Think Like a Marketer: A/B Test Your Message on Hold Program

Is your Message On Hold program as effective as possible? How do you know? What have you done to ensure your on hold marketing is helping to produce results? If you haven’t run any tests to see if your Message On Hold is working for you, you might be missing out on an opportunity to make your on hold content even better.

What is A/B Testing?

One way marketers optimize their content is by testing variations in it. Marketers usually use an A/B test or a multivariate test.

In an A/B Test, only one element is changed from Version A in Version B. For example, a call to action button on a website might be blue for Version A and green for Version B, but the text will remain the same. Based on the number of clicks each button gets, either A or B will “win” the test.

In a multivariate test, more than one element is changed from version A to Version B. So there might be a blue and a green call to action button, each with different text in it, and maybe on different sides of the page.

A/B testing is easier to track, because there is only one difference between the two elements, but multivariate testing can also be effective. Sometimes, a multivariate test can drive even higher results than an sing A/B test.

Applying Testing to Your Message On Hold Program

Too often, a brand will initiate a Message On Hold program, load it on to their phone system, and never change it, although an up-to-date Message On Hold program keeps callers waiting on hold happier. Here are some ways to apply marketing testing to your on hold programming:

Start with 2 programs

Use different music genres in each, with the same content. Play one for a month, then play the second for a month. Then, play the first again for a month and the second for a month. Survey your customers throughout the time period, and see which they respond more positively to.

Survey Your Staff

Involve your staff, particularly representatives who communicate with customers on the phone, in the content and music selection process. Have them listen to program A, then program B, and see which they think is more enjoyable, and which would be more helpful to customers.

Generic vs Seasonal

This strategy focuses on content. Try a program that offers generic information about your company that you can play year-round, like your hours, address, website, and social media information. Test it with a program with seasonal information, like specials, promotions, and seasonal tips. Again, survey your callers and see which information they prefer.

Experiment with Program Length

Play around with the length of your program. You can test the music interval (amount of music between paragraphs of content) or the number of paragraphs included. Do callers like more music, or more information? Survey them to find out.

Are you going to try an A/B test on your Message On Hold program? Let us know how it goes in the comments.