Ready, Fire, Aim!

Imagine telephone hold music so offensively irritating you want to hang up after just a few seconds. One call to Office Depot, and you won't have to imagine anymore. Their obnoxious jingle loops every 15 seconds or so, wearing you down faster than a well-executed waterboarding session.

I could go on about Office Depot (I honestly wonder if they aren't intentionally trying to drive customers off the phone), but companies everywhere employ advertising without sound strategy. Many businesses fail to establish a comprehensive corporate identity, but those that have shouldn't just plaster it everywhere without thought.

Some might question whether hold music really counts as advertising. To that I would ask: When is an organization not advertising by what they say and do? If your sales staff is rude or unhelpful, does it matter that you advertise customer service in your television ads? If your company fails to deliver a reliable product, does it matter that you pitch quality in radio campaigns?

Thought of in this way, advertising encompasses every aspect of your operation. When you do advertise through traditional channels, customers will weigh your message against their experience with your company. Every interaction you have with them is a chance to maintain a relationship, or lose a customer forever.

A well-known brand is not enough to guarantee success. The careful application of your corporate identity, and the expression of your mission in what you do, is just as critical to gaining your customers' trust and confidence.

And sometimes it's little things—like pleasant hold music—that makes all the difference.