When someone reaches your voicemail, it’s important that you help them confirm that they have reached the right person by providing all of the relevant information that they will need. Who have they reached? Did they contact the right person and the right business? Should they leave a message? When will you get back to them? Is there a better time for them to call?
When you have new voicemail, the Phone tab in the Skype for Business main window displays the number of your messages. See Contact Card opens the caller's contact card, which lists their phone number, email address, office location, and so on. Open Item in Outlook provides more information about the call.
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Keep it simple, concise and to the point. Callers won’t need your life story, and won’t want to wait around for a 2-minute greeting to end just so they can leave a message. Don’t hide the details, tell them where you will be, when you will be there, or when you won’t be there, and how to get in touch.
You can easily index, store or forward your voicemail for further action. Just like your email.
Sound upbeat in your message. When recording, be sure to say your message with a smile on your face. It’s obvious when people aren’t happy in their message. Since your work revolves around keeping happy customers, do your part by keeping a happy-sounding voicemail message.
Funny Voicemail Greetings. Composing these types of greetings are fun, but they aren’t applicable for some situations. You may make a funny voicemail greeting for your own personal voicemail box. However, it’s not appropriate for professional or business phones. Here are some humorous examples for you: You have reached [mention your name].
Here’s the final step of the company greeting: give your callers the next steps. If they need to do something specific to get what they need, mention it now. Let them know if they’ll need to make a selection from a menu, or have their account number or member ID ready. You’ve got their attention at the beginning of the call, whether they’re dealing with an automated recording or an actual person, so let them know what information you’ll need right off the bat– it will save everyone time in the process.
On the other hand, a stellar professional voicemail is more than just a way to ensure callers are heard. It’s actually a gateway to encourage recruiters, clients, connections, venders, and other callers to continue forward with the first step in developing a business relationship, which is them making contact. The power of the right voicemail greeting is the caller actually staying on the line to leave that contact information or gain access to an alternative contact point.
When your business is closed for vacation or holidays, it’s imperative that you set appropriate expectations for a callback and to provide an alternative coverage option, if available. The following greeting accomplishes this succinctly.
In 2016, Matt Rayner of Liquid11 wrote that the 10,000 or so companies Liquid11 serves missed an average of around 22 percent of inbound calls. This data included businesses of all sizes, including enterprise-level organizations.
6. Keep Your Recording Up to Date. If your business is closing on one of its normal operating days for a holiday, or is dealing with an emergency or unforseen situation, you should update your after hours announcement to avoid confusion.
Voicemails need to maintain a professional consistency that’s aligned with the entity it’s representing. That said, the structure can vary depending on the situation. There’s no template set in stone. In fact, trite and generic should be off the table. The goal should be a balance of uniqueness and practicality.
Before you record your business voicemail greeting, be sure to rehearse it so you feel comfortable and don’t stumble around. You might want to write a script and practice a few times out loud beforehand.
“I’m answering this phone for my friend who tells me it’s your nature to hang up and not leave a message, but I should remind you that nature is what we are put on this earth to rise above. So please, leave a message at the sound of the beep… for the sake of anthropology.”
While straightforward is always the safe bet, certain entities can go to the humorous side of voicemail greetings. Before taking this route, consider the type of callers and the persona the recipient is trying to convey. Since (insert name) isn’t available at the moment to take your call, but will promptly return it should you decide to accept your mission and leave your name and number, we have a very important question to occupy you in the meantime. Why did the chicken cross the road? Voicemail Greetings For Vacation
In 2020, ZipWhip surveyed 1,000 consumers and 1,600 businesses to learn about how they’re interacting on mobile devices. 32 percent of the consumers surveyed claimed they had texted a business and never received a reply. People remember those interactions. And they don’t care what your excuse is. If you ignored them or weren’t able to serve them through their preferred channel, they’re going to find a competitor who gives them what they want.
Friendly Voicemail Greeting Example. Hello, this is [your name] at [X company]. I am currently unavailable. My office hours are Monday through Friday, from 9 am to 5 pm. Please leave me a message with your name and phone number and I’ll get back to you within [one, two, three] business day [s]. Have a wonderful day.