On Hold Statistics | On-Hold Marketing Studies

What Your Callers Hear On Hold
SAYS EVERYTHING
About Your Business!!_sm
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ON HOLD STATISTICS

First, let's get this out in the open. The one statistic that matters most to you is the one involving the perception your callers have of your company!

So, do people actually study this stuff? YOU BET THEY DO!! And after reading a few of these on hold statistics, we think you'll understand why.
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It's common knowledge that for a long time companies have carefully studied every area of business communication and its effects on sales and customer relations. Business telephone communication is certainly no exception, and the statistics that relate to callers placed on hold are a huge part of the picture.

The Results Are In!
In independent studies AT&T, CNN, US WEST and others, including many marketing firms and trade publications have produced data based on the responses of both businesses and callers on hold. Here are some of their findings:

According to a CNN survey-
Without messages or music nearly 60% of business callers placed on-hold will hang up
Almost 30% of these callers won't call back

The results of an AT&T study cited-
70% of businesses placing callers on hold with an average hold-time of 45 seconds.

Further, AT&T concluded that callers generally perceived "hold-time" to be-
longer than it actually was during "silence on hold"

shorter than it actually was during "messages & music".

A study by US WEST reported that when companies played information on hold-
    caller retention increased by 40%
    inquiries increased by as much as 15%
    requests for services increased by as much as 12%

These conclusions from a study done by the North American Telecommunications Association reveal a clear pattern-
    callers hang-up the fastest during silence on hold
    callers will hold approximately 30 seconds longer hearing music
    callers will hold up to 3 minutes longer hearing music with information

True, we're not one of the big names such as those mentioned above. But in our twenty-plus years of producing custom on hold advertising messages & music we've heard a lot about what companies are looking for from their on hold systems.

So, here are the facts, according to Audio Advantage:

On hold advertising and overall customer relations are inseparable.
And when on hold messages are produced with a philosophy of
combining sales AND customer appreciation they have a
positive effect on buying patterns, as well as customer loyalty!

Here are some more tidbits:
88% of callers preferred on-hold messages to other hold options, and close to 20% made a purchase based on an on-hold offer. - Maximarketing

"More than 85% of callers prefer on-hold messages over silence..." - Cellular Marketing Magazine

Callers stay on the line up to 25% longer when provided with On Hold Messaging versus "dead air" or "background music," and up to 17% longer than radio. - Infomax, Inc.

"Surveys show that 15% to 20% of callers make purchases based on information they heard on-hold..." - Telemarketing Magazine

Phone: 800-664-6531 E-mail: info@sayitonhold.com