Authored by Jon Arnold from J Arnold & Associates
I recently partnered with Aizan Technologies Inc. to conduct a first-of-its-kind market research study about a critical, but poorly understood aspect of customer service – the on-hold experience. Recognizing this knowledge gap, Aizan undertook its own thought leadership initiative by commissioning J Arnold & Associates to conduct a proper, professional study.
Further details are provided in the report. In short, 1,000 U.S. consumers participated in an online survey during August, 2024. Drawing from my final report, Aizan produced an easy-to-digest version, including select datasets, verbatim comments from respondents, and key implications for CX leaders.
This article puts a spotlight on three key themes from the research that I feel need to be amplified. They all point to an overall takeaway that the on-hold experience is ripe for innovation, not just to improve CX, but for contact centers to adopt new technologies, and for brands to strengthen their bonds with customers.
Operationally, there are many ways for contact centers to make the on-hold experience better, and this would be reflected via conventional KPIs, such as AHT, time-to-answer, containment rates, etc. These really are table stakes for CX leaders trying to address the shortcomings when customers are placed on-hold. Beyond this, the bigger payoff is how this translates into improving CX, and the best way to do that is to learn first-hand from customers. Here are three specific capabilities that resonated with customers, and they represent a good starting point in terms of impacting CX.
While this question is about making the on-hold experience “more tolerable,” it’s not a big stretch to see how these capabilities can drive better CX. This connection does become clearer, however, in Theme 3.
The research also broke out the data by age and gender, as well as other variables. For callbacks, respondents were asked their overall preference for getting one as opposed to waiting for the next available agent. In terms of age, there is a notable split, where callbacks are especially preferred among younger customers. For brands catering to under 45 customers, the data clearly supports this preference, so if not being provided now, adding a callback option should be a priority.
In terms of personalized choices of content while being on-hold, respondents were asked to rate the effectiveness of four options. This is an area where brands can be very creative, and while music rated the highest in preference, it’s not the only way to make on-hold better.
While nobody wants to wait a half hour playing trivia games, even if just on-hold a few minutes, brands have an important window then to engage with customers. Not surprisingly, the age-based breakouts clearly show a preference for music among under 35 customers.
Not all customer inquiries are created equal, and CX leaders need to distinguish among the variations to determine the best type of response. Survey respondents were asked about two types of inquiries – those that are complex or urgent, and those that are simple. Long hold times are problematic for both scenarios, but for different reasons.
This is where intelligent call routing and other forms of AI can go a long way to identify the nature of an inquiry, and then manage the on-hold experience accordingly. First, let’s look at scenarios where the preference for live agents is highest compared to using self-service options like IVR and chatbots.
"Not all customer inquiries are created equal..."
This list isn’t comprehensive, but the data validates the customer view where live agents are highly preferred for complex issues or those requiring attention right away. While not surprising, the better these types of calls can be flagged right away, then the more they can be prioritized for live agents.
Perhaps more importantly, even if the wait is short for live agents, these scenarios require a different type of on-hold messaging than for routine inquiries. For example, rather than a generic message, such as “we apologize for the long wait,” the messaging should acknowledge the urgent or complex nature of their call. This way, the customer feels heard, and their on-hold experience will be less stressful.
Now, let’s compare preferences between simple and complex inquiries. In both cases, respondents were asked about their receptiveness for using technology-based options for automated self-service, such as IVR or chatbots.
"...messaging should acknowledge the urgent or complex nature of their call."
While there may be some arbitrariness for contact centers to route inquiries based on being “simple” or “complex,” today’s technologies are far more capable than in the past for doing this. It may not be realistic to do this with 100% accuracy for 100% of your calls, but this is where AI – especially Machine Learning – can help improve efficacy over time.
The key is to have a manageable starting point where calls can be routed on this basis with a high degree of certainty, and along the way you can fine-tune your criteria to handle a wider range of calls this way. On this basis, CX leaders should look to develop specific on-hold experiences for each.
For simple inquiries, the messaging can explain how your self-service options work, so they can quickly navigate through this to resolve their issue with a minimum of agent involvement. The high receptiveness for using technology-based options should help CX leaders build a business case for using more advanced, AI-based self-service applications, and uplevel self-service from legacy-based forms of IVR.
Conversely, for complex inquiries, there is clearly little appetite to go down this path. The focus here should be on connecting to live agents in the least amount of time. That said, on-hold messaging here can be very beneficial if used to explain that chatbots will be used right away to collect basic data that will expedite their resolution once connected to an agent.
Again, this is where AI helps drive CX, both with capabilities to automate the collection of customer data, and ensuring that the call is routed to the right agent. Not only does this streamline the CX process for what will usually be an anxious situation, but it’s another justification for investing in state-of-the-art self-service technologies. From the customer’s perspective, this approach will also minimize generic or repetitive on-hold messaging that only exacerbates the situation.
"...AI helps drive CX, both with capabilities to automate the collection of customer data, and ensuring that the call is routed to the right agent."
As noted earlier, this is the bigger payoff for improving the on-hold experience. Brand reputation may largely be about perception, and has little to do with how good your product or service is. Beyond the contact center, brand reputation is everything, not just for the C-suite, but your Sales and Marketing teams.
Brand reputation must be earned over time – often decades – but can be undone in no time. Sometimes, one bad CX incident will be the culprit, but oftentimes, it’s a cumulative effect from repeated bad CX. Either way, CX leaders have a central role to play in upholding brand reputation, and this research shows the impact of on-hold as a key driver. Tables 6-8 below validate this in important ways, all of which point to the need to improve the on-hold experience any way possible.
"...Brand reputation must be earned over time – often decades – but can be undone in no time."
Interestingly, over four in 10 feel a sense of calm when being put on-hold – initially – but given the general experience of being on-hold, that calm is likely to turn as things progress. The survey didn’t gauge this sentiment across the various stages of being on-hold, but we’ve all experienced where being on-hold starts out alright, but breaks down soon after in a variety of ways.
Of greater importance is the 30% of respondents who reported being frustrated right from the start. This level is simply too high for any CX leader to accept, and in high-volume contact centers, that can translate into thousands of customers who are frustrated from the outset of being on-hold, and that generally does not end well.
Also of note are the splits by age, where younger customers have a higher level of calm, but older customers are more likely to be frustrated, especially those 55+. Coming back to Table 3, the data suggests that with younger customers being more calm, they will be receptive to on-hold messaging with calming sounds or a meditative vibe. Conversely, with older customers being more frustrated, they will need to hear on-hold messaging right away, with assurances that will not elevate their frustration – and not hear repetitive or generic messages.
Clearly, both these factors will impact brand reputation, and being behavioral questions, the outcomes from bad on-hold experiences will be very real. With approximately eight in 10 viewing the company – and by extension, the brand – in a lesser light when this happens - and with half your customers at risk of buying less from you, there is a strong call-to-action here, especially since these findings apply across the board for all age groups.
Conversely, with a good on-hold experience, sentiment towards the company – again, the brand as well – improves, with almost eight in 10 feeling this way. As such, when thinking about brand reputation, there are two distinct benefits that come with a better on-hold experience. With the bar for on-hold being quite low, there is substantial upside simply by minimizing bad experiences. Compounding this is the added upside that comes from providing a better on-hold experience.
"...there are two distinct benefits that come with a better on-hold experience."
This analysis only focuses on selected highlights from the research, and I would encourage you to review the full report. There is much more to being on-hold than hearing “your call is important to us,” and when the overall impact of raising the bar is considered, there is a promising opportunity here for all brands and contact centers to explore. My hope is that with this unique set of data, CX leaders will have a clear roadmap for reimagining the on-hold experience.
As Principal of J Arnold & Associates, Jon is an independent research analyst providing thought leadership and go-to-market counsel with a focus on the business-level impact of disruptive communications technologies.
