Messages on hold is one of the easiest things you can add to a phone system to help your company sound more professional. People commonly think that messages on hold is part of a system but it isn’t. A pbx simply has “provision” to be able to play various message sources. What actually plays is third party suppliers that specialise in creating messages and advertising on hold.
Most modern phone systems not only allow for external message on hold boxes to plug in but also often have provision to be able to download the actual messages on hold production directly onto the pabx with a .WAV file. This means you don’t need to get a special messages on hold box for your company.
That’s very good news because it is much cheaper to have a professional production done than have to rent or buy the equipment also. Some pabx systems even allow for multiple on hold sources so if you have different companies, or simply different departments, you can tailor advertising specifically to them.
Messages On Hold are different from phone system greetings
Advertising on hold plays when a caller is placed on hold either by a staff member or by the system itself. However the messages that play when the phone system answers a call during the day of after hours are not a message on hold – they are system greetings. If you want to a professionally recorded greeting “thank you for calling ABC you call is important and we will be with you shortly”, for example, this would require a separate production. When you are getting your voice overs done make sure you get greetings as well as an on hold message at the same time. Without this you will have to record your greetings yourself and it will sound incredibly amateurish, and almost self defeatist, compared to the voice-over talent that has been used for the messages on hold component.
Reasons You Should Have Messages On Hold For Your Phone System
- The average hold time is 43+ seconds
- Sound professional
- Cross sell and up-sell your products and services
- Educate and entertain your callers
Messages On Hold are an integral part of any professional communication solution and round out a phone system perfectly. Yes it costs money but it is a small price to pay given the number of your customers that will hear these on hold messages on a yearly basis.
Speak to our consultants today and see how professional your business can sound with tailored on hold messages for your company.
