Customers form opinions about your bank within moments of walking through the door — and sound plays a bigger role in that experience than many financial institutions realize. Professionally selected background music for banks can help create a more welcoming atmosphere, improve perceived wait times, support privacy through sound masking, and reinforce a consistent brand experience across branches. From copyright compliance to customer comfort and employee productivity, the right music strategy can have a measurable impact on both client satisfaction and daily operations. Here are six important reasons banks are investing in commercial background music systems.
If you think your bank needs background music services, you’re probably right. Commercial subscription services like SiriusXM Music for Business and Soundtrack (formerly Soundtrack Your Brand) provide a legal music option with enough variety to keep everyone happy. Here are the top 6 reasons to use background music in your bank.
1. Music Licensing and Copyright Compliance
U.S. copyright law requires that businesses playing music in public areas pay public performance licensing. The fees for this musical licensing are collected by three agencies, ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC, who then pay royalties to the artists and musicians that created the music. These fees can be paid directly to the licensing organizations, or alternatively, a business can subscribe to a commercial music service like SiriusXM for business whereby the licensing fees are collected as part of a monthly service fee and then paid to the licensing organizations. The latter is the less expensive and more common option.
If you have a network of branches, it’s likely that some of them are playing unlicensed background music in the form of FM radio, CDs, or personal playlists, placing the bank at risk of litigation and fines. The musical licensing organizations will not hesitate to take action if such acts are discovered, as they are a litigious bunch, with ASCAP being the most aggressive. ASCAP has a string of six-figure judgements in their favor and they will not hesitate to take action the moment non-compliance is uncovered.
2. Sound Masking, Privacy, and Fraud Protection
Financial firms have a responsibility to safeguard personal financial information. Most institutions have established effective security measures to protect the data stored on their servers, but neglect to fully safeguard client information during its collection and use. This can be challenging in a retail banking environment where personal conversations happen in open floorplan environments, sometimes within only a few feet of each other. Using SiriusXM background music as a sound masking strategy is a low-cost way to protect against the unintentional disclosure of private information.
Technically speaking, office sound masking is the addition of a background music player to reduce speech intelligibility. In a retail banking environment, sound masking can reduce the negligent disclosure of client information by using music to conceal verbal transmission of confidential information. Not only will this provide protection against fraud, but sound masking will help patrons feel more confident in their interactions with bank personnel, noting that the bank has taken measures to keep their personal information private.
3. Music Drives Increases in Employee Mood and Productivity
Employee experience plays a major role in overall business performance, especially in customer-facing environments like banks. Research in organizational psychology has consistently shown that employees who report higher job satisfaction are more engaged, productive, and likely to create positive customer interactions. According to Affective Events Theory, workplace environments that positively influence employee mood can directly impact job performance and satisfaction.
For banks and other customer-service environments, professionally curated background music can help create a calmer, more welcoming atmosphere for both employees and clients. When thoughtfully implemented, commercial music systems may contribute to improved employee mood, a more positive workplace environment, and a better overall customer experience.
4. Reduction in Perceived Wait Times
Research has shown that music for business use reduces the perceived wait times for clients. This research demonstrates that clients will wait longer and more patiently when music is being played when compared to silence. As an additional benefit, it may also improve the client’s perception of service after they have been waiting. The research points to a simple reasoning; the music actually transforms the boredom of waiting time to the engagement of experiential time, which customers find entertaining and positive.
Anyone that has ever waited in line at Disney will understand this concept. Disney has mastered the art of transforming waiting time into experiential time by presenting a constant stream of visual and auditory stimulus to the millions that wait in their lines each year. Hotels do the same by providing free coffee or snacks for guests waiting in line.
The benefits of reducing perceived wait time and increasing the perception of customer service are easily within reach for any bank. By implementing background music to transform waiting time into experiential time, your bank can affect an environment where clients will wait longer and more patiently as they are entertained by SiriusXM versus waiting in silence.
5. Consistency in Brand Image and Client Experience
Multi-location bank networks work hard to maintain a consistent customer experience and brand interaction across all customer touch points. Bringing the enterprise vision to the local branch requires careful control of all environmental factors. From branch layout to interior design to signage, the environment encompasses everything that clients see, touch, hear, and feel.
With all the attention paid to visual elements, most banks have not invested in the auditory elements of the in-branch experience. Stated another way, while the branches may all look the same, they certainly don’t sound the same. Since there is no music platform, a client may hear anything from silence to FM radio to potentially offensive content from an employee’s iPod as they move from branch to branch. This lack of auditory consistency confuses clients and works to diminish their perception of the bank’s brand credibility.
An enterprise music program like Soundtrack immediately corrects this problem by managing playlist control in all locations from one single device. A primary user can create day breaks in the playlist, increasing and decreasing tempo according to the time of day, and layer in holiday and seasonal music.
6. Branded In-Store Messaging
Today’s bank branches are expected to do more than process transactions, they’re expected to deliver a consistent, personalized customer experience. That’s where branded in-store messaging can make a measurable impact. Strategically timed audio messages played over your bank’s background music system can help reinforce promotions, educate customers about services, and create a more engaging in-branch environment while customers wait.
In-store messaging allows businesses to reach customers at the most important time: when they are making a purchase decision. Timed messaging can be used to highlight financial products, promote mobile banking tools, encourage appointment scheduling, or reinforce brand messaging across every branch location.
Let Dynamic Media Help You Decide
The right music for small business choice depends on your business type, brand, and priorities. Dynamic Media is a national authorized reseller for Soundtrack Your Brand and SiriusXM for Business, and one of the fastest-growing music-for-business providers in the country.
Call us at 1-800-684-7050 or request a free quote to get started.