Justin Kaiser, 1977-2010

So I was culling through all my Google blog feeds as I was feeling the need to purge. Some people do this annually or some people do it like me – when the feeling hits.

I decided I was tired of the uselessness of the Craigslist feeds on voice over jobs that I started following about 6-8 months ago. Then while I was removing those 365 feeds, I thought – hey I’ll do a blog post about that (cheap jobs, VO’s posting how crappy the jobs were and how craigslist is about “cheap” – always has been- so we can’t get mad about it). Meanwhile I decided to go through and look at the other feeds and maybe clean a bit.

And then I noticed a feed entitled “Creating Conversations” by Justin Kaiser, a fellow voice talent who was buried this week at the age of 33 following from complications following surgery.

And my heart sank.

Craigslist didn’t seem so important nor did just about anything else. Sigh….big sigh.

And no, I can’t bring myself to delete his blog feed.

But then I thought I’d do something that I felt might be a nice remembrance of a special part of Justin’s life – his work at Creative Identities Group.

Justin’s last blog entry (I’m pretty sure he wrote this up…but I did not confirm it….I like to think he wrote it) was posted on December 3, 2009. It was a simple post about On-hold messaging. It made me smile and I sorta feel that’s the way he would have wanted it. I hope it makes you smile too because after reading all the posts about him, I believe that would please him very much.

5 Reasons to Use On-Hold Messages

by On Hold Identity Group

In these difficult economic times it’s worth using every marketing tool available to you. On hold messages are a simple, effective and cost-efficient method of getting your marketing message out to your clients. Think of an on-hold message as a form of infomercial about your business. It’s an ideal opportunity to tell your potential customers about the products and services you offer and the benefits they can bring. No one likes to be put on hold, and many of us feel it’s a complete waste of our time. So if you can turn this into a productive, entertaining 2 or 3 minutes, your callers will appreciate it.

Your company will also appreciate the benefits, as studies conducted by major telecommunication companies revealed that approximately 20% of callers that are placed on hold will actually make purchase decisions based on what they hear while they are on hold.

So what are some of the benefits of using an on-hold message?

1. Introduce new products or services to your customers.

2. You have a captive audience why not use this valuable undivided attention – Entertain and inform them but also remind them that you value them as a customer.

3. Callers are more likely to stay on the line if they hear a message and/or background music. A caller who doesn’t stay on the line is a potential lost sale.

4. Inform your customers of general business hours and holiday time opening and closing times. Use the message to answer frequently asked questions – saving your customer service team time and resources and increasing their efficiency.

5. Tell customers the benefits of using your products and services – remind them how your company can help improve their situation and solve their problem.

Its also important to choose a voiceover artist whose voice reflects your company’s brand and image. Choose a voice that makes your company sound engaging and interesting. A voice that is clear and distinct, but also one that engenders trust and credibility. A professional voiceover artist can deliver a persuasive sales message as well as sounding polite and personable.

Tags: blogs, commentary, marketing, message on-hold, voice talent, voiceover // 1 Comment »