06/15/98 MUZAK THAT MAKES SMALL BUSINESSES SOUND LIKE BIGWIGS

MUZAK THAT MAKES SMALL BUSINESSES SOUND LIKE BIGWIGS

WAITING ON HOLD TO TALK to a salesperson is a drag, and chirpy sales pitches interspersed with music can be annoying. But there's a good reason many companies pay for phone-system soundtracks: Piping audio into the hold queue helps the bottom line at companies that handle oodles of calls. A Call Center Solutions magazine study found that 60% of callers hang up if there's no music or messages, and a third of them never call back. Audio keeps callers on the line longer, and if sales messages are woven in, 16% end up buying more stuff.
Now, even small companies can have on-hold soundtracks--and reap the rewards of pitching to a captive audience. On June 1, startup MetaSound Systems Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., unveiled a family of all-digital, ''Message-On-Hold'' boxes that attach to most phones and cost as little as $200. By mixing music and prerecorded messages, MetaSound's products can make a one-person office sound like a big corporation. Some callers may chafe, but that's a small risk to take if others end up opening their wallets.
By Andy Reinhardt
EDITED BY PETER ELSTROM