By Ethan Lessiter Phone Voiceovers for Business 0 Comments

The Holiday On Hold Message Mistakes You Must Avoid.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

Well, unless if you let opportunities pass your company by. And with the amount of competition out there in whatever industry you’re in, every small mistake adds up since margins are so thin. Marketing mistakes during the holiday season, depending on your industry, can hurt exponentially more. So be careful.

Your On Hold message may be the first time someone receives any form of communication from your business. Is it mentioning holiday offers or making potential customers aware of Christmas or New Year promos? Because it definitely should. Losing business because of a lack of information when you have an easy outlet is a big oversight. So check your on hold message for the right message and holiday cheer.

Speaking of that phone message, how’s the holiday greeting? If it’s generic and bland and impersonal, it probably does more harm than good! People can see through fake messages and half-hearted attempts so make sure you’re sparkling and glowing with holiday flavour if you’re going that route at all.

All this means you have to have a marketing scheme and an organised plan months in advance. Your organisation must be reflected in your calls and greetings. So be prepared and be ready early with research, promotions and advertisements. Doing so will mean your on hold messages will be apt and on target. If you don’t have a well-thought out plan, after all, then you won’t have anything to change in your message. And if your competitor does offer something better, then you’re fighting an uphill battle.

Finally, timing is everything. That means a Christmas message on January 3rd makes your business sound unprofessional. And a holiday greeting that’s too early is out of place. Get your timing down and you’ll have a much more efficient marketing campaign.

May the end of the year bring great dividends and they will… provided you’re smart about it!

By Ethan Lessiter Customer Service • Marketing • Phone Voiceovers for Business • • 0 Comments

The ‘On Hold’ message for a small business

If you’re a small business owner, you already know that your operation has its own unique set of challenges, advantages and disadvantages. You’re able to offer more customization, for example and maybe provide specific products for different groups. But you also have an uphill battle when facing bigger corporations in the same field in terms of budget and resources.

Your ‘on hold’ message may be a small issue in comparison, but it’s one angle that you can take advantage of.

That’s because your message is a time to subtly convey any message you want. Do you want to portray your company as an old mom and pop shop? Or how about as one that will provide attention-to-detail customer service? You can do that. People love underdogs. You can show that you’ll meet personal needs and that you offer the advantages that big companies let slip through the cracks. How do you do this on a prerecorded message though?

First, say it plainly. Your script can directly say that you are family run or you are a small crew. Find a way to mention when you were founded. If you’ve been a family run business, you should show that to your clients as well.

Second, there’s nothing wrong with boasting about the advantages of a small business. One effective message from a manuscript editing business always included in their messages that they never outsource and never use software, that they personally read through and check every page. This builds trust and it puts in your customer’s heads that you are more detailed than big companies. Now, of course there are plenty of big corporations that are detailed. This is not a suggestion to attack other businesses, but in a world where people associate small businesses with personal support, it’s perfectly acceptable to take advantage of the image.

Lastly, consider talking about local events in the community. This furthers the association with your brand and a family-like feel. It shows that you’re involved and just a regular citizen in your community.

The great thing about these tips is that it’s easy to stick in at the beginning or the end of an on hold message. It’s normal to state your business name (We’re so-and-so, a family run business since 1999) and local promotions in your script. So go for it. If you’re a small business, flex your big muscles this time around.

By Ethan Lessiter Phone Voiceovers for Business • 0 Comments

Do we address Halloween and seasonal greetings in our messages?

Halloween is around the corner. Does this change our On Hold messages? Certainly, there’s value for being up-to-date and customizing our messages to fit specific seasons. In fact, it signals a great deal of customer service by constantly changing – you’re implying that you’ve been recently active and that you’re giving a personal touch. That’s why businesses are wise to put up seasonal decorations as well.

In general, if you’re able to customize a greeting, it’s a good idea to do it. It’s subtle, but people notice and it can even generate buzz if it’s something visual (like a sign) or memorable (brush up on your Halloween jokes!). Of course, it isn’t always possible or necessary to change it up every month. You would run the risk of losing that brand recognition.

There’s also a bigger issue at play when it comes to seasonal greetings. 15% of New Zealand identifies as Christian. What percentage of that group opposes Halloween? Probably very little, but if your business is in an area that caters to them, it would be a poor business move to highlight Halloween in a greeting. The same goes for celebrating Christmas in a Muslim area. Or ignoring Chinese New Year in a Chinese-specific region. It does come down to who your client base is.

But let’s say you know your audience well. And you’re choosing something that is not alienating. What are the issues you have to ask think about? There is an opportunity cost, after all. Ten seconds talking about a holiday is ten fewer seconds you’re able to promote a service or product. So if you can tie a promotion within a season (Christmas sale!), then that’s even better. Also, if you’re choosing a holiday that doesn’t have significant social impact, you’re just wasting time and resources on something people don’t care about. If you can make it personal, then you’ll score points with your community. That means showing how your product and company understands the needs of the people they are serving. When it comes to seasonal greetings, that’s the most important thing to remember.

So Happy Hallowess Eve to everyone. Here’s hoping that the last few months of the year are the best.