Why is on-hold message as powerfull as a social media?

Here are some tips for creating on hold messages that are more powerful than social media:

Information broadcast in an on hold message is a good idea. But telling callers what to do with this information is a better idea! Be conversational and inviting, and at the same time, be clear and concise by giving the caller the opportunity to take action.

For example, for a commercial message or a product message, why not give a promotional code? This calls for action: the caller must note and return the promotional code, and if this code is only broadcast on the on hold message, we can measure the impact of the message by counting the number of orders generated.

The first thing that will be heard on the on hold message, the welcoming message... exactly like the landing web page - the Landing Page - the on hold message begins to reinforce the idea that we are going to have what we came to get... or at least retain the caller.

Rather than using a single recording with multiple topics looping, it makes more sense to create standalone topics. Give each “subject” its own music and personality. As in a post, an email, an advertisement: 1 subject, 1 message.

Instead of destroying your entire recording when a topic becomes useless, reorganize particular topics to stay up to date.

Show callers that you understand them. Generic content does nothing for your brand and rarely makes sense to your customer. Do not consider being « general », « timeless » or « persistent » in your on-hold message script!

Stop letting callers hear boring , irrelevant, self-righteous messages. We hear that everywhere else. You can do better and provide better branding with your on-hold message.

Messages must be targeted. Callers can't remember more than about 20 seconds and shouldn't have to. Make a single important point using 50 words or fewer for best impact.

Callers are prospects... but also CUSTOMERS who call once or several times a week for some. Like subscribers on a LinkedIn page, they constitute your audience!

Predictability causes blocking: and when you know what's coming, your brain loses interest. Randomization allows for the element of surprise and therefore tickles the interest of callers. Scheduling content for specific times of day or days of the week is another technique for more substantial engagement.

In a published study on best practices for on-hold messages, callers heard a 3-minute song repeated over and over again. They hung up when they realized they were hearing the same thing over and over again. Specifically, callers unconsciously added up the minutes each time the song started playing.


Do not give callers a measuring tool to count the minutes on hold. The variety will make them feel like their wait time is shorter than it actually is.

Isn't it amazing how many times you will be on hold with a company and hear a recording reminding you that you are on hold? « Please continue to wait » or « Please stay on the line » are off-putting. Avoid low value declarations !

A study from Carey School of Business (The On Hold Dilemma) has proven what we have long suspected. When callers hear « Your call is important to us& », they are more likely to hang up. When you provide up-to-date and therefore useful information for them, you demonstrate how much you really care about them.

Since you will no longer be using « generic » or « one-off » on hold content, you will need a plan to modify the content callers hear while on hold. Produce several individual topics well before the need arises, and plan the broadcasts: give each message a start date and an end date.

Whether short or long, music is key. Rather than boring « elevator » music choose commercial tracks, recognizable and emotion-catcher. Choosing royalty-free music is not to exclude, if and only if it conveys a strong identity as it embodies you to the ears of your callers.