Setting Up Effective Business Voicemail Greetings

Setting Up Effective Business Voicemail Greetings

Have you ever considered how your company's voicemail greeting may be the very first impression prospective clients have about you? Voicemail greetings have become an integral component of any business, so much that clients sometimes attach a level of sentiment to how a business voicemail sounds to deduce whether such company is professional at their job or not.

Don't Overlook the Small Tasks.

Ironically, the task of setting up a voicemail is often overlooked in terms of importance when attracting new clients and customers to a business. While an extensive amount of planning, hard work, and research has been invested in planning the company itself, often time, the message customers receive when they call your business and meet your absence is strangely widely overlooked.

Imagine setting up the "perfect" business environment, only for your efforts to be compromised by something as trivial as an unprofessional voicemail greeting - years of hard work can go unrewarded in 10 seconds.

The little things matter, and sometimes are the differentiating factors between a successful business and a failed one.

How Then Can You Set Up A "Great" Voicemail Greeting?

Is Your Greeting Inspiring?

Take a look at this example: "Hey, I'm not here so leave a message and I'll get back to you."

Intuitively, this may not sound offsetting, but upon further inspection, an inconsistency with the image portrayed by your business marketing campaigns, especially if well detailed and targeted, will be noticed. Breaking the voicemail greeting above down, the first thing to note is the lack of introduction. How is a prospective client supposed to know that they have contacted the right service when the company or service provider's name isn't provided?

Be Attentive to Details.

Always ensure that your voice recording is clear, professional, and concise. A recorded message with lots of background noise, lack of clarity, and one that lacks vital details about your company and why you can't get to the phone at the moment does not convey the level of professionalism prospective clients often seek.

Remember to keep things professional and concise. The ideal length of your voicemail greeting should be no longer than 30 seconds. The more concise you can be, the better. Nobody wants to spend all day on the phone listening to why they cannot be attended to.

Voicemails Are An Effective Marketing Tool, Use Them

A lot of businesses don't understand the full potential of having useful voicemail greetings. Voicemails aren't only telling your customers that you aren't there; they can do much more than reciting your usual boring message - they can be powerful marketing tools.

You can slot in short offers or deals for both new and prospective clients in your voicemail greetings that will make them want to call you back as soon as they can.

Make A Good First Impression

One easy way to make an excellent first impression is by having a professionally recorded message. You can do this yourself by using a stand-alone microphone and audio recording software. Avoid using the microphone built into your phone or computer as these are not the best quality. If you have Apple AirPods, those may work since they filter out background noise fairly well. Alternatively, you can hire a professional voice actor on a website like fiverr.com. Hiring a professional to record your voicemail greeting is quite affordable. Most charged by the number of words. Often, you can find someone and get around 100 words of audio recorded for about $20. Fivver has many voice actors who live in the US who are native English speakers around the $20 price range too.

Having a professional business voicemail for your business is easy and affordable too. You can find many companies that provide virtual numbers for your business that have dedicated voicemail boxes. We here at GBPN, provide that service. Find out more about the benefits of having a business phone number. Us and many other companies will let you upload an audio file to change your voicemail greeting message via the website. This makes it easy for you to swap in a new recording if you need to.

What Makes a Great Business Voicemail Greeting?

1. Mention the company name to ensure the person calling they have called the right number
2. Keep it short and to the point, while also making sure to include any information you need or want the caller to know. Things such as business hours or if you are on vacation when they can expect a callback.
3. Let the caller know what information you need them to leave so you can call them back. 
4. Have a well-spoken voicemail with no background noise. Consider hiring a professional if you need help with this. If you are a customer of ours, we provide voice recordings for free.

Below are some examples of what you can use for your voicemail greeting. Feel free to mix and match until you land on the perfect voicemail greeting. 

11 Business Voicemail Examples to Use for Your Business

Professional Voicemail Greetings

Example #1
Thanks for calling [company name]. Please leave a quick message, and we will call you back to you as soon as possible.

Example #2
Hi, this is [name] from [company name]. I'm unable to take your call right now. Please leave a quick message, and I will call you back to you as soon as possible.

Example #3
Hi. Thank you for calling [company name]. Unfortunately, we are closed right now. Our hours are Monday through Friday, from 9 AM till 5 PM. Leave your name, phone number, and a quick message. We will call you back when we open.

Example #4
You have reached the [name of department] at [company name]. We are unable to take your call right now. Please leave your name, number, and reason for your call, and we will call you back as soon as we can.

Example #5
Hey, this is [name] from [company name]. I'm currently on vacation. I will be back in the office on [date]. If this is urgent, please call [name] at [phone number]. Otherwise, please leave your name, phone number, and the reason for your call, and I will give you a call when I am back in the office.

Example #6
Hi, you have reached [name]. I'm away until [date]. In the meantime, If you need help, please contact [name] and at [phone number]. Thanks and have a great day.

Example #7
Thanks for calling [name] at [company name]. Please leave your name, phone number, and reason for your call. I will get back to you as soon as I can.

Example #8
Thanks for calling [company name]. We are on an extended holiday. We will be back in the office on [date]. If this is an emergency, please call [phone number]. Otherwise, please leave us a quick message, and we will call you back when we are back in the office.

Example #9
Thanks for calling [company name]. We have been experiencing exceptionally high call volume. We apologize for not being able to take your call. Please leave a quick message, and we will call you back to you as soon as possible.

Funny Voicemail Greetings

When you try to think of funny voicemail greetings, ensure that you take your time and do not rush into quickly believing you're the comedian your friends think you are. Stay creative and avoid copying stale jokes off the internet.

Example #10
Hello you are talking to a robot commissioned by [company name]. Believe it or not, I am capable of receiving messages. Please leave your message, name, and contact after the beep.

Example #11
Hi! [company name] answering machine is broken. This is our refrigerator. Please speak very slowly, and it'll stick your message to my door with one of these magnets.

Presenting Your Business Professionally

Consistently presenting your business professionally and responsively at all touchpoints is vital to landing your next client. Don't let small yet vital omissions tarnish how your customers perceive you. By focusing on the details, you leave a positive and lasting impression sure to make a conversion.

One Final Tip

One thing that might be useful is to test out different voicemails to see which one gives you the best results. Maybe customers are not leaving voicemails as often as you would like. One thing you might try is a shorter message. Or perhaps it is not clear what information you want them to leave.