How to Impress Callers with a Voicemail Message

How can you utilise your business’s voicemail message to create the right impression on a customer?

When someone calls your business— whether they’re a top client or a potential customer—they haven’t dialled your number by accident. They want to get in touch with you and try as you might, sometimes you’re just not available.

That’s exactly where your voicemail comes in.

Your voicemail is the automatic, backup face (or technically voice) of your organisation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t impress callers with your voicemail!

What’s the Point of Voicemail?

Your voicemail offers the customer service that you can’t, no matter the time of the day or night. The voicemail has to field the call, make the caller feel appreciated, and ensure that they’re given a plan of action to make contact with you in the near future.

And all of that while ensuring you make a lasting, fantastic impression!

Considering that at most you have between 20-30 seconds, surely we’re expecting a voicemail to do a heck of a lot!

Yes. Yes we are.

That’s why the careful crafting of your voicemail message is a necessity.

The Content of Your Voicemail

“Thanks for calling Jane Smith from Smell-Good Flowers. I’m unavailable at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep.”

This is a standard voicemail message and one that I’m sure you’ve heard a lot. It’s not offensively bad. But it’s also not going to rock the socks off any potential customers.

Whether you’re unavailable for good reason or not, your potential customer is still waiting for service. Your voicemail should both provide more information for the caller and redirect them to receiving further customer service.

“Thanks for calling Jane Smith from Smell-Good Flowers. I’m currently unable to take your call. If you’d like to place an order, or track a current delivery order, please visit our website – smellgood.com. Alternatively, please leave a message with your name, contact number and reason for calling, and I’ll call you back as soon as possible.”

See? Nothing flashy required. All you need to do is ensure that you’ve set up your voicemail to properly take care of your callers.

The Voice Behind Your Voicemail

My voice isn’t terrible, but it’s not going to make a particularly positive impression on a caller. So, when creating my own voicemail, I choose the best of the best voice over artists.

Who’s voicing your voicemail?

Remember: Your voicemail is the sole contact your caller will be having with your company at this time. The last thing you’d want is for them to hear a voice that’s anything less than enjoyable to listen to and easy to understand.

Voice over artists specialise in providing disembodied voices with character and appeal. Your voicemail simply must be voiced by a professional. The difference is extraordinary. Not only will it sound great and reflect well upon you, but clear diction and proper emphasis will ensure your caller doesn’t miss a single detail of your voicemail’s message.

Cartoon by Toons. (https://www.toonpool.com/cartoons/Voicemail_274914)

The Quality of Your Voicemail

So your voicemail reads well and is voiced perfectly… but it kind of sounds like you’ve recorded it onto a tape-recorder from the 80s.

I cannot overestimate how important the audio quality of your voicemail is. If a caller can’t hear your message through the crackling, or even if they simply find the voicemail taxing to listen to, you’ll have made a negative impression and potentially lost a sale.

Callers can tell the difference between studio-recorded audio and audio from your iPhone recorded in the break room. They want to know that the company they’re dealing with is polished in every shape and form. If you’re hoping to impress a caller simply with a bit of recorded audio, you should be throwing everything you’ve got into making it sound as good as possible.

That means professional equipment. A professional studio. And professional audio engineers to mix and produce the voicemail.

Make the Right Impression with Your Voicemail

Your voicemail is such a vital opportunity to make the right impression with your callers. The correctly written, voiced and produced voicemail will ensure that every single caller—whether their call is actually addressed by a real person or not—will hang up the phone undeniably impressed.

That positive impression will endear the business to the caller and undoubtedly soon cause them to become a customer/client.