Frequently on-hold messaging marks the first interaction between a customer and a business.
It's always wise to choose the best voice actor to make that all-important first impression. Remember, most callers have specific expectations in regards to what they hear when they call a company and selecting a 'good' voice to represent your business requires some understanding of your audience. Here we highlight the top considerations when choosing the best voice to represent your business on hold.
Why on-hold marketing works
On-hold marketing turns unproductive telephone time into an opportunity.
You can build your company's credibility, promote products and services and demonstrate to callers that you value their business.
If on average, you place a customer on hold for 20-60 seconds, this is plenty of time to advertise something. When used properly, it's a more effective tactical marketing tool than direct mail, social media promos or email campaigns put together. With on-hold marketing, you can warm up prospects and help to turn complainers into brand advocates.
Know your audience
Knowing your audience is crucial to making an informed choice of voice artist for your IVR or messages on hold. At a basic level you should know:
- the average gender and age
- where they're calling from
- their education level
It's also important to know if callers will have 'issues' they would like handled quickly. If this is likely, they will be less receptive to a voice artist with a vibrant or high-pitched voice. Equally, if you take a lot of calls from a younger audience, an authoritative tone is likely to put them right off.
Female or male?
The gender of the voice-over talent you want will depend on your businesses industry and the products or services you offer.
Studies show that 48% of US adults believe that a male voice is authoritative while 46% show a female voice is more soothing.
Nevertheless, these statistics barely demonstrate one gender as better than the other. The general feeling is that a male voice actor is preferred if the customers are male, and a female voice is more optimal if the customers are female. The industry and age of the callers can also be a factor. In general, a male voice is ideal for technical and informative messages. Whilst female voices are perfect for a more nurturing and comforting telephone message.
General / neutral or regional accents?
Local companies operating in a specific region are more likely to select a voice talent with a regional accent. A recent trend, particularly in the UK, finds more companies than ever are opting to use regional accents instead of choosing a generic or neutral accent. Choosing a regional accent for a national IVR system can be a good idea though. In particular, studies have described the Scottish accent as trustworthy and reassuring and the Yorkshire accent—used by telecoms giant O2 with Sean Bean as their commercial voice—as wise and honest.
The vital thing is not to put off callers by choosing an accent they find hard to understand or which has negative associations or connotations.
A younger or older voice?
A mature voice is generally perceived as more trustworthy and credible and a younger voice is more friendly and relaxed.
Ask yourself, how does the market already perceive your brand?
If your company is an established financial institution with a more conservative message, an older, more mature-sounding voice is always best. However, if you sell products like video games or tech, a more youthful, conversational voice works best.
Improve efficiency to improve perceptions
To lower costs, companies both large and small are channelling calls through automated cloud-based systems. Therefore, the perceived quality of your IVR system is becoming more essential than ever.
An inefficient IVR, which takes too long to route a customer call with quickly frustrate. It's important to get the scripts and call flow mapped out. It might be tempting to use office staff to record your IVR voice over but this is not a long term strategy. What you save in the short term will inevitably cost you in the long run with dropped calls.
A professional voice talent doesn't just have a 'great' voice. Their tone, i.e. how they read the script is equally important to keeping callers engaged.
A voice that sounds pleasant and intelligent is always more engaging. It's a no-brainer really! A professionally voiced IVR system that routes calls efficiently will be perceived by the customer as better than average.
Conclusion
Selecting the best voice for on-hold marketing or IVR is all about understanding your brand and those that interact with it, and then finding a voice that best represents that.
The aforementioned tips are some simple and effective ways to improve your customer service with the best on-hold content. Helpful and well-designed telephone messages not only keep your callers engaged but also prevent them from hanging up.
There are many voice-over agencies that offer on-hold marketing services. However, at Voquent, we have teamed up with the best voice over talents to offer you a high-quality service. We work hard to meet your needs and do everything possible to make sure you are happy with the result.
Listen to IVR Voices
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