Music on Hold from AudPro is the small service that makes a big difference

The customer service telephone line is the bread and butter of any customer support team. In fact, 62% of customers prefer phone calls over other methods of communication because they think it’s the fastest route to a resolution.

That means it’s vitally important that telephone interactions are done right. And a good interaction starts with a good on-hold experience.

As a reseller, including a professional Music on Hold (MoH) service with your telephony solution is simply good business. Your customers want it because they know it makes a difference to their customer service scores and gives them opportunities to upsell to customers or educate them on new products or benefits. And if you don’t supply it, a competitor will.

In this article we’ll explain what to look for in both a good MoH service and a good audio services partner.

Customer service is king

As a wholesale-only provider of Music on Hold, we understand just how important it is to support our resellers in achieving their growth goals. But the best thing about MoH is that it’s a perfect value-add service for resellers looking to enhance their levels of customer support and reduce churn too.

In a nutshell, working with us enhances customer support at three levels. The support we give to you, our network of resellers, the support you give to your customers, and the support businesses can provide to their callers. Here’s how:

AudPro supports you

Having sold Music on Hold for over 15 years, we know the messaging that resonates with your customers, as well as the stats and figures that help you get more customers signed up. Which is exactly why we created the Partner Toolkit.

It contains everything you need to create your own marketing campaigns without sacrificing precious resources that could be better spent elsewhere.

Support your customers’ growth

As resellers like you look to accelerate their recovery, keeping current customers happy is vital to create ‘stickier’ customers who will maintain relationships for years to come.

Did you know that 20% of callers will make a purchasing decision based on what they hear while on hold? By positioning MoH as a service that maximises sales as well as providing a better on-hold experience, you can help your customers achieve customer service goals.

End-users provide a better experience for callers

Customer service is just as important for end-user businesses too. They’re looking to provide a better level of service to their customers and maximise sales now that non-essential businesses are opening back up to the public.

MoH helps support an end-user’s sales by enabling them to upsell premium products while callers are waiting for an operator.

And especially now that businesses are re-opening, another way MoH helps your customers provide a better experience is through educating callers (about, say, new opening times or Covid restrictions), without them having to spend more time talking to an operator.

All told, working with AudPro means that you can concentrate on driving sales across your core connectivity and communication portfolio, while creating stickier customers.

Learn more about AudPro’s customer-first approach on our blog

The right on-hold messaging partner is essential

It’s understandable that businesses, given the challenges of today, are looking to consolidate their services and procure their IT and connectivity solutions from a single provider.

However, one missing product, sub-par service or experience may cause them to look elsewhere.

“And if you’re not providing your customers with high-quality on-hold music, then one of your competitors will!”

Music on Hold is one of those consistent customer calling services. It’s been proven to reduce caller wait-time, improve caller communication, customer satisfaction and ultimately, increase revenue. But what makes AudPro’s MoH truly stand apart from the competition is its quality and simplicity.

We use some of the UK’s most recognisable voiceover artists, rather than asking customers to record their own. And we simply provide you with an MP3 of a professionally recorded, high-quality audio recording that your customers can use to their hearts’ content.

Think about the partner, not just the product

To drive sales, you need support from the people that know your products best, the vendors. The right partner should be offering sales & marketing collateral like battlecards for your sales team, pre-written campaign material to get the message out there, long-term support for large sales and product support for when things don’t go to plan.

AudPro goes a step further. We give you the flexibility to charge your customers however you think is best, whether you want to charge per recording, bundle into your telephony services, or even charge a subscription to maximise your recurring revenue.

We also offer a key-date calendar that drives sales by giving your sales team a reason to get in touch with customers.

At the end of the day, the right partner wants mutual success. They should make selling their product as easy as possible.

Learn more about the benefits of finding the right on-hold messaging partner

Leverage on-hold messaging revenue sharing to boost your profits and brand awareness

Partner incentives come in many shapes and sizes. SPIFFs, exclusivity deals, commissions, and pre-purchase discounts all have their place, but in our opinion, the best way to establish the right foundations for a long-term commercial relationship is revenue sharing.

Revenue sharing is win-win

Simply put, sharing the spoils is the perfect arrangement because both parties have a vested interest in the success of the partnership. Resellers want to increase margins by offering a new service or product, and vendors want to get their product in the hands of more users to maximise revenue. It’s a win-win!

The freedom to do what you do best

Vendors are famously protective about how you sell their products. Whether that’s how you refer to it, contract lengths, minimum prices or any other demand, typical vendor/reseller relationships can be incredibly inflexible. Not with AudPro.

You know your customers better than we ever could, so you know the selling model that’s going to work best for them. That’s why we give you the freedom to charge your customers for their audio marketing however you think is best!

Revenue sharing works

With nearly two decades of experience selling Music on Hold, we’ve learnt a lot over the years – what works and what doesn’t – and revenue sharing definitely works.

With a network of Music on Hold resellers across the UK, we know what our partners need to succeed and how to use our brand to cast more light your way. Our revenue sharing partners take advantage of co-branded material, bespoke offers and resources to drive new sales and raise their credibility in the channel.

Learn more about on-hold messaging and our revenue sharing model

Stats that prove the efficacy of Music on Hold

On-hold messaging is vital if your account managers are going to provide customers with the wrap-around services that keep them happy, and stop them from looking elsewhere.

Here are some stats to prove it:

Over 70% of customers get ‘extremely frustrated’ waiting on hold

That’s why your customers’ on-hold experience is so important! For a frustrated caller with a complaint, or a prospect looking for that last bit of information before making a purchase, it can make or break the coming interaction!

60% of customers prefer to call businesses on the phone

If over half of your customers’ prospects are wanting to speak to someone, making that on-hold experience as positive, memorable and engaging as possible is key, to support their future success and growth.

Over half of customer care executives consider call reduction their top priority

Bespoke MoH messaging allows your customers to direct their callers to online service avenues such as chatbots and FAQs, reducing the demand on phone lines.

80% of customers say the experience a business provides is just as important as their product or service

A positive service experience is one of the quickest ways your customers can reduce churn and optimise customer satisfaction scores.

90% of callers will hang up after 40 seconds if confronted with silence and 34% of callers who hang up will not call back

Music on Hold drastically reduces the perceived wait times for callers and also presents an opportunity to upsell premium products on your sales line.

Learn more about just how effective Music on Hold can be

Five tips for memorable on-hold messaging

The right on-hold music and messaging can help improve customer satisfaction scores and increase revenue.

Here are five top tips to help your customers create the on-hold messaging that keeps callers happy and helps to drive sales.

Teach them something

Over 70% of callers get ‘extremely frustrated’ waiting on hold. If your customers are stuck for ideas to keep their callers engaged, why not suggest they teach them something new in the process? Just advise them to keep any fun facts light and relevant.

Promote an offer

90% of Music on Hold marketing users say it increases product awareness. For your customers’ sales lines, you could suggest an educational upsell message based on a premium product or offer. After all, your customers have a captive audience. They might as well make the most of it.

Make them laugh

Instead of the typical ‘your call is important to us’ message, why not suggest your customers tell a joke to keep their callers smiling? This is especially successful if they can think of some that are linked to their industry or products.

Offer other methods of communication

While your customers will want their sales lines calling off the hook, support lines should be as quiet as possible, so that agents have the time to deep-dive into issues. Why not ask them what their most common telephone support enquiries are and suggest they record a message stating those answers, or directing callers to an FAQ page on their website?

Make it feel exclusive

Considering over half of your customers’ callers still prefer using the phone for quick questions, they can help secure their future patronage by making them feel part of an exclusive club. They could give callers offer codes, for example. Ultimately, your customers’ on-hold experience should be unique and that’s where bespoke Music on Hold can make a genuine difference.

Learn more about creating memorable on-hold messaging

Music on Hold should be part of your standard telephony package

Many resellers in the channel consider Music on Hold as a great value-add product that acts as a valuable add-on to their core connectivity and voice services. However, there’s a growing number of resellers incorporating it into their core voice services as a ‘standard’ feature. Here’s why…

Importance of Music on Hold

Now more than ever, customer service standards are vital for small and medium businesses, and considering that 60% of consumers still consider a phone call as the quickest route to an answer, caller communication should be a key focus for any business.

That means optimising the end-user experience for customers calling SMBs is vital, but it is also an often-ignored obligation. The right on-hold messaging will enhance any encounter, positioning the provider as a key part of an SMB’s operation.

Why offer as-standard?

So, if MoH is such an important aspect to a channel business’ portfolio, why offer it as standard, rather than as a separate service?

Because if you don’t, someone else will! The fact is, other providers may offer MoH as standard to get a foot in the door with your customers.

But, offering a service as standard doesn’t mean it has to be free. Maybe there’s a nominal charge per recording, or just bespoke messages are paid-for. But, by forcing clients to opt-out rather than in, you’ll enjoy far higher uptake from the get-go and can still revisit the service periodically to suggest new paid-for seasonal or campaign-driven recordings.

Selling strategies

Whether you offer MoH as standard or as an add-on, there are three main milestones where resellers can successfully push a bespoke MoH recording.

During consultation

Probably the most effective way of getting prospects interested in MoH is bringing it up as early as possible in the conversation. Open-ended questions such as ‘How do you feel about your calling experience?’ can help foster a discussion around the topic.

During installation

When engineers are on-site, installing new connectivity or phone lines for example, they’re seen as a trusted authority, and having engineers remind staff to get their messaging recorded can be a quick win for customers on the fence about whether or not they need an on-hold message.

Post-installation

Maybe it’s a courtesy call to check the new fibre line is working properly, or a quarterly catch-up, but Music on Hold should be a topic that is mentioned in as many client interactions as possible, acting as a consistent reminder that their messaging could be updated or refreshed.

To help promote MoH to your customers, we’ve created the new Partner Toolkit for all our partners, enabling resellers to launch MoH campaigns with little resource required.