We all have called company hotlines just to be put on hold; endlessly, it seems at times.
It might seem like phones, voicemails, and on-hold messages are obsolete in the era of mobile phones and faster communication options.
After all, isn’t everything on the internet now? How relevant are business voicemail greetings when one can just Google for any information they require.
Voicemails are still, in fact, pivotal for businesses, big or small.
A study finds that up to 60% of customers call local brands they find on Google. Meaning, phone greetings still hold immense significance.
Professional greetings represent your brand when your staff is away or busy and are often the first point of contact between new or potential customers and your company.
Companies need to realize that every time a customer calls is an opportunity for you to plug in an advertisement of your brand, even if no one attends the call.
Callers expect to be put on hold for a minimum of 5 minutes each time they call a company hotline.
That’s a marketing opportunity you can’t afford to miss for your brand.
Professional voicemail greetings are how you turn up your start the conversation and convert potential clients reaching out to get some information into brand-loyal patrons.
Greeting existing clients with relevant, well-recorded greetings that serve the purpose of their call is also a great way to service your customers while you’re away from the phone and retain clients.
After all, what did you do the last time you were called to find out the opening timing of a local business and were met with the dreaded ‘phone engaged’ beeps instead of a voicemail that provided some info?
That can be a major turn-off for your brand for all customers, potential or current.
Did you wait and call again, or, most likely, take your business to a brand that caters to its customers?
That’s the difference business voicemail greetings can make in your client retention and conversion rates.
As for the one of three callers that hang up before getting through to a company representative, make sure your business voicemail greeting contains enough information to make their call worthwhile.
There are many steps to designing professional voicemail greetings that deliver what your customers expect from your brand when they call.
Consider that nine out of ten customers experience frustration while attempting to contact a business.
Read on to gain valuable decision-making insight before recording business voicemail greetings for your brand.
Before you can record constructive professional voicemail greetings for your company, you need to map out a script.
Spending the time to get to know your customer and what information they are looking for when they call your brand is an investment that will pay off in the long run.
The first step of drafting a voicemail script is to list the top reasons your customers call and what information you want to provide in your greeting.
That list needs to be compiled into organized categories based on need and urgency.
Depending on the nature of your business, specific information might even be required by law, such as emergency services or poison control contact numbers.
Then comes the part of offering relevant menu options to callers. It’s best to strike the right balance here and not go overboard with too many options that can seem confusing and lengthy to callers.
Using the right tone and music, keeping callers updated, and tailoring each voicemail to your business are great tips to keep in mind while writing your script.
Click here for an in-depth look into some common mistakes to avoid in your professional voicemail greetings. These tips will save you lots of time and resources while recording greetings professionally.
Once the script is in hand, the process of finding voice talent to record your voice over scripts starts.
There are many applications for voice over scripts such as video content, announcements, and instructions or to fill up on-hold waiting time.
You also need voice over scripts to answer frequently asked questions on your hotline and website and to communicate menu options to callers.
After the Covid-19 pandemic, customers are showing a clear preference for human voice overs instead of mechanical or artificial-sounding voices.
The voice that speaks to your customers on your behalf needs to be in sync with your brand image and vision as a company.
Well-recorded voice over scripts are a great way to resonate with your audience and form emotional connections by putting a human voice to your brand.
Using a professional to record your voice over scripts ensures your message is heard clearly and recorded on high-quality equipment, saving you money and time in the long run.
Demand for voice talent is growing as companies realize the potential of professionally recorded voice over scripts for their business.
Take a look at these 5 benefits of using a professional voice over to learn how you can leverage them in favor of your company.
Your choice of male versus female voice talent can impact how callers take in your business voicemail greetings and how your professional voicemail script ends up sounding.
Gender, age, and ethnicity can all make a difference in how clients will perceive your business voicemail greeting.
Video marketing is also on the rise, and rightly so.
According to some statistics, video marketing can boost your revenue by 80% in addition to increasing brand awareness.
But spending on video marketing alone might not magnetize these profits unless the voice talent you choose helps drive home your brand message. Thus, further instigating the importance of choosing the right audio representative for your company.
That’s where Amazing Voice can help you make better, more informed decisions for your brand, from professional voicemail script to choosing the right professionals for your business voicemail greeting.
Consider that voice assistance is predicted to become a $3.42 billion industry this year. Hence the voice you choose will need to stand out among other noises to connect with your listener.
How do you do that? By researching which gender’s voice is better suited for your brand.
The choice of voice talent will also depend on your business's genre and the kind of brand messaging you wish to portray.
From calming female voices that have shown to be better perceived in times of high tensions to authoritative and more even-toned male voices, each has its unique pros and cons.
The core goal is to form a personal connection and to make your voice over scripts seem more human.
The voice talent that accomplishes that will vary from brand to brand depending on several factors.
This link will help you choose between male and female for your voice over greetings. As well as compare the pros and cons of choosing either one for your voiceovers.
Another notable element of your professional voicemail script is the selection of background or in-between music played in your professional voicemail greetings.
Try as you might to cut down on wait time, there will be instances where your caller will need to be entertained while waiting to be transferred to a relevant department or person.
In such cases, silence or phone static won’t do anything to elevate your caller’s experience. It also increases the chances of them becoming the 90% of callers who disconnect the call when faced with silence.
As if that’s not bad enough, the same survey finds that a third of these callers won’t ring up the business again after being met with silence.
80% of customers rate the experience a business provides as important a factor as the goods and services offered by businesses. On-hold music is a small way to improve that experience.
Those are a lot of calls and business you can’t afford to miss out on simply because of the absence of on-hold or background music.
Be it voiceovers or business voicemail greetings, music sets the mood and tone of your message and can be used to add an aspect of humor, inspiration, or somberity.
Aside from bettering customer retention, research finds that the well-appointed on-hold music can help change the caller’s assessment of time and make the wait time appear shorter.
If nothing else, music lets callers on hold know that their call is still connected.
The correct selection of music can help depict messages without the need for words and hence must be selected with as much deliberation as your professional voicemail script.
Honing your music selection skills can take some trial and error.
Head over here for great tips on picking the best on-hold music for your business voicemail greetings that’ll save you from re-inventing the wheel.
When it comes to professional voicemail greetings, the line between sounding formal and monotonous is a fine one.
Business voicemail greetings need to strike a balance between sounding authoritative and courteous while still sounding friendly enough to connect with the caller on a personal level, with a dash of humor thrown in there for good measure.
These factors can make crafting greetings and voice over scripts seem daunting because of their important role in your overall customer service plan.
Here are some sample greetings for you to try on for size; they can help point you in the right direction and act as templates to base your customized professional greetings:
Remember to not remain stagnant with just one professional voicemail script. Change things up around the holiday season, or let local events inspire you to add humor to your greetings.
That’s a great way to further connect with the local client base and become part of the community you aim to serve.
You have reached [company name here]. We appreciate you reaching out to us! We are open from 8 am till 7 pm every weekday.
Hi! This is [employee name] at [company name] cooperation’s. I’m away at the moment and will ring you back as soon as I can. Please leave your name, message, and number at the beep.
You’ve reached [company name] bakeries! To book a customized cake for your special occasion, press 1. To get more information about our baked goodies, press 2. If you want to visit our shop, we serve oven-hot freshness and coffee daily from 6 am till 7 pm.
Hi! This is [company name] masonry. Seems like our representatives are all tied up at the moment. For customer feedback and queries, email us at [customer care email address]. Check out our latest masonry work and re-tiling designs on our website www. [Company name] masonry works.com
Not what you're looking for? Head over here for more free templates for professional voicemail greetings that can be adapted by most businesses.
The business landscape of today is one with fast-paced changes, constantly evolving to keep your brand relevant and make it stand out can prove to be a foundational element for the success of your business.
Voice overs can open new frontiers for your business and help expand it in dynamic ways. Professional voicemail greetings are how you deliver what’s needed to your customers and optimize the time you’re away.
Enhancing customer service and audio experiences for all your customers is easier, simpler, and more economical now with Amazing Voice.
One of the most overlooked areas for creating a professional image is your voice greeting message. Whether it’s a welcome message, after-hours announcement, or music on hold, these elements shape how customers perceive your business.
Whether it is strictly for entertainment, for the saving of many lives, or to promote education, voice overs for commercials continue to thrive and grow.
The first impression customers make of your business determines to a large extent if you would retain them. Calling a company only to be answered by a mediocre, cheap recording would leave customers distrusting your business's professionalism and competency.