Music On Hold News

Do People Care What They Hear While On Hold?

So, what do you think… do people who call your company care about–or even notice–the music on hold?

While folks are waiting, they’re listening. Sometimes really bad music on hold becomes a source of ridicule for a company. For example, the music on hold at the web hosting firm One and One’s tech help line is so weird, a caller posted it on YouTube: http://cpanel.tv/reviews/1and1/strange-music-on-hold/

A comment to the posting says they were once on hold and heard John Mayer’s song “Say What You Need To Say”. Funny.

Blogger Ian Trigillis presents this account:

Because I’m in the process of moving, I’ve been spending a fair amount of time on the telephone, listening to the isn’t-it-a-wonderful-thing-to-be-on-hold music at various furniture stores, credit card companies, and public utilities. Today I had to listen to Jingle Bell Rock for seven agonizing minutes.

Yes, people are listening to what you’ve got on hold. In fact, studies show that what people hear while on hold makes a difference when it comes to perceptions about your business.

A 2006 Washington Post story (music on hold study) reveals details of a study conducted by two Georgia State University professors. It turns out that good music makes hold times seem shorter.  Long wait times typically lead callers to a more negative attitude toward the company they’ve called.  The most convincing piece of evidence in the study shows that there’s a big difference between hearing silence on hold versus music on hold:

Some of the respondents said they liked to hear the music because they knew they were still connected to the company; no music made them wonder if they were still on hold.

The professors also concluded that companies should not let their music choice get stale.

And firms should try to change the songs because customers get tired of listening to same, old music every time they call in.

The phrase “hold music” conjures up images of the “100 Strings Orchestra” playing some droning version of a pop song, however, and many companies are afraid to dip their toe into that cesspool. There’s even an ode written by humorist Phil Nelson (to the tune “Hold On My Heart” by Phil Collins)…

On hold music
Now I’m doing many other things
Finally, when they come back
Break my concentration

On hold music
Used by companies
And some smart people who
Have too many calling

Yeah, on hold music
Difficult to be patient
‘Cause they’re just wasting my time

The bottom line is that callers do notice and care about what they hear while waiting. Work with professionals who know the difference between Muzak and effective music and messages on hold. Callers will believe that their hold times are shorter than they actually are, while developing a more positive impression of your company.

5 Reasons On-Hold Music Is Awful

It is a universal understanding: on-hold music is bad music.  But I know why. I also know how to correct the situation.

First, here’s a post dedicated to why music on hold has such a bad reputation. 5 reasons most music on hold is awful:

1. Continuous Audio. Callers need to know that they are still connected, so music is piped in to create a continuous flow of audio. I suppose it could be all speaking, but music seems like a harmless idea (at first).
2. Licensing Required. Now that we’ve decided to use music in the hold queue, we can’t just put on our favorite CD. Music on the hold button is considered a ‘re-broadcast’ of that tune, which requires a performance license. To solve this problem, “royalty-free” music is produced by home-grown musicians with a keyboard and a Mac. This explains some of the cheap-sounding instrumentation and sampled loops. Bad.
3. The Tech Guy Did It. Is the music on hold a function of I.T. or Marketing? We say marketing, but many a tech-person has been asked to connect a music thing-a-ma-job up to the phone system and keep it on the cheap. Hey, you can’t blame the tech department, whose proposal for a multi-channel acoustic music feed got shot down. Some phone systems have an internal music loop, which is always bad. It was just a place-holder, folks. It was meant to be replaced with something better.
4. Bad Equipment. Why does music on hold sound like it is running on an old cassette machine? Because it’s running on an old cassette machine. There is a pile of old equipment out there, most of which has been neglected.
5. Decision-makers Are Unaware. I guess it’s been a long time since the CEO called and was placed on-hold. Music on hold is forgotten.

There are other reasons, such as bandwidth restrictions, cell phone signals, and… well, just bad taste. For a real-world view of bad music on hold, check out this great post: http://www.neatorama.com/2010/04/12/11-recordings-of-terrible-hold-music/

What Your Callers Are Saying After They Hang Up

Here’s some chatter from the blogosphere that should make corporate marketing managers think about what their callers are saying after they hang up from a bad “on hold” experience.

“After hearing Fur Elise go through its little 30 second clip about 50 times it makes me want to hang the d*** phone up….maybe that is their plan. To wear me down?”

“Most of the time the music clarity is not there or the loop of music is poorly done or I am told fifty thousand times I am on hold….. couldn’t someone just do this right?”

“I called the toll-free number on the ‘Collections  Notice.’ I was referred to another toll-free number by a recorded message. I was placed on hold for over 10 minutes of the WORST and LOWEST FIDELITY hold music I have ever had to experience.”

I have no further comment.

Shopping Music On Hold System? 2 More Tips

If you’re looking into getting a music on hold system to help callers endure on-hold time, you’re not alone. Every day I speak with owners of small businesses, technicians, marketers and office personnel who are looking for advice. In our previous post we mentioned 5 Tips.

As promised, here are more considerations that will help you make a smart hold messaging purchase.

Request A Custom Demo. Typically, message on hold providers will play an audio sample of messages on hold they’ve produced for other businesses. That’s fine, but it doesn’t really show you what they’ll do for you. Will you get the same voiceover/announcer, script quality, production quality, etc. as the sample? The only way to know for sure is to discuss your business with a music on hold producer. Let them take a couple of days to write up a short script–about your business. Listen to the voiceover for your actual production. Listen to how the music works with the voice. You don’t need to be completely satisfied, as the script can be modified, the music can be changed, etc., but the demo should tell you if the producer “gets” your business. Also, consider how the production process was handled. Were deadlines met? Did the script speak to the caller, or was it all fluff and corporate-speak? Don’t let the script writer get away with using a boring template.

Is The Music Licensed? I’m assuming you haven’t been staying up at night studying copyright law, and I’m  not a lawyer either, but I have learned about the proper way to use music in my business. Please review my report, Understanding Music On Hold Copyright. Since the telephone is a wired communications device regulated by the Federal Communications Commission, any use of music on hold is considered a re-broadcast. Check your telephone equipment manual. Chances are, it includes a warning against use of unlicensed music. Here’s the point: not all music and message on hold providers cover the performance license you need. If the music on hold provider cannot explain how you’re covered, be suspicious. Please visit a page on our site called How To use Music On Hold Legally for more information.

REVIEW:

1. Contract or No Contract? You may not be served well by a contract or pay-as-you-go program.
2. What Is A Message? Be sure you understand the difference between a “message” and a “paragraph”.  Terms can be tricky.
3. Get To Know Your Phone System. If you already have music on hold, find out how the audio gets into your phones. If you don’t have any audio on hold now, learn the make and model of the phones or phone system.
4. How Often Will You Change Your Message? Ask about discounts for multiple messages; don’t buy more messages that you realistically will use.
5. Beware of Unnecessary  Installation and Setup Fees. You may be able to install yourself and save.

Shopping For A Music On Hold System? 5 Tips

You’ve decided to take care of the “hold button problem”–you know, that silence or fuzzy radio that callers endure while waiting for someone to come back on the line. Now you need to choose a music on hold provider. Here are 5 quick tips–things to watch out for when shopping messages on hold.

1. CONTRACT OR NO CONTRACT?
There are services with ongoing contract payments and there are “buyout” message-on-hold providers. If you want to own your equipment and messages, mention this up front. If you simply want to pay a monthly fee for complete service (equipment, message changes, scripting) then remember that at the end of the contract you have silence on hold once again.

2. WHAT IS A MESSAGE?
Some companies call a short paragraph a “message” –then they say you’ll get 8 messages. This means you get one on hold production containing 8 paragraphs of copy. Often a “message” refers to a self-contained 4-minute production that will loop continuously. Ask about word count. How many words will I get in my script? How many unique scripts?

3. GET TO KNOW YOUR PHONE SYSTEM
First, do you need equipment? If you have had music-on-hold on your current phone system, state this to your prospective supplier; it may keep you from paying for unnecessary equipment. Your phone system may allow messages to be entered into an internal memory, in which case you may not need any equipment at all. You might have a 2 or 4 line phone you purchased at an office supply store. These types of phones cannot play music on hold without the help of a special adapter that allows music to be piped into the phone line.

4. HOW OFTEN WILL YOU CHANGE YOUR MESSAGE?
The on-hold message industry calls message changes “updates”. If you have a seasonal business, or if you hold monthly webinars, events and shows, you should ask for pricing on a package of custom hold messages. You may also find a plan that allows unlimited message changes over the course of a year. Easy On Hold offers an “Anytime Plan” for a flat annual fee of $850. This can cut the per-production cost considerably. If you plan to just use a place-holder as opposed to a marketing message, ask about a smaller package of 2 or 4 unique productions–but beware of time limits. Often you are forced to use all productions within a 12-month period. Easy On Hold offers packages of 2 to 4 on-hold productions that “roll over” like unused cell phone minutes that never expire. You could take 14, 28, or 100 months to use them up.

5. BEWARE OF UNNECESSARY INSTALLATION AND SETUP FEES
Chances are, you can plug the message on hold equipment in yourself. If you have never had music on hold playing on your phone system, you can place a call to your system installer and ask about the MOH INPUT, which may be as easy as plugging headphones into your iPod. Speaking of iPods, please don’t cheap out and try to use a consumer-grade audio player in place of a professional message on hold player. Lithium batteries should never be plugged in day after day. The idea of a message on hold player is that it repeats 24/7 so any time a caller is placed on hold, your message will play.

There are many other considerations, of course, such as whether the music is properly licensed, whether you can hear a custom made sample of a custom production made specifically for your company before purchasing, and how long the company has been in business (why not get references?).  We’ll cover these in our next post!

Customer Service Callers Are Sensitive

In an article titled, “Hey GoDaddy, This Is Why You’re Losing Customers!”, FalconFour blogger reports on hold music made a bad impression.

I called up GoDaddy support earlier today (and it was a relatively pleasant experience except for the wacky hold music) and the rep told me it would take “24 hours” to complete the action after the time it actually… you know… completed. Whatever. 24 hours it is.

Callers who need service are sensitive. A “little thing” like hold music becomes a big thing.