The Best Business Voicemail Greetings

There’s nothing more annoying than getting sent to a voicemail box that is full or hasn’t been set up yet. And you could be missing out on customers if you don’t have an automated voice response system for those callers who contact you outside of business hours. If you can’t be available 24/7, the best thing to have set up is a fail-safe. After all, you don’t want to miss out on a potential sale.

One of the best things you can do for your business is to set up the best voicemail greeting for your business so that your customers actually want to leave a message, and trust that you will get back to them.

Here are the Dos and Don’ts of creating the perfect business voicemail greeting

• Do apologize that you are unavailable to take their call
• Don’t use an overused phrase that will annoy callers right off the bat
• Do encourage your customer to leave a message
• Don’t just keep the default voicemail greeting
• Do let the customer know which department and voicemail box they have reached
• Don’t over-complicate the voicemail message; it should be simple and to the point
• Do give the customer an expected time that you will return their call, such as during regular business hours
• Don’t forget to follow up with them
• Do give the customer alternate ways to get the information that they need, whether that is directing them to an FAQ page on your website or providing a customer service email address. If your business deals with emergencies, there should be an emergency line available for them to call.

Now that you know the Dos and Don’ts of creating an awesome outgoing voicemail message, you are ready to follow a very simple formula to creating a professional business greeting that gets the information you need out while keeping the message short. Here’s how:

1. State your name or the name of your business.
2. Apologize for missing the calls (you can give a quick reason why you’re not available such as “not at my desk” or “closed for the holiday.”
3. Ask for their information so you can call them back. For example, asking them to state their name, number, and issue with the service or product will be very helpful for you. It is very important to find out why they are having an issue and calling before you call them back. You need to be prepared to be able to solve their problem.
4. On the other hand, you can encourage them to call back at a certain date and time where you are more likely to answer the phone. Offering to call them back and giving them an option to call you again at a better time will establish trust between you and the customer. They know that no matter what, they will be able to reach you next time, whether you call them or they call you back.
5. Seize the opportunity to tell them about a promotion. Since you already have them on the phone, let them know about any new products or information that they may be interested in learning about.
6. End the message politely. It is as simple as thanking them for making the call and wishing that they have a great rest of their day.

An example of a great voicemail greeting is, “Hi you’ve reached the office of (your company name). Unfortunately, we cannot get to the phone right now and apologize for the inconvenience. If you leave your name, number, and the reason you are calling we will get back to you as soon as we can. Otherwise, you can reach us at our regular business hours, Monday thru Friday 8am-8pm. Thank you for calling and I hope you have a great rest of your day!”

If you have a virtual phone system set up for your business, then you already have the tools to create a great business voicemail message. When you’re creating the perfect voicemail greeting, simply apply these guidelines and remember to be polite, informative, and encourage the customer to leave a voicemail so you can follow up with them. It’s as simple as that!