What Is Good Voicemail Greeting + 7 Ready-to-Use Examples
There’s an expression that appearance might be deceptive. It works the same with the voice. Voicemail greeting is the perfect example of that.
At first glance, this is the way of customer service associated with a speech synthesizer, automation, etc.
One may think that when a customer hears a voicemail greeting, it sounds more like R2-D2 than a human being. So, the caller doesn’t feel like talking to the machine and hangs up immediately.
Good news – that’s just a stereotype based on ancient history. Currently, voicemail greetings are much more humanlike.
So, concerning the whole context, it seems like technology gives robots a human face.
OK, but now seriously. Modern voicemail greetings are a perfect solution as you cannot always be on the phone. Don’t even fool yourself.
When your caller is unable to reach you at the given time, he might feel unappreciated. However, the voicemail can do wonders – it can even turn a missed call into a positive customer experience.
All you need to do is to care about its quality. The effects can be stunning.
I dare say, this is the only part of your customer service that should leave your caller confused. After listening to the first sounds, he should find it hard to differentiate whether he listens to a recorded message or actually speaks with you.
Of course, after a second he’ll find out that it’s a voicemail, but he is likely to have the unique feeling of confusion and satisfaction at the same time.
In this article, I’m going to guide you on how to achieve it. Let’s go with it!
Table of contents:
- What is a good voicemail greeting
- What to say in a good voicemail greeting
- Benefits of having a good voicemail greeting
- Ready-to-use voicemail greetings
- Best voicemail greeting provider
- The new era of voicemail greeting
What is a good voicemail greeting
We all know the general definition of a voicemail greeting, just a quick reminder.
Your customer calls your customer service and nobody can answer that phone at the time. So, he hears a voicemail greeting – a message recorded or generated by a speech synthesizer.
But, what is a good voicemail greeting? Here the issue becomes more complex.
You should include each necessary piece of information. It’s because your customer needs to know why he can’t speak to the agent at a particular moment.
This way of communication shows your competence, engagement, and reliability. These are the foundations of a right customer relationship.
Imagine the situation when your caller listens to some gibberish. Don’t fool ourselves – the chances that he will like it aren’t too high.
It’s more probable that he’ll hang up, consider your business ridiculous and never come back. This kind of customer experience can cast a shadow on your whole reputation.
As you can see, the good and professional voicemail greeting is all about commitment. In the next paragraphs, I’ll elaborate on this subject.
What to say in a good voicemail greeting
OK, we know the importance of voicemail greeting as a communication tool. Now, it’s crucial to find a balance when it comes to the amount of information.
Why?
You don’t say enough – your customer feels left alone. You say too much – your customer feels overwhelmed.
OK, so let’s count down all the details that should be included in an exemplary voicemail greeting.
- Greeting – as we talk about the greeting in general, it isn’t a surprising part. Start a message with a simple “Hello” or “Good morning”.
- Name – introduce yourself, so the customer knows that he reached the right person.
- Company – as above, complete your calling card to assure the customer.
- The reason why you can’t talk at a given moment – there’s a busy line, you are currently driving a car, you don’t have a business phone with you, you’re on holiday; many things can happen. I’m sure your customer will understand why you can’t answer his call.
- The estimated time when you’ll be able to talk – your caller will understand, but you can’t leave him with this message alone. Inform him when he’ll be able to talk to you or some other competent person.
- A different way to reach your company – as mentioned, you can redirect the customer to somebody else, or give some other communication channels: chat, SMS, e-mail, it can be everything.
- Call-to-action – don’t leave your customer with a message like “If you bother, please contact us in some different way”. You need to be determined – “Write to us on our website – specific address”, “Contact me via email – specific address”. Your caller will be triggered to take action.
There are 3 must-have elements of a voicemail greeting: basic info (everything your customer needs to know), explanation (apology and alternative ways of communication), and being brief (concise and clear message, no longer than 30 seconds).
If you have it all, you’re likely to keep your customer on the line and provide him with the best possible service at the particular moment.
Benefits of having a good voicemail greeting
As soon as you make sure that your voicemail greeting works well, many benefits will come right after that. Here we go – this is what you can gain.
Better work organization
You don’t need to have an employee whose task is only to answer calls, like a secretary. It’s beneficial for your budget as you don’t need to hire an additional person for your staff.
Your customer calls, he listens to the message and he understands why nobody can answer his phone. You can achieve it with no additional workforce.
You rely on a mechanism. Therefore you can’t be surprised that you have a business like a well-working machine. It’s a natural consequence of your activity.
Every call is stored
With a voicemail, you don’t need to worry about missing an important call. There’s always an option for your caller to leave the message after the tone. Then, you can listen to it as soon as you can.
That’s a convenient way to have everything in one place. The messages are saved in a system, so they’re not fleeting words of mouth. You also avoid having notes on small pieces of paper that can be lost at any moment.
And of course, it works perfectly for the quality of your customer service.
You are well prepared to solve customer’s problem
If you listen to the message in its original form, you can provide all types of customers with personalized service.
You have enough time to define the problem, use the right sources of information for your research, and come up with the right solution.
This is how you gain trust among your customers.
Growing brand identity
All benefits influence this one. With a well-developed voicemail, there are high chances that you’ll be appreciated on your market. Customers will spread a good word about you.
It’s because they will see you as a professional, reliable business. The messages won’t stay in limbo, call routing will work as it should, you’d present yourself as fully committed to your development.
And believe me, people notice that easily. They’ll find out that they can count on you. As a reaction, you can count on their loyalty.
Somebody mentions your brand’s name and the other person associates it with a striking product and customer service. Nice perspective, isn’t it?
Ready-to-use voicemail greetings
We can distinguish several types of voicemail greetings. We’ll go through them one by one, with a ready-to-use example for each category.
Personal voicemail greetings
By that, I mean the calls that are made directly for you. If you can’t speak at the given time, explain why.
“Hi, this is [your name] from [your company name]. Currently, I can’t answer your phone as I’m doing my best in everyday business. I’m not at my desk, probably having a call. Leave your message after the tone, I’ll call you back ASAP. You can also reach me by email [your address]. Talk to you soon!”
Personal voicemail greetings: brief version
Of course, it’s not necessary to testify why you can’t talk with all the details. You can express it briefly and understandably.
“Hi, you’ve reached [your name] from [your company name]. Currently, I can’t really talk to you. Leave your name, number, and a short message. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”
Company voicemail greeting
Feel free to record the voicemail greeting for your whole business. Talk to your caller as a unity.
“Hi, you’ve reached [your company name]. Currently, we’re not able to answer your phone. We’re available from Monday to Friday from [X hour] to [Y hour]. Leave your message after the tone and we’ll call you back ASAP. You can also contact us through live chat on our website [web link] or via email [your address]. Thank you for calling!”
Entertaining voicemail greeting
Your customer might feel even better if he listens to some funny message. However, use this way only when you’re sure that your target has some sense of humor. This is the voicemail greeting where you can let your creativity out.
“Hi, you’ve reached [your name] from [your company name]. After reading Jules Verne’s novel, I’ve decided to go on the “Journey to the Center of Earth”. Currently, I’m digging deep to update our products and find the perfect solutions to your issues. The return trip is planned for [specific date]. I’ll call you back as soon as I see the Sun again. You can also contact me via email [your address]. Let’s stay in touch!”
Or you can go wild. Make sure that all your customers have watched the “Star Wars” saga.
“Hi, it’s Master Yoda you’ve reached. Got you, it’s [your name] from [your company name] you’ve reached. Answer the phone I can’t. Leave the message after tone you can. Reach me via the email [your address] you also can. Call you back I will.”
Holiday voicemail greeting
Here we also can go with 2 ready-to-use examples. Sometimes you’re on your vacation.
“Hi, you’ve reached [your name] from [your company name]. Currently, I’m recharging my batteries in Acapulco, so I’ll have the energy to help you out. I’m back on [specific date]. Leave your message after the tone and I’ll call you back when I’m home!”
And sometimes there are national holidays, so the whole company just doesn’t work.
“Hi, you’ve reached [your company name]. We’re already into unique Christmas time with our families. Leave your message after the tone. Merry Christmas and we’ll call you back after [specific date]!”
Best voicemail greeting provider
If you want to have everything done professionally with your voicemail, we have something for you. Channels is a data-driven phone system that will help you with it.
Besides having a voicemail greeting, you get the Interactive Voice Response (IVR).
It’s another facilitation – you won’t need anyone to redirect the calls to the right department of your business. So, the system will be responsible for both voicemail greeting and redirecting the calls.
And you don’t even need to record the message. You can type it in your settings. The system will automatically generate the recording in male or female voices. The choice is yours.
Many other features make Channels exceptional. These are:
- displaying all necessary customer details before a call,
- Web Call,
- international phone numbers,
- two-way SMS communication,
- and many more.
You can try Channels now!
Get Channels for free now.
Generate the voicemail greeting that will become your brand identity.
Right now, Channels offers you a 7-day free trial during which you’ll get full access to the software, a free phone number, and a few $$$ so you can fully test it out! No credit card is required.
What’s stopping you?
The new era of voicemail greeting
Hopefully, now you realize how important it is to have a quality voicemail with a friendly voice and clear message.
You’ve learned about this feature from all sides. Now it’s your turn to apply it to your business.
Do you have any more questions? We’re here to help you!
