The majority of customers will contact you by phone - in an ideal world, you would not have to put them on hold. The real world is a bit more complicated. There will be times when staff are under pressure, or the information a customer needs is not within reach.

Phone enquiries you take today are the customers of tomorrow. You don't want to neglect them or miss the opportunity to show them you value their call.

Give your callers something interesting to listen to while they're on hold and they will stay on the line that bit longer. Quite simply, it changes their perception of how long they have been waiting and you'll lose less calls.

And don't be tempted to settle for silence or beeps to play to your waiting callers – let them hear something more professional and entertaining and they're more likely to be in a good mood when they come off hold – making life easier for you!