Calling a customer care is deemed a little old-fashioned and yet according to a study by Google, 61% of mobile users call a business when they’re in the purchase phase of the buying cycle. People love talking to fellow human being while making important purchasing decisions and turn to them when in problems. This is the reason calling customer support is still a popular choice as a customer communication channel.
However, there are a few glitches that tick people off the phone. The major issue with phone calls is being on hold for a lot time. Studies indicate that Americans spent 13 hours a year on hold.
If being fo-rev-er on hold is irritating, that is nothing compared to what happens during hold time. Here’s a few example-
- Silence – in such situations after a call goes on hold, the caller faces complete silence. They don’t know if they’re still connected. No one likes to be left in the dark.
- On-hold music – on-hold music is seldom considered music to ears. If the caller is not doing anything else, music can be ok. Most callers hate them. It is also disruptive for people who tend to put on-hold calls on speakerphone so they can do other things while they’re waiting.
- On-hold Message – automated messages such as “Your call is valuable to us. Unfortunately all our callers are busy. We thank you for your patience,” are fine for one or two times, but play that same message a third time and the customer loses his cool.
These are the reasons people hate staying on hold or calling customer support. But if you come to think of it, on-hold time can be put to use to inform, educate or even engage your customers.
There are a few ways you can make use of hold time to provide a better customer experience.
- Provide important messages – provide important tips regarding your product, such as safety tips, simple fixes, or warnings as on-hold messages. These will interest your customers. For example – during rainy season many electrical appliances malfunction. If you are a seller of electrical appliances, you can warn them about using the appliances when wet and stress on taking safety measures.
- Customized messages – Some on-hold systems can recognize who is calling and match up messages to specific callers based on their buying history or other information. This may cause callers to pay attention to on-hold messages, become interested in purchasing additional offerings, and learn more about the company.
- Gamification – you can ask the customers to take part in a quiz while they wait and allow them to win movie passes, discount coupons and loyalty points. This will definitely elevate the mood and offer them a good customer experience. However, do not forget to offer them a chance to opt out.
- Offer on-hold discounts – for a hold time of more than half an hour you can offer your customers a special discount for their inconvenience. This too will be a great customer service tool.
Don’t waste the valuable time you have with callers by playing a boring old “your call is important to us” message. Use that time to benefit both the business and the customer. After all, 88% of callers prefer messages on-hold to other hold options. And it provides your company with the opportunity to educate and even upsell on-hold callers. It can also be used as a tool to deliver a positive customer experience.
