Tips for Recording the Perfect Company Voicemail Greeting
Even though the goal is to never let a caller go to voicemail, your company still needs a voicemail system that allows callers to leave a message if they can’t reach someone right away. An engaging and professional voicemail message is the first part of that system.
When you can't get to the phone, the right greeting will help maintain a positive relationship with customers, prospects, and anyone else who might call.
If you’re like many business owners, entrepreneurs, and other professionals, it’s probably been a while since you last updated that all-too-important greeting. But, this simple message is incredibly important — you want to encourage callers to leave a message (and give them confidence that their call will actually be returned).
Otherwise, you risk losing out on leads, prospective customers, and new opportunities.
If you’re ready to give your voicemail greeting a refresh, here’s everything you need to know.
Elements every voicemail greeting should have
To create an effective and engaging greeting, your voicemail should:
- Use a friendly, inviting, and professional tone.
- Include essential business information, like the name of the business.
- Thank the caller graciously, and let them know when they can expect a return call.
- Never be too long. Make it informative but concise so the caller doesn’t feel like their time is being wasted. Between 10 and 30 seconds is a good time limit to keep in mind.
Every business should have its own unique voicemail greeting, but there are plenty of script templates that you can use to guide the process.
3 simple but effective voicemail greeting scripts you can use
These voicemail message samples are great starting points for creating a new company greeting:
- Hi, you've reached [company] — thanks so much for calling. If you need a fast response, the best way to reach us is via email at [email address]. We will get back to you during business hours, which are from [time] to [time]. If it’s not urgent, please leave a message with your name and number and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
- Hello, this is [company] and we’re sorry we couldn’t make it to the phone. Your call is important to us, so please leave your name, number, and a brief message. We’ll get back to you ASAP.
- Hi, you've reached [company]. Our business hours are from [time] to [time], Monday through Friday, and [other time options if applicable]. You can also reach us by visiting our website at [URL]. From there, you can [send us an email, start a live chat, etc.]. If you’d like to receive a call back, please leave your name and number and we’ll be in touch within 24 hours.
How to take the stress out of recording your business’s voicemail greeting
If reading the above scripts makes you dread the thought of recording a new voicemail greeting, don’t stress too much. When it comes to the company’s main voicemail greeting, you don’t necessarily have to record it yourself.
This can be a great task for a trustworthy assistant with phone acumen. Some companies employ receptionists, administrative assistants, and other staff directly. Since these employees support customer service and client engagement, they’re the ideal candidates for recording the company’s voicemail greeting.
And if you don’t directly employ administrative and customer support staff, this is one of the many tasks that are ideal for a virtual assistant or virtual receptionist.
In fact, these professionals can take the lead on all of your phone answering, administrative, and client support needs (at a very affordable cost, too).
However, let me share one last piece of advice before you rush to have a friendly voice record a new company voicemail greeting: Don’t forget that you should always be the voice of your own direct voicemail — that’s one of those things that shouldn’t be outsourced.
