d. Utilizing Ambiguity Over Clarity: When setting up your voicemail greeting be direct and to the point. Tell callers your information, a brief greeting, and direction—i.e. “Hi, this is Jim Shamalam (from Iron Industries). Sorry I can’t take your call right now. Please leave your name number, and a brief message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.” This is ideal, as you inform callers and let them know what they should do to ensure a return call. A lack of direction can lead to callers leaving incomplete messages (lacking contact or other information) or even callers hanging up without leaving a message altogether.
Departments and teams are typically organized by function – customer service, tech support, sales, billing questions, etc. When a team is busy handling other calls, encourage your callers to leave a message and reassure them that you will get back to them within a reasonable time frame. It’s important that you actually follow through to avoid upsetting your callers.
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For small businesses, there are a variety of voicemail service providers you can use that offer different features. From transcription and voice to text to more convenient features of handling multiple phones through one number, availability varies by service. Shared voicemail and call routing is intended for multiple access and directing calls to one or multiple phones. Mobile apps are also available that allow you to check your messages from your phone. The below infographic outlines the current state and trends of voicemails.
It is important that you monitor your performance indicators for you to check if the slightest of changes can bring a difference to how many voicemails are received.
Always keep in mind the people who will be listening to your professional voicemail greetings. What type of tone and information resonates with them?
It’s important to stay semi-ambiguous, create interest and curiosity, and focus on simply getting them to call you back as the topic of your voicemail.
This is a lot like body language… the person on the other end can infer a lot from more than just the words you use.
No matter how much you intrigue the prospect, if you forget to leave a callback number… well, they can’t call you back.
You know that your callers are making inferences about your business and brand. If you want your voicemail recording to leave a positive impression, smile when you record it! Research shows that smiling affects how we speak, and listeners are not only able to identify that people are smiling, but also what the intent is of the smile based on voice intonation alone.
While they are listening to your voice, they are internally deciding whether or not it is worth their time to continue or hang up. Look at your voicemail message as its own short advertisement.
If you’re a small business owner, we recommend going with the RIY (record it yourself) route. First, it’s more affordable. Second (and more importantly), if your clients expect to work with you directly, they will expect to hear your voice when they place a phone call.
Voicemail is one of the oldest and most basic features found in phone systems, yet it also seems to be the most overlooked feature, too. Businesses usually leave a generic greeting for callers, and think nothing more of it. But voicemail greetings are one of those seemingly trivial things that help project your brand’s image and say a lot about your company. So in order to help you create a voicemail greeting that makes people feel as welcomed, follow these tips below:
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When someone is trying to reach you and they can’t get you on the line, they want to leave a message right away and get on with their day. If your voicemail greeting goes on for minutes on end, chances are they aren’t going to stick around until they hear the beep.
07Thank you for calling [business name]. I’m out assisting other clients with their goals, at the moment, but look forward to attending to you. Please leave a message and I’ll return your call within one business day. To schedule an appointment press 1. This is an example of an industry-specific voicemail greeting. This voicemail gives specific and clear instructions to the callers.
Elements every voicemail greeting should have. To create an effective and engaging greeting, your voicemail should: Use a friendly, inviting, and professional tone . Include essential business information, like the name of the business. Thank the caller graciously, and let them know when they can expect a return call.
These are just a few ideas to get the gears turning. These are simple examples, but don’t be afraid to show a little personality.