Caller abandonment is the number one cause of lost customers for any company, so it is important to use on-hold time wisely. Research has shown that 70% of all calls are placed on hold. If callers hear only silence while they wait on-hold, 60% will hang up within less than a minute, and 30% of them will never call your company back.
Here are some interesting statistics from A&T and the On-Hold Messaging Association website at http://www.ohma.org/
Executives spend 15 minutes a day or 68 hours a year on hold. Source: USA Today
41% of consumers have initiated a purchase over the phone in the last year. Source: American Teleservices Association
On average, seven out of ten callers are placed on hold. Source: Inbound/Outbound
94% of all marketing budgets are spent on inducing a customer to call, while only 6% is spent on handling the call once it is received. Source: Inbound Telephone Call Center
When callers get On Hold Messaging versus silence or a radio commercial they stay on hold longer, and are less agitated. Source: Jefferson Denneandrus Research
88% of callers preferred On Hold Messages to other hold options, and 16% made purchases based on an on hold offer. Source: MaxiMarketing
Callers stay on the line up to 25% longer when provided with On Hold Messaging versus "dead air" or "background music," and up to 17% longer than radio. Source: Infomax, Inc.
The average person will spend 1.2 years on hold. Source: Woman's World Magazine
34% of callers who hang up will not call back. Source: Voice Response, Inc.
