For many businesses and professionals, your voicemail greeting is going to be the first point-of-contact for your customers. This is especially true for service businesses, who often rely on their voicemail to collect information from interested parties.
Avoiding extraneous detail in your voicemail greeting is essential for saving your caller from unnecessary information. It shows callers that you value their time and keeps your professional priorities in check. Consider the following examples: Hi, how are you today? Thank you for calling. You have reached the voicemail box of Steven Haven. I am unavailable to answer the phone right now. From May 20th - 31st, I will be in Disney World with my family. Please leave your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can, when I return June 1st. Should you need to reach someone in the meantime, please dial client services at 1.800.801.3381 option 2. Thank you and have a great day. Hi, this is Steven Haven. I'm currently away from the office until June 1st. Please leave your name and number and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.
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“Good morning. You’ve reached the voicemail of [your name]. Today is [date]. Please leave me a message with your name and contact information. Oh, and here’s my motivational quote of the day: [read quote].”
A voicemail and voicemail greeting are two different things. A voicemail serves to leave a message and contact information to an individual or business. A voicemail greeting serves to welcome those who call while you are out, encouraging them to leave a message and contact information. A well-crafted voicemail greeting also serves as a tool where one can leave a good first impression.
Keep callers on the phone with messages on hold. Make announcements while they’re waiting or being transferred.
Be unique in your voicemail greetings, add a human touch when creating the message.
Similar to your phone greeting, your voicemail greeting should state your private practice name and instructions on what information to leave on the message (such as name, number, and the best time to call back). Include instructions on what callers should do in case of emergency.
A friend of mine does, "I very rarely check my messages, so if you can, please send a text or email me at [...]" -- I think that's pretty successful for her, including having got texts from NHS people.
33. Hello, you’ve reached [X company]. We’re currently closed to celebrate [X holiday], but we’ll be back on [X date]. Please leave your name, number, and a brief message so our team can get back to you when we return.
Typically, a good business voicemail greeting should comprise the following elements: A warm greeting. Your name, the name of your company and department name. Make an apology for being unable to take the call. Ask the caller to leave a message. Let the caller know when to expect a return call.
Recording voicemail greetings for your business or personal life requires a separate list of priorities, because they are being used for two distinct purposes and will be heard by two very different types of callers. I have a friend with two cell phones - one for work, and one for personal calls - and if you call both lines, you would never know it's the same person.
This is a great resource to learn how to set up my own voicemail. Thank you very much, Annemarie.
I am currently away from the office and will return on
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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.
People have short attention spans these days, and you should always craft your communications for the lowest common denominator with something as universal as your voicemail.
I often judge organizations based on the ease of getting through the layers of electronic screenings to get my questions answered or speak to a live person.