Why do you need a personalised business voicemail greeting + 12 examples

What is a business voicemail?

Your business voicemail greeting is a pre-recorded message that plays when callers are not able to reach the recipient within your business. Often the personalised greeting will include a summary of the company name, along with simple instructions suggesting the need to leave contact details. This will allow the business to return their call as soon as possible.

Your business voicemail should not be overlooked. It is a powerful, business critical communication tool, offered through a business phone system, like Zadarma’s PBX. A voicemail feature allows you to connect with clients even when you are not there. It is important to not underestimate the power of your business voicemail. It is critical you balance the impact the greeting can have on your target audience.

With a smartly crafted business voicemail greeting, you can leave a good impression and increase the probability that your prospective client leaves a message or calls back. The following article explores simple ways to improve your voicemail greetings and the advantages.

Simple Ways To Improve Your Business Voicemail Greeting

1. Selecting the right tone for your voicemail

The tone of your business voicemail should be fitting to your business. Many companies choose to personalize their voicemail greeting tone when communicating with customers. It is important to avoid humour and too much personalization if you have a more corporate facing business.

2. Include your name, job title and business name

To reassure callers that they understand who they are leaving a message for, it is important to include your name and position within the business. This will reassure the caller of your credentials and position within the business.

3. Personalize with a positive voicemail greeting

A simple, positive business voicemail greetings works best. The content of your voicemail greeting message will vary depending on the nature of your business. Below are 12 examples of short, friendly, business voicemail greetings.

1. “Hi, thanks for calling John at business X. Sorry I missed your call. Please leave your name and number after the tone. I will get back to you as soon as possible.”
2. “You have reached John at Company X. I am away from my desk right now. Please leave a short message outlining your enquiry, with your name and number. I will return your call as soon as possible. Please call X office if your enquiry is urgent.”
3. “Hello, you’ve reached Business X. Our office open hours are 9am-5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Your call is important to us, so please leave your name, number and your enquiry after the tone. One of our sales team will be in touch within one working day. Many thanks.”
4. “Hi, thanks for calling John at Company X. I am out of the office from Monday 24th February through to March 3rd, with no access to voicemail during this time. For urgent enquiries, please contact our helpdesk by calling the number (Phone Number) or by emailing (Contact X email address). Many thanks.”
5. “You have reached Company X’s voicemail. The office is currently closed. We’ll return your call as soon as possible. If it’s urgent, please send an email to text us on (+Phone Number). Thanks for your call.”
6. “Hello, this is John’s voicemail at Business X. We are currently out of the office. Your call is important to us so please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Before you go, we wanted to let you know we have a monthly promotion currently on (Briefly describe the promotion, e.g., new customer discount until the end of the month). You will find more information about our discounts on our website at (website address). Thank you.”
7. “Hi there! You’ve reached John Smith at Company X. I’m sorry I missed your call. Every call is important to us at Company X, so please leave a detailed message and I will get back to you as soon as possible. If your enquiry is urgent then our customer care team can help. Please call or email (Support Email or Phone Number). Thanks so much for calling, looking forward to speaking with you soon."
8. “Thanks for calling John Smith. If you are calling about our free trial offer then our lines are open again from 9am. If you call back at 9am then one of our sales agents will be happy to discuss the promotion and how we can get you started on the free trial. If you would like one of our agents to call you back, then please leave your name and number after the tone.”
9. "Thanks for calling John at Company X’s special offer number. If you’d like to learn more or take advantage of this offer, please leave your name and number, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. You can also reach the sales team on (main office number)]. This offer only lasts until the end of this month, so don’t miss out!”
10. “Merry Christmas! The Company X team is now enjoying some well earned rest. Our office is closed for the festive season and will reopen on (date). If your enquiry is urgent, please contact (contact information). Or if you are happy for your call to be returned from (date) then please leave your name, number, and a short message, and we’ll get back to you as soon as we’re back in!"
11. “Hi, you've reached John, leader of the Technical Help Desk at Company X. I’m sorry I missed your call. If you’re experiencing a technical issue, please leave your name, contact number, and a brief description of the problem, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you for calling Company X.”
12. "Hi, this is John at Company X. I am sorry I missed your call. I will respond to partnership or collaboration inquiries by (specific date/time). Please leave your name and details and a short message. If your matter is urgent you can email me on (email address). I will do my best to return your call as soon as possible. Thank you!“

Advantages of a personalized business voicemail

There are many advantages to setting up a personalized voicemail greeting for your business. Some of these are explored below.

Convenient for you and your clients

Many customers will happily leave a voicemail message rather than leave a message with a receptionist these days. You see this regularly favoured when the content of the message is confidential. This increases the possibility of client feedback, and makes communication easier as well as more convenient for customers. Voicemail inboxes can be easily retrieved from anywhere in or out of the office. If your business phone system has a voicemail to email feature, then you can pick up your business voicemail messages whilst on the move or out of the office.

Clear communication

Voicemail recordings are an opportunity for a client to leave your business a voice note. The client or customer is in control of the content of their message. The note can't be lost or distorted. In comparison, if a secretary is in charge of writing down your client’s message, then this leaves the message open to being lost in translation. Verbal messages rely on memory and can be misconstrued and distorted leading to miscommunication. In contrast voicemails provide the recorded message in its original form, providing clearer communication.

Cost savings

When a business offers a voicemail greeting and service it makes it possible to direct calls when employees are away from their desk. This reduces the need to increase staff overheads, providing a cost saving. Additionally with a voicemail in place, you don’t always need to have a receptionist employed. The voicemail can be maintained remotely or by others.

Improves call performance

Voicemail greeting services provide a platform for the caller to leave their contact data. The voicemail allows your customers to leave detail within their message. Your sales agent can leverage the message to prepare ahead of returning their call. This is perfect for calls that require some research or detailed feedback. Voicemail messages can run for minutes, to even an hour, allowing customers sufficient time to leave detailed information.

Always open

A key advantage of using a voicemail greeting is that they inspire customers to leave a voice note enquiry, even when you are closed. If your customer calls your business when you are not open, and receives a friendly voicemail greeting, they will be more likely to leave their name, number and business request.

How do you use your voicemail greeting to serve your customers?

You can optimize your voicemail channel by pairing it with call routing. This will allow your customers to connect with the right person for the first time. Many say this improves the call resolution time. You can also use Interactive Voice response (IVR) to let callers redirect themselves based on their needs. The voicemail greeting may go on to say ”Press 1 for opening times, Press 2 to speak to a receptionist.” Zadarma provides both call forwarding and IVR features. This allows you to set up your voicemail quickly and easily.

A winning business voicemail greeting

Never understatement the power of a winning voicemail greeting. A good business voicemail greeting is professional, short, and concise. Your greeting should indicate that the call will be returned as soon as possible. The recording should also be personalized bespoke to your business. With a winning greeting in place, your customers are more likely to leave a message. This ensures that you maximize all sales opportunities, even when your office is closed or your team is unavailable.