Customer experience is today’s business battleground. At a time where it’s common for even the most established businesses to deliver poor service, incompetent support, and just outright bad communication, how do you stand out? As big companies fail in the customer experience department, doors open for small business owners and entrepreneurs to distinguish themselves.
A clear, professional voicemail greeting is essential for job seekers and professionals living in English speaking countries. Job recruiters, managers and colleagues will all expect a good, clear, professional voicemail greeting when they call you.
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If someone is listening to your voicemail greeting it's only because they intend to leave you a message. Don't make them listen to 3 minutes of rambling in order to do so. Plus, you're more likely to deliver a clean, professional read if you stick to shorter greetings. If more specific information is needed, direct callers to where they can find it on your website.
Calmly and steadily record your voicemail. Don’t rush it to the point where the customer can’t decipher everything you’ve requested on the message. To ease the process, write your voicemail down with pause points. This will ensure you annunciate everything clearly and can assist in managing your speed.
The pet care service providers get calls from pet owners at odd hours or when they are busy attending to their chores. So, resorting to voicemail services is necessary for such businesses. Below is an excerpt from a voicemail for a pet service entity:
Generally, these greetings should be brief for an individual. State your name and a query for the caller's information. You can also include a backup number for people to reach you if you like. For an organization, it's a good idea to announce your standard office hours. Dial *98 on your OnSIP-registered phone. Enter your voicemail box number. Enter the PIN/password for your voicemail box. Press 0 for voicemail box options. Press 1 for unavailable greeting.
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.
While a short recording may not seem like a place to win new business, the professionalism, courtesy, and clearness that you convey in your greeting will leave a favorable impression in a customer's mind. For more tips and scripts on professional phone and voicemail greetings, here are some additional blogs:
Good voicemail greetings should include your name and/or company, your reason for missing the call or an apology, and instructions for leaving a message. How to Turn Your Customer Complaints into Business Benefits 50% of Business Owners Over 50 Back Trump's National Emergency Declaration How Zoho Bookings Helps Your Business Grow Square Seller Fees Stay Consistent as PayPal, Venmo Raise Rates Sponsored by Square Use Emojis in your Business Communications? Than Check Out These! How Can Your Alma Mater Help Your Small Business? Annie Pilon is a Senior Staff Writer for Small Business Trends, covering entrepreneur profiles, interviews, feature stories, community news and in-depth, expert-based guides. When she’s not writing she can be found on her personal blog Wattlebird, and exploring all that her home state of Michigan has to offer. Small Business Trends is an award-winning online publication for small business owners, entrepreneurs and the people who interact with them. Our mission is to bring you "Small business success, delivered daily."
You should script out your greetings, rehearse, and find a tone of voice that is reflective of your professionalism and your company’s personality. If applicable, your tone and your message should take into account that certain industries and companies are more conservative than others.
Please note that if you record an unavailable greeting, it will be used instead of the default message with your name recording.
18. "Hi, you've reached [your name]. I'm away from [date] to [date]. If you need help with [X] before then, please contact [name] at [phone number]. Everyone else, please leave your name and number and I'll return your call when I return. Thanks and have a great day."
Website: https://www.osibeyond.com/resources/reset-voicemail-pin-exos-users-skype-business/
The simple truth is that you need to be more aware of what you’re leaving for other people to hear. Sure, this doesn’t always register as a priority for users, but it’s never too late to reassess your greeting. a. Reading/Speaking in the Imperfect Tone: Tone is absolutely everything. Users don’t want to come off as being too nice, as it sounds insincere, or being too terse, as it can be interpreted as being rude. That being said, striking the right balance is absolutely essential. Your greeting exists as its own entity, and therefore, it should NOT rely on callers’ familiarity with you. Instead, it needs to appeal to the masses. As such, your inflection, i.e. the way you state your name and directions, needs to be both welcoming and firm. b. Injecting Humor & Insincerity: While humor/light heartedness can be welcoming, it can also convey a sense of informality, insincerity, and ultimately unprofessionalism. Why, because you’re not there to lend your humor or to contextualize. Instead, you’re assuming the caller has a working knowledge of your personality to ground the message. Though this might not sound like it’s all that terrible—it can be detrimental. As stated above, one should NEVER rely on a caller’s familiarity with you. Instead, aim to appeal to the masses. Humor is ultimately subjective, meaning not everyone has the same tastes; therefore, someone is bound to be turned off by a quirky or off-color remark. While implementing a light-hearted or even tongue and cheek tone can work, it’s just a really bad idea.
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The phone you use to record your greeting – and your surrounding – can turn your carefully scripted greeting into an unprofessional mess. Background noise is terribly distracting, so choose a quiet room or parked car to make your call. Landlines, or a “wi-fi enabled” cellphone call, can provide much better connection quality than a standard cellphone. If you must use a cell phone, be sure to use a high-quality headset for the best clarity.
Do not be in a hurry while recording your voicemail. When recording your voicemail, it is important to speak slowly and clearly. It is also should be evident when you left the voicemail. Your voicemail should not appear to be a single gigantic word to the callers. Speak your words clearly and pause at the points you need to pause.