This article is about the second main type of greeting – the voicemail greeting. All businesses should have professional voicemail greetings at the company level (i.e. your general business number), department level (e.g. customer service), and employee level, where applicable. It’s important that each of these voicemail greetings align with the brand and personality of your company to ensure that every caller has a consistent experience. Let’s dive in!
In this article, we’ll discuss why a voicemail greeting is important for your business and show you how to set one up with just a few simple steps.
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You can allow callers to press 0 and be transferred to another phone number, of your choosing, when they reach your voicemail greeting.
You can access listen to your voicemail messages from Microsoft Teams apps or phones, Skype for Business apps or phones, or Outlook apps.
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This type of service can be very beneficial as users are still able to craft their own messages, while a professional reads them. In doing so, companies can spend more time on the scripting process, making sure the text conveys everything they want it to. As such, companies may bring in expert teams to draft, revise, and/or finalize the script itself. The bottom line is you can take more time to get the words right. Additionally, in working with a professional voice talent, you are ensuring your words have the utmost impact—i.e. the words are read perfectly with the right tone, resonance, pacing, etc.
Your voicemail is important. Keep in mind, this is essentially one of the first impressions the hiring manager will have from you. You need to make sure your voicemail is as professional as possible. Whether you are trying to be funny, trying to show off your singing abilities or shouting in the car with the windows down, chances are the hiring manager won’t be impressed. Go into a quiet room and record a simple, “Hi, you’ve reached Kim Costa. I’m sorry I missed your call, but if you please leave your name, number and a brief message I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks!” You really can’t go wrong with this. Trust me when I say that hiring managers probably don’t want to hear your high school’s fight song.
While phones and other devices are getting better all the time, there are frequently problems with audio recorded on low-quality equipment. Static pops, grainy voice quality, and background noise interference are all common with audio recorded on non-professional equipment.
How to set up your voicemail PIN: After you are enabled for Skype for Business Phone Service, you will receive an email that includes a PIN for your voicemail. Refer to that email, then: Call the Outlook Voice Access number, 785-864-1900 or 4-1900. Enter your temporary voicemail PIN at the prompt.
Users often don’t invest enough time into their messages, resulting in incomplete, unprofessional, or otherwise under-whelming greetings. Sure, crafting a greeting doesn’t sound all that complicated; however, there are a number of pitfalls users can fall into—i.e. informality, terseness, sincerity, lack of direction, and more. While none of these sound too catastrophic, they are often interrelated. As such, they tend to worsen any problem. For example, humor can cause informality, worsen ambiguity, and weaken sincerity. That being said, users should strive to avoid ALL these pitfalls.
When recording a professional voicemail for your business, your validity is evaluated subconsciously by those who call you. Don’t make the mistake of overlooking this simple yet valuable component of your brand! Here are a few voicemail examples you can record using your phone system.
Thank you for calling [LinkedPhone]. Due to the current pandemic, our team members are working remotely and are available [Monday through Friday from 9am to 7pm Eastern Standard Time]. Please leave a message with your name, number, and how we can serve you. We will respond as promptly as possible. Thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time. Let’s get through this together. Stay safe and well.
Before you officially pick a greeting, why not practice on making your voice even and understandable? I know that my voice rises when I speak on the phone, and I tend to speak faster, so I practice in the mirror to slow down my voice and make sure that I am speaking as naturally as I can.
The above section details types of phrasing to avoid; however, it doesn’t detail what users should NOT say on their greeting. Though this is a bit loaded, as there are hundreds of combinations of things one shouldn’t say, there are some key components users should ALWAYS avoid. a. Forget About Slang: You should strive to be as professional and welcoming as possible in your greeting. While this may steer you towards using slang, in an attempt to make callers comfortable, it’ll most likely work against you. As a professional, your demeanor, tone, and speech should be clear cut and well articulated. Using slang undercuts this and works against you. b. Don’t Even Think About Profanity: This is a no-brainer. Never, under any circumstances, curse in your greeting EVER! c. Keep Your Sentences Clean, Don’t Ramble: Introduce yourself and give your caller specific direction. Avoid long diatribes detailing tangent thoughts. Keep it simple and quick. d. Always Return Your Calls: It’s important for callers to feel they are valued. Nothing dissolves this quicker than a greeting that doesn’t stress this. For example, “I’ll call you when I can,” “If I don’t return your call, please call back”—these phrases are terrible and completely destroy any good will you may have with a caller.
When your company needs a superior business voicemail system, give us a call. We can help! We’ve been delivering professional hosted PBX solutions since 1997 and as a result, we offer experience you can trust. Get started today by comparing our business phone plans or request a free demo!
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5. Emergency Situation Voicemail Greeting. In the case that your business is closed due to an emergency, it's only worth it to go into detail if the problem is affecting everyone in the area.