A survey of 3,630 UK companies by audio branding specialist PH Media Group discovered hotels and B&Bs leave customers on hold for an average of 28.83 seconds per call, creating a serious risk of losing business by leaving customers hanging on the telephone for so long.
The implications for profitability are grave. Previous research has shown 50 per cent of callers will hang up within 20 seconds if forced to listen to silence while on hold. Would you wait up to 30 seconds?
Callers unwilling to wait
PH Media Group Sales and Marketing Director Mark Williamson said: “These results represent a significant challenge for the hospitality sector and could pose a threat to profitability.
“Callers are simply unwilling to wait on the end of the line while subjected to silence, poor quality music or beeps so firms are putting themselves at serious risk of losing business.
The telephone is an important customer touchpoint
“Good call handling is often overlooked as a key sales and marketing tool, but the telephone still acts as an important touchpoint and first impressions count. If each caller enjoys a positive experience, customer service standards will go through the roof.”
Of all callers placed on hold, 34 per cent were subjected to silence. A further 26 per cent were made to listen to music, while 26 per cent heard beeps.
Hotels and B&Bs score low on call handling
Hold time isn’t the only consideration for businesses wanting to make a good first impression on callers. As part of the study, PH Media Group also audited each company, giving them a score out of 100 based on overall call handling practice.
Hotels and B&Bs averaged just 33 out of 100.
Elements including the time taken to answer a call, the number of tiers a caller experiences before reaching the necessary department, use of consistent voice and music, professional and personalised voicemail, and out-of-hours messaging were weighted to reflect their importance.
“Good customer service is paramount for any business so it is important to evaluate all aspects of call handling to ensure calls are dealt with appropriately,” added Mark. “Inevitably, not every call will be answered within a matter of seconds, so when callers do need to be placed on hold for any length of time, informative and entertaining audio messages can help to maintain their attention and decrease perceived waiting time.
“Brand congruent voice and music are also vital in order to present customers with a consistent image of the company, reinforcing brand values and establishing a reassuring, coherent presence.”
About PH Media Group
PH Media Group is the UK’s leading provider of audio branding services, with offices in Manchester and London and more than 11,000 clients worldwide.
PH Media’s core audio products include On-Hold Marketing, Out-of-Hours Messaging and Auto Attendant Voicing. These services involve the creation of targeted marketing messages for businesses to play whenever telephone callers are put on hold or transferred, designed to reinforce brand values and increase sales.
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