If we are to believe the news reports over the last week it looks like the UK is finally heading out of recession. Confidence amongst business professionals is at a two year high, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants is predicting growth of 0.5% in this coming quarter. This is some good news for small businesses and the wider UK economy. What better time to ensure your business has the competitive edge it needs to make the most of this reversal of fortunes?

So how can you ensure your business is best placed to reap the benefits of a stronger economy? Well perhaps music could give you that competitive boost. Just as music can help increase productivity and improve morale in those tough times, it can also set your business apart when things are going well.

The results of our recent MusicWorks survey pointed to just how impactful music can be across a range of businesses. Surveying over 2000 individuals the research analysed sectors from shops, to hotels to doctors waiting rooms.

What was really interesting was the willingness of consumers to pay a little bit more for goods and services when the right music was used to create the right atmosphere. For example of those that said they liked to hear music in shops (84%), almost a quarter (23%) said they would be prepared to pay 5% more for the goods they bought. Music helps create that ambience and builds your brand. You just have to look at how shops such as TopShop and Zara have used music so successfully to appeal to their target markets.

It is not just shops that can use music to great effect, but any business could benefit from adding music. Our research found that customers like to listen to music when they're on hold to a call centre. 71% of respondents wanted music to be played whilst they were waiting to be connected and more significantly abandonment rates could be cut by an impressive 35% if music was used. That could be the difference between a sale and missing out, or a satisfied customer of one whose experience with your company has not been good because they had to call back. Obviously the choice of music is key; 50% said they would like to hear something chilled out or soothing.

Whatever sector you work in and however large or small your business is you potentially could benefit from adding a bit of music. Whilst the recovery is fragile and times are still a bit quiet, now might be the right moment to experiment to see if music works for you. Creating the right image for your company, be it in the salon of a hairdresser, to the customer contact centre of a plumbing merchant, adding music could set you apart from your competitors and make a real difference.

Many may argue that we at PRS for Music would be bias when it comes to music use as we have the job of licensing music in the UK to businesses and broadcast outlets. Well of course that may be the case, but 350,000 businesses have already decided that music works for them and are paying for their music licence. Our job - as a not-for-profit-organisation - is to pay royalties to those that created the music, the composers, songwriters and music publishers we represent, so they can earn from their work.

For more information please visit www.prsformusic.com [1]