Audio Images: Statistics of messages on hold / music on hold

The average hold time for businesses with more than two lines is 55 seconds
55% of callers who were put on "silent" hold abandoned their calls within the first 40 seconds
Callers who hear music on hold stay on the line an average of 60 seconds longer than those on "silent" hold
Callers hearing information on hold stay on the line up to 3.5 minutes longer

AT&T

Customers left on-hold without any background music felt that a 30-second on-hold call actually lasted 90 seconds. Furthermore, customers thought a 30-second on-hold call that used music-on-hold lasted only 15 seconds. - AT&T Survey
94% of all advertising budgets are spent to induce phone calls, while only 4% is spent to handle the new calls.
88% of all callers surveyed preferred message recordings to radio or silence.
70% of all business callers are put ON HOLD.
60% of all callers left unattended hang up.

Sales & Marketing Management Magazine

93% of the average marketing / advertising budget is spent to entice potential customers to call a business
Only 4% of the average marketing budget is spent on caller/customer retention
The average cost in lost potential business from a mishandled call is $34

Other Facts and Figures

Executives spend 15 minutes a day or 60 hours per year on-hold. - USA Today
The average hold time is 38 seconds. - Electronic Distribution Today
88% of callers preferred on-hold messages to other hold options, and 16 - 20% made a purchase based on an on-hold offer. - Stan Rapp and Tom Collins of Maximarketing
On average 7 out of 10 business callers are placed on-hold. - Inbound/Outbound
One study found that of the 8 - 15% of a company's customer base is lost each year, 68% is due to indifferent or negative phone treatment. - Oren Harari of The Tom Peters Group
The average person will spend 1.2 years on hold. - Woman’s World Magazine