Category Archives: October 2010

Client of the Month: Whayne Supply

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It is a true honor for The HOLDCOM Voice to feature Whayne Supply in this edition of our newsletter.  In addition to being a multi-location, long-standing client with HOLDCOM, what really makes us proud is how they understand the value Message On-Hold brings to their industry.

Whayne Supply Logo

Back in 1991, Breese Watson (Marketing Manager) had installed a message on-hold unit, but the programs were not as professional as he would have liked.  HOLDCOM’s services were brought to his attention and he thought, ‘I’ll give them a try.’

To date, Message On-Hold is playing at eleven of his facilities and his locations recently upgraded their equipment to thumb drives.  I recently had the opportunity to chat with Breese and I wanted to know if he saw the return on investment by updating the equipment.  In addition to the upgraded equipment being more dependable, Breese also explained that it was the ease of use factor for his front line people at the branch facilities that made upgrading the equipment so appealing – had the process been more difficult, the chances of having a tech rep on hand at one of his many separate locations would have been slim.

For over two decades, Breese and those at Whayne Supply have continued to see the significance of Message On-Hold as a marketing tool.  Breese said, “We have to put customers on hold,” so why not give them something professional and informative to listen to?  He said that his employees enjoy the variety of the messages and customers still mentions things they’ve heard while on-hold.  “It’s a subtle, non-obtrusive message,” explained Breese.

Since 1913, has been a heavy equipment dealer, providing quality products and superior support services in all markets they serve.  Whayne is positioned to serve you and your needs better than ever, with 15 facilities in 12 cities across Kentucky and southern Indiana.  Learn more at www.Whayne.com.

Holiday Music Sneak Peek

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Happy Holidays from Holdcom

Get your milk and cookies ready because Holdcom is caroling your way! Get a sneak peak at our new selections of Holiday Music. Visit our Holiday Music Department to add Holiday cheer to your MOH program and to spread the word to your callers about special offers, events, and discounts for the Holiday season!

If you need to purchase a Holiday Message On Hold Program, you can get a promocode based upon your customer status (Active, Former, Soon To Be) for an additional discount at our Audio Production Store.

holidaypromocode

Global Voices Online: Multilingual Journalism

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Global Voices logoAfter a complete makeover, Holdcom’s blogging initiative has been highly successful. Our blog is currently the second most trafficked page on our website, and with a minimum of one to two updates a day, we have encouraged creativity and provided new insights into the marketing audio industry.

One of the blog organizations that Holdcom turns to for inspiration is www.globalvoicesonline.org. According to their website, they are “a community of more than 300 bloggers and translators around the world” who “seek to aggregate, curate, and amplify the global conversation online – shining light on places and people other media often ignore.” They not only champion the ethics and form of free media, but also give equal value to information, no matter the location, “at a time when international English-language media ignores many things that are important to numbers of the world’s citizens – [we are] leveraging the power of citizens’ media.”

Holdcom uses many multilingual voice talent and translators for foreign-language voice prompts, business voice messages, and message on hold. We also are concerned about the quality of our product, and our client’s opinion, long after the job is complete – as is the case with global voices online, whose goal is to insure “freedom of expression” by advocating “open-source and free tools” that “safely… facilitate the emergence of new citizens’ voices through training, online tutorials, and publicity.”

A typical blog from Global Voices Online has a few paragraphs introduction, followed by direct quotes from citizens, bloggers, microbloggers, and local news media – all in the native language of that country with translations underneath. Though audio is not often included (and would add a lot of depth), the reporting is thorough and authentic.

Holdcom wishes to honor this association for their selfless work encouraging international communication and discussion among individuals.

Bridging the Gap: Voice Messages

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Holdcom representatives recently attended a SOCAP sponsored free Webinar titled “Is There A Conversation Divide?” that featured Pete Blackshaw of NM Incite and Frank Eliason of Citibank. The goal of the listen-only teleconference was to stress the importance of making your client relation’s department aware of new marketing campaigns, so that they aren’t caught off guard by a flood of consumer reactions.

But according to trends in lead generation, client relations must take a pro-active role in this feedback loop. Once marketing implements an idea, and client relations receive feedback, then CR has to relay the new user data back to marketing, who will adjust their target strategies. Blackshaw and Eliason said that CR should be aware that they are a crucial conduit – they are the information gatherers, the wartime reporters on the front lines who return to base camp with crucial data.

The rest of the Webinar ended with opportunities to create a holistic working environment. There should be balance between call centers and online chat services, communication between the client relations and script departments, and spreading information through multiple media [video, marketing audio, images].

Holdcom learned that message on hold, in its basic form, is a means of creating a working relationship between automated voice talent and direct agent assistance. Message on Hold can bridge the gap between marketing ideas and client relations, who can glean feedback and appease any complaints.

What about you: how does your business promote internal and external dialogue?

The Holdcom Story: Client Relations

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The following is a five part series featuring Holdcom’s specialized departments.

Holdcom University logoSeveral years ago, Deans Edelman, Fishman, and Begnoche inaugurated Holdcom U(niversity) in response to employee curiosity as to how Holdcom’s individual departments functioned as a whole. Motivation and knowledge sharing was strong, spearheaded by two individuals who referred to themselves as “Holdcom U + Me.”

However, in light of recent transformations in Holdcom’s workspace, the hiring of many new, young recruits, and the influx of sales from our online audio production store, Holdcom has realized that, more than ever, interdepartmental communication is crucial – Client Relations, Scripts, Order Fulfillment, Production, and Executive Management must educate each other about their niche of the message on hold and marketing audio industry.

Therefore, Holdcom University has updated its curriculum.

We have the experience! We have the knowledge! We have the technology! But for Holdcom U to be “new and improved,” we need a working model, a frame of reference that captures, and teaches, the Holdcom experience.

Continue reading →

Eagles Baseball Golf Classic

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Some people are lucky enough to combine the way they make their living with the things they care about the most.  Some are lucky enough to get a chance to do the things they care about most and do some good at the same time.  And then there are some who have put it all together.

PBI logo

On September 13th, at the First Annual Eagles Golf Classic at Hackensack Country Club hosted by Professional Baseball Instruction, I got a chance to share the day with the holder of one of these Trifecta tickets, Doug Cinnella.  Doug is a veteran of 9 professional baseball seasons, originally signed by the Baltimore Orioles and later with the New York Yankees and New York Mets organizations.  As a one time star ball player for Paramus High and Seton Hall University, Doug predictably dreamed of pitching in the major leagues and although he never made it to the show, his passion for the game has given him and his family a lifetime of satisfaction and enjoyment in the game he loves… and helped a lot of kids along the way.

Although I first met Doug face to face on the day of the golf outing, he has been a customer and, I learned that day, a fan of Holdcom, since 2002.  He, with the help of his marketing ace, Jim Monaghan, an on air veteran of 19 years with legendary WNEW-FM in New York City combined with 25 years of baseball coaching experience, consider their Holdcom Message On Hold system as one of the most effective ways they communicate with their students and would be students, while spreading the gospel of PBI and Eagles Baseball.  Jim made sure I knew how helpful their Holdcom Script Consultant, Megan, was in keeping them on schedule and task with their on hold communication.

Continue reading →

Message on Hold: Social Media 101

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The Iron HorseEveryone knows someone who resisted a new idea for the longest time, and then when they finally tried it, became an overnight fan, obsessed and looking for more.  In this case, the “idea” was on hold marketing, and the “more” was social media. One of Holdcom’s more recent raving fans, Lee Tremble, owner of a legendary local northern New Jersey restaurant, the Iron Horse, resisted message on hold for over twenty years, despite the fact that one of his best friends owned a message on hold company.

According to Lee, “My partners didn’t believe in message on hold – but once I used it, the response I got was tremendous.  People don’t seem to mind waiting on hold. It’s long enough where you can hear most of it, short enough where you get the important bits and pieces.  I can’t recall how many times people say ‘Oh! I didn’t know the train goes right by your place’ or ‘I didn’t know Oktoberfest started already,’” all because my message on hold program informed them.”

As customers reacted to his messages on hold, Lee learned that adjusting his marketing focus to customer service was more than successful: his customers began to market for him by spreading positive reviews.  So apparently there was more to on hold marketing than he had originally thought.  Maybe there were other new marketing ideas out there.  Then Lee discovered social media.

“Message on hold was the gateway to these new markets,” Lee said, as demonstrated by his immense success using Groupon, an online collective-marketing service.

“I sold coupons to 800 people, and I only recognized two people on the list! It was an opportunity to get more opportunities, to get people through the door,” Lee said, “And to think, if we had done this years ago!”

Continue reading →

Whayne Supply

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It is a true honor for The HOLDCOM Voice to feature Whayne Supply in this edition of our newsletter.  In addition to being a multi-location, long-standing client with HOLDCOM, what really makes us proud is how they understand the value Message On-Hold brings to their industry.

Back in 1991, Breese Watson (Advertising and Promotions Manager) had installed a message on-hold unit, but the programs were not as professional as he would have liked.  HOLDCOM’s services were brought to his attention and he thought, ‘I’ll give them a try.’

To date, Message On-Hold is playing at eleven of his facilities and his locations recently upgraded their equipment to thumb drives.  I recently had the opportunity to chat with Breese and I wanted to know if he saw the return on investment by updating the equipment.  In addition to the upgraded equipment being more dependable, Breese also explained that it was the ease of use factor for his front line people that made upgrading the equipment so appealing – had the process been more difficult, the chances of having a tech rep on hand at one of his many separate locations would have been slim.

For over two decades, Breese and those at Whayne Supply have continued to see the significance of Message On-Hold as a marketing tool.  Breese said, “We have to put customers on hold,” so why not give them something professional and informative to listen to?  He said that his employees enjoy the variety of the messages and customers still mentions things they’ve heard while on-hold.  “It’s a subtle, non-obtrusive message,” explained Breese.

Since 1913, Whayne Supply has been an agricultural dealer providing quality products and superior value-added support services in all markets they serve.  Whayne is positioned to serve you and your needs better than ever, with 15 facilities in 12 cities across Kentucky and southern Indiana.  Learn more at www.Whayne.com.

When Voice Recognition Fails

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This month’s video comes from our friends at the BBC Scotland from the critically acclaimed sketch show Burnistoun by the Scottish comedians Iain Connell & Robert Florence.  Trouble ensues when the two gentlemen enter the lift (elevator) which has been updated with voice recognition controls

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