| What
kind of music? |
Why
use messages? |
From
an article written by Bruce
Hedlam and published in the
New York Times on 4/22/99:
- People
over-estimate the amount
of time they spend on
hold.
- Men
reacted most favorably
to classical music and
estimated the wait as
the shortest.
- Women
perceived the classical
music wait to be the longest.
- Women
preferred light jazz,
estimating that wait as
the shortest.
- Baby
boomers did not like listening
to rock oldies while on
hold.
According
to researcher James Kellaris,
an associate professor of
marketing at the University
of Cincinnati, familiarity
may breed contempt. ''The
women may have been more
familiar with the classical
music,'' he suggested. ''When
people hear part of a piece
of music they know, they
infer the whole piece. So
they think that they were
on hold longer.''
Dr.
Kellaris joked that companies
might offer music choices:
''If you are male, please
press 1. If you are female,
please press 2.''
|
|
- An
estimated 70% of business
callers are put on-hold,
of which 60% hang up.
30% do not call back!
- A
staggering 84% of callers
prefer on-hold messaging
to other options!
- 90%
of callers with silence
on-hold hang up within
40 seconds. Music on-hold
adds another 30 seconds
to the hold time.
- Callers
with information and music
on-hold stay on-line up
to three minutes longer!
- 15
to 35% of callers purchased
additional items or services
as a result of something
they heard on-hold.
Research
is from AT&T, North American
Telecommunications Association,
US West, Nationwide Insurance,
and Maximarketing Studies,
compiled by Marc Lyman of
|
|
|
| Sound
Sources |
|
Royalty-free
CDs, with a variety of music
and periodic "we'll be back soon" messages
|
Continuous-play
CD player.
|
Digital
music & message players.
|
Custom
message production.
|
| Connections |
 A
modern phone system using a central
control unit ("KSU") usually has
a convenient music-on-hold jack
where you can easily plug in a cable
from your source of music and messages.
|
 For
one or more phones with up to
four lines, no central control
unit.
|
 For
one phone, with one or two lines,
no central control
|
|
Putting
people "on hold" is an unfortunate but unavoidable
part of communications, because it's impossible
for a company to provide immediate answers
for all callers' questions.
If your callers hear
nothing nothing while on hold, they may think
they've been disconnected, and hang up.
If you use a radio
as a sound source, your callers may be annoyed
by static, irrelevant traffic reports, and
commercials -- even commercials for your competitors.
You can be billed for using copyrighted music
by ASCAP and BMI, agencies that represent
the people who own the copyrights.
If you connect a tape player or CD player, you eliminate
the commercials and traffic reports, but most
store-bought music can still attract unwanted
attention -- and bills -- from ASCAP and BMI.
Panasonic has several
good alternatives, including "royalty-free"
CDs, with various types of music and periodic
reminders to your callers that they have not
been forgotten, a digital recorder/player
that can play both music and messages, high
quality customized recordings that promote
your company's products and services, plus
adapters to provide music and messages with
even the simplest phones.
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