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Some of us may still remember a time when voicemail was a blank canvas for pranksters and humorists. They would use voicemail greetings as a place to begin recordings as if they were answering the phone (“Hello? I can’t hear you… Just kidding! Leave a message…”) or to flash some personality with music or themed messages. Unless your business is a costume rental facility or joke and magic trick shop, it’s best to avoid this strategy. Instead, try to remember a few key points to focus on-
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For example, a message like, “Hi, this is Jim. You know what to do.” Well, not everyone is going to know what to do—i.e. they won’t leave you inclusive information. Additionally, they may not leave you a message at all. Aside from this, humor can again be detrimental to your message, this time lending itself to ambiguity and costing you clarity. For example, if a message read, “Hi this is Jim, sorry I can’t answer your call right now. Please leave your name and number and I’ll call you as soon as I can, but you already knew that right? Do I need to tell you what to do?” This is worse than the previous example as this is confusing and can also come across as rude and unprofessional. Complicating a greeting with phrasing like this is sure to cause some harm. e. Ignoring Personality & Identity: Don’t use computer generated greetings. Some users leave default messages (‘you’ve reached the voicemail box of 777-777-777, please leave a message). Believe it or not, even this can cause problems. Callers may be unsure if the voicemail box belongs to you; therefore, they don’t leave a message. Also, some may even be uncomfortable leaving information through a message in a nameless voice message box. As such, impersonalization can cause ambiguity, which again can hurt the effectiveness of your voice message system. This doesn’t mean you have to make an elaborate greeting if you don’t want to, just insert your voice and name so at least callers know they’re calling the right person.
Businesses should have two main types of greetings to create an excellent call experience. The first one is what we call a “welcome greeting” – this greeting welcomes callers to your business. Typically, a welcome greeting will present a menu of call options like hours, location, or customer service. For more details on how to create a welcome greeting for your general business number, read this article.
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Because for many callers, this will be the first point of contact for your business, it’s important to set it up correctly — but how?
Instead of you making your clients and customers sit through an Interactive Voice Response (IVR menu) so they may be directed to the person they would like to talk to, try to make fewer hurdles and steps for your customers.
Hello, you have reached the reception of Dr. X please leave your name, reason for calling, and your number so I can call you back as soon as I can. If you are experiencing a medical emergency please hang up and dial 911.
What’s more annoying than being unprepared? Doing business with someone who is. In other words, don’t wing it — practice your script, speaking slowly and annunciating each word.
A voicemail greeting can be pivotal in attracting a potential customer to your company or repelling him! So, it may be worthwhile to utilize some tried and tested tips to frame voicemail greetings for your company. The first line must include a brief description of your company and the services it offers clearly. Tell the callers the time frame within which they will get a call from your end. Ensure the voice used in recording the greeting is cheerful and not drab one. Ensure the greeting is recorded not in a hurried manner so that the callers can understand each word without issues. Try keeping the voicemail message length to 20 seconds or so.
Out of town? Your callers should know. Let them know with the following vacation voicemail greetings.
SMALL BUSINESS VOICEMAIL IS A STANDARD FEATURE WITH A PBX PHONE SYSTEM. AccessDirect is a voicemail service provider committed to providing advanced and affordable phone features for small and medium businesses at a reasonable rate. The voicemail service comes standard as …
Website: https://www.att.com/ecms/dam/att/business/help/pdf/UG_ATT_Phone_for_Business_121217.pdf
Step 2: Verify Your Cell Phone Number. Step 3: Choose a Local or Toll-Free Work Phone Number. Step 4: Choose the Solopreneur or Team Subscription Plan. Step 5: Add Team Members & Additional Business Phone Lines. Step 6: Set Business Hours and Customize Greetings & Voicemail.
e. Never Assume Anything: Phrases like “You Know What To Do,” “Sing Your Song at the Beep,” and others mentioned above are awful to leave in your greeting. For the sake of universality and comprehensiveness, NEVER assume the caller knows what to do. Lay it out clearly. f. Leave a Message: This phrase, by itself, will not do. It’s imperative for users to identify themselves in their greetings. Callers need to know they’ve reached the right person. g. Disregard Lethargy: If you’re not excited about your greeting, why would anyone else be? Never display a lack of enthusiasm in your greeting as it could turn callers off to both you and your business. h. Speak Clearly and Never Slur: Callers need to understand your every word; therefore, mumbling, slurring, and all other detractions of speech should never be recorded. d. Be Creative Without Sacrificing Quality: Callers know how voicemails work–i.e. leave a number, message, etc. While you want to be clear, it’s important not to be contrive or redundant with your message. Creativity can help users to differentiate themselves, as well as intrigue callers. While users should avoid the tropes of creativity listed above, it’s definitely good to think outside the box. That being said, scripting and practice can help users to experiment more with their greeting–ultimately allowing for more unique and creative approach. e. Speak With Diction: It’s important to present one’s self as an authority without alienating callers. As such, it’s crucial to articulate and speak with clear diction. “ if your voice recording has you stumbling over words and speaking haltingly, it does not convey confidence and competence,” states Ron Sellers of Grey Matter Research & Consulting. Remember, this greeting represents you; therefore, you want to appear collected and professional, as well as welcoming. To do this, one must carry themselves well through their recorded message. f. Account for Timeliness: Your message should be concise. No caller wants to be sitting through a rant/diatribe of redundant statements. Your greeting should flow without dragging. Inversely, one doesn’t want to be terse, either. Engage callers with a simplified approach laden with creativity. h. Account for Quality: Aside from speaking clearly, users want to eliminate any noise in the surrounding environment. The quality of the greeting is just as important as what’s being said in the greeting itself. As such, one doesn’t want to undermine a great message with poor quality. i. Courtesy, Tastefulness, & Tact: This is pretty self-explanatory and straight forward–NEVER be rude. Being light-hearted and humorous is very different from being obnoxious and/or abrasive. Again, these tools can be helpful if utilized properly, but not everyone perceives humor the same way. So play it safe. The last thing your voicemail greeting should do is offend a caller. k. Provide Options: if you’re part of a bigger company, it might be good to offer caller options. For example, allow a menu to defer callers to a colleague or co-worker in your absence. This can help show callers you care about their well being. Another option might be offering different modes of communication–i.e. email, fax, etc. In offering users diversity, contact may be much easier to maintain.
Website: https://www.att.com/support/smallbusiness/article/smb-local-long-distance/KM1200757
Monster VoIP offers various services and much more! If you need assistance in enhancing your company’s unified communications, contact Monster VoIP today to find out how we can help. Monster VoIP provides the best business phones for small businesses, which ensures effective communication throughout the organization with the best business phones for small businesses.