just might be pleasantly surprised at how affordable – and cost-effective – it is to let Holdtime Studios wear this hat for you.

Learn more about Music on Hold. Stop by Tim Holdon’s site where you can find out all about Hold Music Player and what it can do for you.

Free Music On Hold. No, Im not talking about some kind of civil rights cause. Im talking about your wise decision to put yourself in your customers shoes and to try to enhance their calling and on-hold experiences. A couple of words of caution, however.

First, make sure you cover yourself legally by using only music that you are licensed to use. Do some web searches for music on hold copyright, etc. There are strict laws governing use of virtually any material ” music or otherwise ” which has been written, recorded, or produced by someone else. These laws are actively enforced, and substantial fines are levied against violators.

Second, if you dont have the budget for a professionally produced on-hold music and message production, free hold music is a good first step, but do your best to make it sound as professional as possible. Find the best quality music you can and play it on the highest quality player that you can afford. Take a hard look at your phone system. Is the sound quality of calls clear ” both for callers on hold and when connected to an extension on the phone system (i.e., when talking to someone in your office)? Call in to your business from several different outside telephone numbers and listen to the quality of the sound of the phones when someone answers the call as well as the quality of the on-hold sound. It shouldnt be noticeably scratchy or tinny sounding. It should be reasonably clear and you shouldnt have to strain to hear.

Nothing about the experience should be distracting or annoying. If it is, go through the system piece by piece and identify and upgrade the offending elements. I.e., if there is bad sound quality the problem may be in the music player or in the phone system ” or it could be in the phone line or the wiring between the demarc (point of demarcation) and your phone system. That is, it could be somewhere between the phone lines out on the street and your building or it could be somewhere in the building.

Make the calling and on-hold experience a pleasant one, and make it as easy as possible for your customers to be impressed with your professionalism. Just make sure you cover your legal bases in the process.