CALLERS ON HOLD GETTING SOFT SELL.

Byline: Patti Bond Cox News Service

Imagine your worst telephone nightmare. You've been put on hold Friday at lunchtime, and you've stayed there through the weekend and into Monday morning.

It's no dream - that's about how long you're likely to spend on hold this year. But don't hang yourself with the telephone cord just yet. One of the most annoying facts of business life is becoming more palatable - and more profitable.

From small businesses to big corporations, companies are realizing that the on-hold wait is a prime marketing opportunity. Instead of switching callers over to silent hold or music, an increasing number of businesses are using the time to talk about products and services to a captive audience.

The on-hold market is driven by two goals. The first trick is to keep customers on the phone - telecommunications studies have shown that 90 percent of callers will hang up within 40 seconds when they're put on silent hold. Then, once they've got them on the line, why not give them a soft-sell sales pitch?

It's paying off for companies like Norcross, Ga.-based Hawkins & Associates Inc., a distributor of water treatment equipment. With seven employees, Hawkins is a small, specialized company subject to environmental regulations that dictate continual product changes, says president Buddy Hawkins. One way to let customers know about new products is through direct mailing. Another way is to put the information on hold.

About a year and a half ago, Hawkins switched from silent hold to a mixture of music and 20-second messages that tell callers about new products. The results were immediate. Callers wanted more information about the products they'd just heard about on hold, and in many cases made purchases, Hawkins said.

``The on-hold information brings more direct sales than direct mailing because people react instantly,'' Hawkins said. Mailings create a residual effect that pays off a month or so later. But for immediate response, Hawkins' on-hold messages outperformed mailings three to one, he said.

Until recently, callers may have had a hard time reconciling a company's image on television and radio with its image over the telephone.

``Companies spend millions of dollars on marketing their images in every other medium, yet their telephone image lags far behind,'' said Marcus Graham, president of GM Productions, an Atlanta-based company that specializes in telecommunications programs. ``The telephone is often the most overlooked marketing area.''

It can be an expensive oversight, especially if the company has a toll-free 800 number, says Dan Carpenter, chief executive officer of Atlanta-based TeleAdvice, a telecommunications advisory group.

``The company is paying for that customer to be on hold,'' Carpenter said. ``A company that puts a customer on hold to wait in silence is wasting time and money.''

Companies may think piping in a radio station is a step up from silence, but that also can be a costly mistake. Unless the company is paying licensing fees to broadcast radio stations over the telephone, the practice is illegal under a 1976 amendment to copyright laws. Licensing agencies like the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and Broadcast Music Inc. can sue for damages ranging from $500 to $10,000.

But there are more than just legal consequences to consider when playing a radio station on hold, says Barry Chase, owner of Barry Chase Productions Inc., a Marietta-based company that specializes in on-hold marketing programs.

``If you play a radio station on hold, you're broadcasting commercials for other businesses,'' Chase said. ``Why would you want to advertise your competitors?''

Sherry Higgins, practice manager for Marietta Cardiology, P.C., discovered other problems with music on hold. Before the office revamped its on-hold program, local radio stations were broadcast on hold, but it turned out to be more of an aggravation than an appeasement.

``We could never find the right station,'' Higgins said. ``Most of the time, it just wasn't appropriate for our patients.''

With soft music playing in the background, Marietta Cardiology now plays a series of informative messages about the practice, including directions, office hours and insurance information.

Medical practitioners are one of the fastest growing groups to use on-hold messages, industry experts say. To keep up with patient demands, physicians and dentists are using the on-hold opportunity to talk about themselves and their medical backgrounds.

Marietta Cardiology broadcasts 45-second features on each of its three physicians, telling when and where each doctor went to school and what board certifications each has earned.

The on-hold messages cut down on phone calls handled by staff, Higgins said. ``Many times, when we come back on the line, the caller says he has just had his question answered.''

The metropolitan Atlanta chapter of the American Red Cross recently updated its on-hold program from straight music to a series of 15-second messages that talk about the organization's services. Maresa DePuy, manager of donor communications, said the messages are a way to tell callers that the Red Cross is involved in more than just blood drives and disaster relief.

Regardless of the approach the company decides to take, whether it's educational or soft-sell, research shows that callers want to hear something while they're waiting.