Product Tips: Is Your Phone Greeting Professional Enough?

According to our clients, one of the best features of our virtual phone systems is being able to record custom greetings. Businesses love the fact that they can record and use their own voice to greet callers, making every incoming call a more personal experience. But one important thing to consider is whether or not the greeting you have is projecting a professional enough image for your business. In many cases, your telephone greeting is the first interaction potential clients will have with your company. As such, you want that experience to provide the best possible first impression.

Draw on Your Own Experience as a Customer

Surely you’ve had to call other businesses in your lifetime, as both a consumer and maybe even a colleague. Before you record your own greeting try to draw off the experiences you’ve had and avoid the mistakes you’ve encountered on the other end of the line.

Helpful Hints:

When recording a greeting, there are a few simple tips to help make it sound more professional:

• Write it Down – Don’t try to remember all the info you want to convey – you may forget something important or stumble over your words.

• Consider Your Audience – Always have the end-user in mind when recording a greeting.

• Speak Slowly and Clearly – Your callers won’t want to replay your message 3 times to understand it.

• Give Specific Information and Clear Instructions – IVR (interactive voice response) is a great tool but it will be ineffective if your callers don’t understand what to press or say at what time.

• Smile – It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book but it works.

The Proof is In the Pudding

Before you officially use a recorded greeting, play it back and listen to it objectively. Try to imagine you are a first-time caller and that this greeting is your first impression of the company. How does it make you feel? Was the recording friendly and could you hear and understand everything clearly? Was it short and sweet or did it drag on a bit too long? All of these things can make a difference in how your business is perceived by a caller so be sure to consider every angle and modify wherever necessary until you achieve exactly what you want your greeting to accomplish.

Enlist Help

Maybe you just don’t have the right voice for recording phone greetings. There’s no rule that says you have to be the one who greets your callers. If one of your employees happens to have a particularly golden voice, why not have her handle your greeting? Or, use a professional. Our professional voice studio option gives you access to qualified voice talent for your greetings. You provide the script and we’ll do the work. The bottom line is, if you don’t think you’re right for the job, don’t worry – there are plenty of options available to you.

Having the option of recording the telephone greeting that your callers hear when they dial your business is a very attractive benefit. It can really help you stand out amongst your competition and give your company a larger, more professional appearance. Just make sure the greeting you use projects the right image. When it’s done right, a custom greeting can impress callers and provide a unique personalized experience for your customers. When it’s done wrong, well, what customers?

Labels: product tips, professional phone etiquette, small business