>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.
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A word of warning: These greetings will not do you any favors if you’re in the midst of a job hunt or work in a conservative industry. Always remember your target personas. If there’s a chance they won’t appreciate your sense of humor, opt for a straightforward greeting instead. “This is Bond. James Bond. Okay, it’s really [your last name]. [Your first name] [your last name]. I’ll get back to you as soon as I’m done helping M16 save the world — which will probably be tomorrow at the latest. Have a good day.” “Hmm. Gryffindor … No, Ravenclaw. Yes, you definitely belong in Ravenclaw. *Pause.* Okay, you haven’t reached the Sorting Hat — it’s the voicemail of [your name]. Please leave your name and number (and just for fun, the Harry Potter house you think you belong in) and I’ll return your call as soon as possible.” “Hello! You’ve gotten the voicemail of [your name]. Leave your name, contact info, and the answer to the eternal question ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ Anyone who gets it right will receive a call back.”
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Your business voicemail service may come with the capability to forward new messages to your email address.
Some answering machines allow you to customize the length permitted for individual messages. This is convenient because you can shorten the time for each message if you know you’ll be gone for a very long time.
By this, it means promptly addressing those return calls. If you don’t, then those calls merely stay stale or stagnant. Remember that until you’ve addressed your customer’s return calls, those aren’t conversions yet. You have to be more proactive with your processes for you to consider those clients as successfully converted ones.
You can ask your admin to change the greeting language for everyone in your organization. Your admin should see this topic for instructions: Change the default language for greetings and emails.
This is frustrating on many levels because it leaves you wondering if there is a need to take a different route to get an answer to a problem or to just wait for the return phone call. When leaving a voicemail message, there are 7 pieces of information that can help the caller. 7 Things to Include in a Voice-mail Message 1. Identify the Voice
Professional — Lets them know who they’ve reached, why their call has not been answered and when they can expect a return call.Personable — Lets them know their message has been received by a real person who values their call and will reach back out to them. Including humor and a personal touch is extremely important here (even if your industry prefers to be more “robotic” in their communications). What is the most professional voicemail message?
One significant way in which a business voicemail service differs from personal voicemail is in its replication across the organization.
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.
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.
Visual Voicemail is supported by most modern iPhones. However, the carriers themselves also have to support Visual Voicemail. Most major carriers do, but you’ll want to check with your carrier specifically to see if the feature is supported.
It's easy to get carried away in a voicemail and include more detail than is necessary. We've all been in that situation where the automated or pre-recorded voice on the end of the line goes on and on with more information than you can take in.
With more and more calls going to voice mail, why not present the most professional and polished welcome possible to encourage detailed and informative messages that will improve the efficiency of responses.
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