For people to understand, you have to make yourself understood. Sounds pretty obvious, but it’s one thing writing words on a page and a completely different kettle of fish saying them out loud. So the rule of thumb is, when it comes to articulating your message, make sure that the way your words are spoken is reinforcing the message you want to give.

The conventions of speech differ from culture to culture which means that what you’re actually saying is only part of the story – it’s another dimension for interpretation. Take the Athabaskan Indians of North America: they don’t talk to strangers, they like to feel familiar with people before they engage in conversation – which must mean a fair bit of sitting around in silence before you stop being labelled a stranger. There must have been occasions where they’ve met non-Athabaskans and the culture clash has led to negative opinions on both sides. Athabaskans being perceived as rude may be sullen or dismissive, while non-Athabaskans may be shallow, pushy or insincere; pretending to be friends with complete strangers.

Linguist John Gumperz tells a story of Indian and Pakistani workers serving in a cafeteria at Heathrow who felt they were being discriminated against after some customers claimed they were rude. It transpired that when people requested meat, British staff would say ‘Gravy?’. The Asian staff would also say ‘Gravy’ but with a downward inflection rather than an upward, questioning inflection. Until this was pointed out in a workshop, the Asian staff thought that they were doing exactly the same as the British staff – they were both saying ‘gravy’ after all. They simply didn’t know that westerners could perceive the same word as both rude and polite depending on the intonation.

In Greece it’s normal to answer the phone by saying ‘Embros’ or ‘Go ahead’. Well, how rude – not even a ‘Hello’.  But to the Greeks of course, it’s not rude at all. We just perceive it as rude from our cultural standpoint.

The English and Americans have a tendency, especially when abroad, to smile at strangers when they catch their eye. And because of this some Europeans are suspicious because they consider it a sign of insincerity. It seems to be the state of the human condition that we all feel we have the copyright on what is correct and reasonable behaviour but we are actually all wrong and all right at the same time; which means mistranslations can often occur.

These misunderstandings aren’t unique to language and cultural differences between nations. Every culture has its subcultures so it can be a domestic issue too. And ‘subcultures’ doesn’t even have to mean things as simply definable as religion, sexual orientation or sports affiliation. It can be middle-aged women or fashion-conscious men; high achievers or the thrifty minded. Each subculture will have things that attract and repel them, so it’s worth considering how your marketing messages may be received by your predominant customer ‘types’.

These considerations are slightly less complicated when it comes to on-hold messages – there are no facial expressions or body language to cloud the waters. But on the other hand it may be more problematic because the only cultural cues available are the words and the sounds (the way the words are spoken, music and sound effects). We believe that the key to success is knowing your audience – learning what the dos and don’ts are for your customers and callers is the goal.

Our creative team understands that, in one industry, a bright and happy intonation may be perceived as flippant and unprofessional, while in another, the tonal qualities of a ‘corporate’ voice may be considered pompous and condescending. It’s with this kind of knowledge that we can find what’s right for your business.

Music can define cultures, music can change cultures, heck – music creates its own cultures. It is defining and empowering. It brings people together and it divides them. It can heal the sick and break your heart. Music is all around us and it’s inside us – it’s the deepest and purest expression of humanity. It yours, it’s mine, it’s everyone’s – it’s personal and it’s universal all at the same time. Music lights the touch paper of the soul and you can harness its cultural impact to boost your profits. Read on to discover how.

If you’ve haven’t really considered quite how important music is to everyone, try criticising someone’s favourite artist or type of music. If they don’t bite instantly, persist in telling them why that music isn’t very good. It won’t be long before you get a response that’s akin to badmouthing a member of their family.

There is a lot of scientific evidence that backs up what we know intuitively – music can increase or decrease your heartbeat and your blood pressure. It can relax you and stimulate you. Some athletes use calming music before competing and, in sports where it’s possible, high tempo music during events. And it is now known that music stimulates more parts of the brain than any other human function.

But there are other effects that seem to be more far-reaching than you may expect. In 2007, a study in Germany found that music therapy helped improve motor skills in patients recovering from strokes. And music therapy has been shown to improve mental focus, help control pain and boost the immune system.

Although different countries produce different styles of music, the cultural gulf is not as great as was once imagined. Although the musical differences can be huge, the language of the music is something that may be universally understood.

In 2004, 150 Japanese volunteers listened to excerpts of Japanese, Western, and Hindustani music. Then they were asked to rate the emotions in each piece – their choices were joy, anger and sadness. The results showed that the participants were able to read the musical cues in all of the music because the things that affect us stay the same regardless of the music’s origin. Complex and loud recordings were perceived as portraying anger; sadness was associated with slow and complex pieces; and joy was associated with fast, simple and melodious tunes. So it appears there is a language that can transcend cultures. When it comes to marketing, it’s very useful to know this as it means our musical cues will be understood universally.

Here’s a study that’s really, really useful to know about:

Fans of two vastly different musical genres were asked to evaluate the descriptions of three types of people. People with their musical taste, people who like different music to them and people who stated no musical preference at all. The participants were asked how much they thought they would like each of the people and how similar they thought the people were to them.  The results showed they liked a new person better when finding if they had the same taste in music. And the degree to which they felt that they would like the new person was based strongly on how much they thought the new person would share similar values rather than similar personality characteristics. It’s fair to assume then that we assign similar tastes in music to similar values and characteristics.

This is fantastic news for those who want to achieve great things with On-Hold Marketing. Using a particular genre of music can make you friends, fast. A solicitors’ firm, for example, may want to sound as serious and professional as possible and therefore decide to use classical music. But if the highest proportion of their customer base is made up of C2DEs then there is another element to inform their choice of on-hold music. Finding something that may still have the professional and trustworthy values but is more aligned to the taste of the customers could illicit a very positive response from callers. On-hold productions bring an intimacy to your marketing and can be used to build customer rapport very quickly.

Music pulls our strings in so many different ways; it’s the perfect way to turn the physical connection of the phone call into something more visceral and long-lasting.

Finding the music that will best suit the needs of your business and customer base is something we do for our clients on a daily basis. We can help you harness the power of music with original compositions to increase your profits; news of which will be music to your ears, as well as your callers’.