You only get one chance to make a great first impression.
In the past, it was the receptionist, usually an attractive female voice, that answered your phone. In those days, all your telephone greetings were “live.”
Telephone Greetings for Today
Fast Forward. Today most telephone calls are answered by “Automated Attendants.” These telephone greetings are prerecorded messages that answer every call in exactly the same way. But no one really wants their voice on the “Automated Attendant” recording. So sometimes you hear the “phone installer’s voice” greeting you. Sometimes a secretary or receptionist gets stuck with the job. You’ve heard both.
Informer Telephone Greetings
There is a third option: professional Informer Telephone Greetings. Professional voice talents with national advertising credits…those people with amazing voices…can record your greeting for you. These are the voices that callers notice…and start to pay attention to.
They’re the voices that callers actually talk about having heard. They make the right impression.
Automated Attendants were introduced in the 1970’s. They were introduced because technology enabled it, but adopted because it let corporations cut expenses (no operator was needed). Machines are efficient, never tire, and don’t get a weekly paycheck!
Efficient Telephone Greetings
Just as important as the voice is “what the voice is saying.” As a native New Yorker, I’m naturally….impatient. New Yorkers want to get to the point. We want to move it along. When we’re greeted by an “Automated Attendant” we welcome the opportunity to get to the right place faster than we did before. Machines are efficient. They don’t waste time.
Does your “Automated Attendant” do this? Are your greetings friendly but efficient? Does it help your caller (your customer or potential customer) get where they want to go ASAP?
There’s a simple rule for automated attendant telephone greetings: if you’re going to sacrifice “personal” make sure it’s done for the customer, not the bottom line. Make sure that your Automated Attendant makes it easier and faster for consumers to get what they want: reaching the right person right away.
Your own Telephone Greetings
Do your Automated Attendant Messages help your customer, or just save you money? Let’s talk about the difference between saving a few bucks and improving customer service in a free 15-minute Automated Attendant Telephone Greetings strategy session. Call me now. I’ll answer your call personally. Call (800) 862-8896.