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What would you think or do if you called someone and couldn’t leave a message that was urgent? Would you keep calling? It can be quite an inconvenience to the caller to keep dialing your number with the hopes that they will get lucky and you will finally pick up on the eleventh ring.
For that reason, voicemails came into existence. They represent a way for a caller to dial just once and then have the ability to leave a message.
There will also be times when you’re already on an important call and other calls keep coming in. So as not to be rude, you send the other callers to your voicemail box. Then, at an appropriate time, you can listen to multiple messages and respond at your leisure without missing anything.
How To Tailor Your Voicemail Greeting
Creating a voicemail greeting may not be as easy as you think. The message your callers hear on the other end of the line should make them want to engage with you further. Creating funny and engaging voicemail greeting is more than just your tone, although that by itself is a lot.
Whether it is a personal message or for a company, it is about representing your brand in a memorable way.
As a result, you should try to put your best foot or rather, your best voice forward.
You have to choose between a live answering service or an automated voicemail. Depending on the size of your organization, you may also have prompts to direct callers to different areas of the company.
Whatever method you choose, you will want to ensure that your voicemail greeting is not only funny, but also engaging.
Continue reading as we showcase 10 funny and engaging ways in which to set up your voicemail greeting.
1. Minimize All Background Noises
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No one wants to call, ready to leave a message when prompted, only to be distracted or disturbed by loud noises in the background.
If you’re home nursing a fussy baby or talking while someone is vacuuming, this will be obvious to your caller. Not only is it distracting, but also it displays a level of unprofessionalism that you shouldn’t be advertising.
What it also connotes, is that you’re not interested in what the caller has to say.
To eliminate this faux pas, it is recommended that you find a quiet place. Perhaps, you can use your office or home study, to record the greeting.
The only tolerable noise that should be in your greeting is ‘on-hold music’. That said, the music itself should not be loud and aggravating either, but similar to elevator music.
The last thing you need is for your caller to nod off after long periods of silence on the other end.
2. Make The Message Your Own
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You do not want your voicemail greeting to sound like a downloaded template. Your business is not like any other, and neither should your greeting.
A unique message, versus a generic one, creates a lasting impression on callers and makes you differentiable from your competitors and other businesses in general. This is a good time to break the monotonous cycle of standard greetings employed by many others.
Monotony might result in callers missing their prompts and have to keep redialing or listening to the greeting repeatedly to follow necessary commands. You could wind up losing a potential customer in this way.
A suggestion is to have something like a voice crawl where you either advertise current deals or even talk about your mission statement. That way, while the caller waits, they will also be learning more about you.
3. It’s Okay To Have a Little Fun
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Your voicemail greeting is one of the many important ways for you to advertise your business, brand, and your personality.
You can be formal and professional while injecting a little humor into your greeting. This is not to say you should be discourteous or rude by trying to come off as funny. That could be catastrophic business or brand.
What you should remember is the first sound your caller hears is what they’ll remember. You do not have to sound robotic to produce an effective greeting.
Infusing a measure of humanity may just do the trick.
You can mention your favorite vacation spot, or if it’s football season, a joke about the sport. It’s almost guaranteed your caller will appreciate it.
4. Try To Engage Your Callers
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A voicemail greeting is a method of communication, and as such, usually, this requires at least two people. So, not because it’s your personal message means you can’t involve the caller in a conversation.
Creating a dialogue between you and the caller will result in a much more satisfying experience. You will be able to tell if they enjoyed it, based on the messages they leave in return.
One of the easiest ways to create this engagement is by asking the caller to reveal something about themselves. You can inform them you will return the call if they leave their name, number, and perhaps share their favorite food with you.
You won’t get everyone to respond to your questions, but you would at least have gained their attention and respect.
5. A Smile Goes A Long Way
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This may not have crossed your mind, but it is a fact that your tone is different when you talk with a smile. You’ve heard it before, and if you think about it, you will admit it made for an easier conversation afterwards.
Your callers will also be able to tell the difference.
You should remember your greeting is synonymous with meeting a customer face to face. Wouldn’t you be wearing a smile then?
Therefore, your voicemail greeting should say you are aware that this is just like a face to face. It conveys that you care about them and their business.
6. Write And Rehearse Your Greeting
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No good voicemail greeting was spontaneously inspired. You are advertising your business and your brand. Therefore, you want to say just the right thing to leave the desired reaction. So plan what you need to say and how best to fit it in, briefly.
When you try to create your greeting, you will realize it isn’t as easy as you think.
Unless you’re a polished orator, recording on the spot will come with a few breaks in between as you try to think of what to say. You could wind up trying to record your message for a very long time.
The best thing to do is to first write down exactly what you want to say, and rehearse saying it. It goes without saying you will have to playback several times to get the tone right, after recording, and to infuse the smile you probably forgot about.
It might seem like too much effort for one greeting, but it will pay off. You’re trying to portray professionalism, and a series of ‘ums’ and pauses will not convey that.
7. Your Greeting Should Identify You And Your Business
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It is perhaps everyone’s experience, at one time or another, to dial a number and then completely forget whom they’re calling. Most of the times, it isn’t until the person on the other end identifies themselves or the company that your memory is jogged.
The same is true for your voicemail greeting.
Your callers need to know that they’ve dialed the right number. They won’t know unless you identify yourself and the name of your business. A personal greeting will only need your name.
Identifying yourself saves you the hassle of going through tons of messages, which were possibly mistakenly left for you.
8. Prompt Your Callers On What Messages To Leave You
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The last thing you need is to get a message that is meant for you, but that is riddled with so much unnecessary information it gets tedious to sift through them.
Even better, you want to engage those customers who don’t like leaving messages in the first place.
If you have a business that requires customers calling in with problems, then state all the information the customer needs to leave in the message. This can include their name, pan hone number, issues faced, and order number, depending on the type of business.
It would also be beneficial if you ask the best times to return the call so you don’t wind up playing phone tag. This kind of greeting will make it easier to respond to customers in a timely manner.
You don’t want to risk them feeling neglected because your response time is too long.
9. Always Update Your Greeting
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It would be unwise to be promoting your company and yet have a static greeting that you’ve been using for years. Many times, customers know what is happening with the company through ads that are running during the on-hold section of your voicemail greeting.
Sometimes the person to contact if you’re not reached changes or the deals the company is offering. You don’t have to change the greeting entirely, but update it with new information, thereby keeping it fresh.
Your callers will appreciate having timely information dispensed, so they don’t waste their time trying to reach you at inconvenient times.
Keep Your Voicemail Greeting Upbeat
It is counter-productive to be smiling through a message while using negative phrases. Therefore, avoid negative wording, such as sorry or unfortunately, when recording your voicemail greeting.
Instead, rephrase sentences to give off more positivity.
You can say, “I’ve stepped away from my desk right now, but leave a message and I’ll get back to you” instead of “Unfortunately I can’t take your call…”
Though they say the same thing, they convey different attitudes and could be the deciding factor in whether your customer does leave a voicemail greeting.
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