When someone calls your business phone number, often the first touchpoint they have with your brand is your voicemail greeting. This makes it a critical opportunity to make a strong first impression. However, many companies still utilize the default robotic voicemail recording that comes standard with a phone system.
In today’s customer-centric business environment, relying on a stale default voicemail greeting sends the wrong message. It fuels perceptions that companies are lazy, dated, or just don’t care enough to record a personalized, professional greeting. Callers expect more.
Let’s explore the benefits of upgrading your voicemail with custom voiceover.
The Case Against Default Greetings
Traditional default voicemail greetings sound sterile, boring, and lacking personality. “You have reached [company name or number]. Please leave a message.” Relics from a bygone era of business communications, these robotic recordings leave no impression. They fail to humanize your brand, explain value, or guide callers.
In today’s customer-centric era, default voicemails are tone deaf to caller expectations of high-quality service. Their digital abruptness fuels perceptions that companies don’t care. In just a few words, your voicemail can inadvertently deflate your brand rather than reinforce it. The opportunity costs are immense.
Engaging Your Audience
In contrast, professional phone voicemail greeting engage callers with warm, conversational messaging and helpful options. Custom voiceover and music brand the experience while setting expectations upfront. Callers immediately gain confidence they reached the right place and that their needs will be served.
Well-crafted greetings build rapport through friendly language and cadence. The reassurance keeps callers’ attention while covering essential information like hours, urgency guidance and routing choices. Your voicemail crafts pivotal first impressions.
Building Your Brand
Your voicemail greeting is a vessel to convey brand identity through carefully crafted language, style and audio branding. Custom voiceover aligns with positioning – casual for approachable brands or authoritative for premium players. Background music also establishes desired mood.
Consistency across channels reinforces your voicemail as an authentic representation. Include value statements or taglines to further communication brand values. This immersive experience sticks with callers long after they hang up.
Optimizing Call Management
Rather than a generic recording, use voicemail as an opportunity to optimize call handling. For example, segment options by priority – “For sales inquiries press 1, for support press 2.” Educate on alternate contact channels to efficiently route customers.
Update messages with hours, addresses or current promotions. Add choices for languages. Guide callers to extensions or auto-attendants. Well-designed menus minimize repetition for agents and frustration for callers. Fresh recordings align outreach with evolving business needs.
Driving Conversion Goals
Look beyond branding to how voicemail can directly impact conversions and revenue. Sales teams can provide unique phone numbers on each ad or campaign, with tailored voicemails speaking to that specific audience.
Calls outside of business hours go to optimistic messages focused on urgency or exclusivity, capped with a website link or callback request input. Seasonal messages promote holiday offers. Your voicemail message should always motivate desired actions beyond just leaving a recording.
Standing Out from Competitors
Your competitors likely retain the same placeholder robotic greetings. Voicemail represents an easy way to stand out with more personality and helpfulness. While rivals sound generic, you engage audiences with messages tailored for them.
Distinct voicemail greetings demonstrate you take pride in crafting professional communications that reflect brand values. They position you favorably versus competitors still relying on the status quo. Differentiation starts from the very first ring.
Conclusion
First impressions go a long way, and often your voicemail provides the vital first touch. Default greetings scream dated and disengaged. To humanize your brand, optimize call handling, and stand out from the crowd, leverage custom professional voicemail messages to connect.
Done right, they reinforce quality and helpfulness while providing an audio brand experience. Measure results through customer comments, conversion rates on call routing options, and agent feedback. As part of comprehensive omni-channel alignment, voicemail represents an easy but high-impact opportunity to engage audiences.
