How to Build a Professional Voicemail Greeting
You’re doing a million things at once when you’re at work. You’re answering questions from customers, assisting co-workers with any issues they may be having, checking the inventory of your items to make sure you’re able to keep your shelves stocked, keeping an eye on problem areas that are frequent issues in your store, etc. You’re so busy and your hands are so tied that when you hear your company phone going off, you know you’re too preoccupied to answer the call and are forced to let it go to voicemail. Although it’s unfortunate that you’re missing a call, you know that you must give your full attention to the matters at hand.
That said, have you taken the time to analyze your voicemail greeting to ensure that it accurately conveys the tone of your brand to whoever may be calling? When people call a business’s number, they expect to speak with an actual person that can act as a representative for the store and is able to answer any and all questions the customer may have. So when the call is missed, the caller is already a bit agitated that they’re not going to be able to receive the information they’re looking for.
One way to ease and even rid of this dissatisfaction altogether is by building a professional voicemail greeting for your business that automatically apologizes for the inconvenience on your behalf, then helps them get whatever it is that they’re looking for. Building a proper professional voicemail greeting is no easy feat though, your voicemail machine only allows for a certain amount of time for you to convey your information and hit all the points that you need to hit. To give you some assistance in building an effective professional voicemail, read on to get some tips & tricks as well as a straightforward guide on creating a great professional voicemail greeting.
But before we get into that, do you find yourself missing phone calls from customers way too often? It’s understandable to have it happen every now & then, but if it’s an everyday thing, you risk customers not wanting to contact you altogether. This is most likely a result of not having enough staff on hand and not scheduling them at the right time. One way around this is by using an employee scheduling platform like Deputy, which makes it easy for you to create schedules as well as send out bulk messages to employees if you ever catch yourself in a busy rush and need some assistance. To give you a firsthand impression of what Deputy is capable of, click on the button below to start your free trial.
Benefits of using a professional voicemail
Some business owners and managers may not be totally sold on the idea of taking the time to build a solid professional voicemail greeting and may still think that it’s not all that important. If you’re still stuck on the topic, take a look at some of the benefits below that can help fill you in on the benefits that a proper professional voicemail can bring.
- You’re never really closed
You’ve probably been in a situation where you had to call your doctor’s office, car shop, insurance company, etc. outside of normal business hours in order to get important information that you were looking for. Although the shop was closed and you weren’t able to speak with an actual person, the business had an in-depth voicemail system that was able to guide you to whichever information you were looking to receive. Say if you were desperate to find out your member id from your health insurance provider, you’d still be able to receive that information from an automated voicemail machine from your health insurance provider that is able to accurately guide you through the options and lead you to the information that you’re looking for. This is why a professional voicemail greeting is so effective, if your business is constantly receiving calls asking for updates and other standard information that is typically asked about, you can set up your greetings so that customers are able to find answers to commonly asked questions.
Another great example is if you own a store that sells shoes or some other fashion items, if there are a high-demand pair of shoes that are set to be released soon and your shop is one of the only businesses that will be stocking them, then it would be a good idea to update your voicemail to inform customers on what they can do to purchase the shoe, alert them when you run out of stock, etc.
- Save money by not having to pay for administrative support
If your funds are stretched pretty thin, you’ll most likely not be able to afford a full-time receptionist. This is especially true if you’re a retail business where it’s typically unusual to have a full-time receptionist on hand. With a professional voicemail greeting, you can enjoy the benefits of a receptionist without having to pay for one. Saving you a ton of money down the line.
- Keeping track of your conversations
Is there a common issue or topic that your customers regularly call about? If you’re being overwhelmed with questions or complaints around a single topic, then that should serve as evidence that you need to work on the areas where those complaints are coming in as well as providing an easier way for customers to receive answers for commonly asked questions. With a proper voicemail system, you’ll be able to go back through your messages to see which topics are frequently brought up so that you know which areas of your business need the most improvement. Not only that, but if there were any misunderstandings that were to occur between your business and a customer because of a phone call, you’d be able to go back and revisit the call to get to the bottom of the issue.
- Never being put on hold
No one appreciates being put on hold, this is especially true for the customers of your business. It is infuriating and the person on hold is likely to just hang up and take their business elsewhere. With a professional voicemail for your business, never worry about placing a customer on voicemail again. Not only that, but you can instill a virtual directory that enables the caller to directly reach the person that they’re trying to speak with.
- Your staff is better prepared
If you train your staff to let every call go straight to voicemail, then that gives your employees the opportunity to take their time with each call and to come up with the best possible response for the caller and to have any critical information or details on hand. This strategy is commonly seen in doctors offices where the voicemail is built to direct callers to the areas that they are specifically searching for.
Building your Professional voicemail greeting
Now that you’re aware of the benefits that come with having a professional voicemail greeting for your business, let’s get into the technical aspects of putting one together along with the tips & tricks that can help you along the way.
- Include your store’s name, your store’s address, as well as how to reach different departments
When people call, you’re going to want to assure them that they have reached the correct business as well as the correct location of the business. This may seem like a no-brainer but you’d be surprised by how many store’s voicemails are nothing more than a simple, “No one is available to answer your call goodbye.” Along with that, you want to make it easy to reach the different departments if you’re running a bigger store that has sections like customer service, deli, bakery, electronics, etc.
- Assure callers that you will return their call
The best part about receiving customer complaints or concerns through a phone call is that they aren’t Yelp reviews that are seen by anyone that Googles your store. That’s why you need to assure all callers that you will absolutely respond to their messages. To make it easier on the customer and yourself, make sure to give them the option of leaving their email instead if that’s their preferred method of communication. When you return your customer’s calls, it goes a long way in making them feel like a respected customer. It will also go a long way in lowering their frustrations that may have stemmed from a faulty product, unsatisfactory customer service experience, etc. So make sure that you’re doing everything you can to respond to each and every voicemail, as well as implementing strict procedures within your staff for how they should respond to phone calls.
These procedures should include responding in a timely manner, providing top-notch customer service to properly represent the brand, as well as having any relevant information at the ready so they’re able to assistant callers as efficiently as possible.
- Make the voicemail’s tone match your brand
If you’re a major hospital, your professional voicemail greeting will sound much different compared to a hardware store. If you’re a mom & pop burger shop, your greeting will sound different compared to a large department store. The point is you shouldn’t be hesitant to mold your voicemail to better match the tone of the business you’re running. Not only is it great for solidifying your brand, your customers will appreciate the authenticity as well as the consistency of your message. Though, no matter which tone you end up going with, rest assured your customers will be expecting good customer service regardless.
- Update your message if any major changes occur with your store
Whether there is a major snowstorm that forces your business to close early or it’s the holiday season and you’re so busy that you have to inform callers that it’ll take a bit longer to return their calls. Remember to constantly update your voicemail with any relevant news regarding your store. This involves any reasons for early closings, being closed on days you’d normally be open, and any new product offerings that customers may be calling about. Your customers will appreciate it and it’ll make it easier on yourself.
Tips to ensure your recording goes well
With you now being fully aware of what it takes to build a great professional voicemail greeting, it’s time that you understand some basic tips for making sure your recording goes well and that you aren’t spending all day having to re-do your recordings.
- Make sure that you’re in a quiet environment with no distractions
This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised by the number of store’s that have voicemail greetings with a bunch of distracting noises in the background that make it difficult to listen to what they’re trying to say. This is extremely unprofessional and will reflect poorly on your store. That’s why you need to schedule your recording for when your store is nice and quiet, or do your recording in a quiet area where there won’t be any distractions.
- Speak slow and coherently
While you’re making your recording, it’s understandable to be a bit nervous and anxious about how you sound, but that is no excuse for putting together a voicemail greeting that your callers are unable to understand. During your recording, remember to speak slowly and to enunciate every word so you don’t end up with a bunch of messages bad-mouthing how ineffective your voicemail greeting is.
Conclusion
Whenever you’re in a situation where you’re unable to answer a customer’s phone call, your professional voicemail greeting is going to function as the voice of your brand for that customer. So the time you put into assuring that it sounds and feels professional is time that’s well spent.
Another example of time that’s well spent is starting your free trial of Deputy so you can get a first-hand experience of how effective it is at optimizing how you build your employee schedules. Click the button below to get started.
