While deciding on a greeting remember that while it is important to be friendly, do not try to be cute or overtly sweet. It is not necessary to state the obvious details. It may be a good idea to change your voicemail message as often as possible. Also if you are recording a message for a business organization, it is important to let the caller know how to skip the message that is playing. If it is possible then giving an alternate number where the caller can reach you is always a great idea. Given later in this article are some examples.
>Check out these great Christmas voice mail message ideas from the folks at Smart on Hold
.
For those with voicemail greetings that get changed about as often as a new president is elected, know that this is doing a serious disservice to the caller-recipient relationship. It signals to callers that the business is anything but an authority, most likely not very detail oriented, and has questionable overall credibility and competency.
A professional voicemail greeting should be no longer than 60 seconds. List the important information we've discussed above, provide alternative methods of communication and close with a thank you.
You can set up and manage your voicemail greetings in the Calling User Portal.
– Thanks for calling. This is (name). Today is a Friday and I am working from our corporate office. If you need to reach me immediately, please call (number). Otherwise, please leave me a message and I’ll return your call as soon as possible.
To allow callers to dial an extension without a menu prompt, check the Enable extension dialing without requiring a menu item check box. 7
Note: if you decide to delete a menu with another menu linked to it, the linked menu will still remain active during the specified hours.
After-hours and Weekend Greetings . If your business closes after a certain time or on the weekends, and there is nobody to answer or assist your callers, create an after-hours automated attendant greeting. Tell your callers up front that the business is …
Your voicemail needs to have relevant information such as your name, who the prospects are connecting to, the department you work in, why your not available to assist your prospects, when you will call them and related information, this is what the prospects would prefer hearing instead of dragging the voicemail messages speaking about your brand and more.
Voicemail is predominant when no one can answer the phone. Nonetheless, a devoted receptionist can lower the need for this option and aid folks reach a live person. Hold in mind live chat as smartly in case your prospects resolve to prevail in out on-line.
23. Hello, thank you for calling [business name]. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message, and a member of our team will return your call within 24 hours.
The above eight rules of engagement for voicemail greetings may sound easy enough, but they’ll require some practice to get just right. Let’s look at some examples to provide some context in how to apply the rules to various types of greetings and situations.
For many businesses and professionals, your voicemail greeting is going to be the first point-of-contact for your customers. This is especially true for service businesses, who often rely on their voicemail to collect information from interested parties.
What do you think of your voicemail greeting? Does it sound professional, or is it outdated? Even worse, is it a computerized voice with a default message? (Ew.)
– Hello. You have reached Tim’s office. I cannot answer the phone right now but I will return your call as soon as possible. Please leave a message if it is urgent or you can call my secretary on the extension (number). If this call is regarding a query, you can logon on to our website (website’s name) and leave a message.
People have short attention spans these days, and you should always craft your communications for the lowest common denominator with something as universal as your voicemail.