On-hold messages are one of the most underutilized marketing tools available to businesses today. They’re a direct connection to callers who are already familiar with your brand. They allow you to speak to your callers at scale. On hold messages can be adapted to fit a range of use cases, especially if you are targeting your messages to different call queues. 

But to leverage this marketing channel to its potential, you first need to learn how to write for and use hold time effectively.

Creating solid business voicemail greetings requires a little finesse. You want to make the best impression, sound professional, and set the right tone. However, sometimes you need to break from the norm and create business voicemails that will do some of the work for you. Whether you are dealing with frustrated callers, want to further promote your business, or have important info to share, here are the top 18 voicemail greeting examples you can start using in your business.

As the Coronavirus pandemic affects the way we do business, clear, up-to-date messaging on your Call Center phone system is essential.

The global Coronavirus pandemic is changing the way businesses operate, and many companies are shifting their Call Centers to a remote work environment. And while this should be hailed as the right thing to do, it’s also creating new challenges for companies as they scramble to enable employees to work from home and ensure calls are properly routed and handled.

One of the most powerful tools businesses have to communicate with callers right now is the messaging capabilities built-into Call Center features such as IVR & Call Queue. Using these capabilities in the right way will effectively help to lighten the load for agents, reduce caller frustration, and serve customers faster.

We’re sharing our best guidance and actions you can start doing today on how you should set up your phone messages and system features to be more responsive and helpful to your callers during COVID-19:

During this time, clear, current messaging for your phone system is essential.

Covid-19, or Coronavirus, is impacting businesses and cities across the country in an unprecedented way. Many companies are suddenly faced with temporarily shutting down operations, or at the very least, making changes to working hours and allowing employees to work from home. You may also find it necessary to update protocols to ensure the safety of your staff and patrons, and it’s important that each person affected by these changes receive the message as soon as possible.

Social media, email, and your business website makes it easy to get a message through to your customers at scale, but your phone system still remains a key frontline communication tool. As more cities are encouraging people to stay home, customers, suppliers, and partners may call your business to get quick answers, such as changes to your business hours, instructions on how to get help, where to find the most up-to-date information, new procedures your company is implementing to conduct business or anything else that’s outside normal operations. There’s a strong chance you might experience a higher call volume than normal because customers will have questions they’ve never had to ask before.

Businesses across the country are monitoring the Covid-19 status every day, and as new developments become available, it’s important for businesses to be able to fluidly prepare and adapt to minimize any negative effects on operations.

We’re sharing some practical advice on what you can start doing today to empower your business phone system during the Coronavirus pandemic and create a better customer experience:

A voiceover artist does more than give voice to your content, they create an emotional connection between the listener and your brand. Using the same voice across your professional business recordings helps reinforce your image and build brand personality. Which is why when you take a moment and remember a Coors beer commercial, you probably hear the deep, resonant voice of Sam Elliot. Or you may hear the smoky, soothing voice of Susan Sarandon when you recall a Tylenol commercial.

A prospective client/customer calls your business during a time of high call volume. So, naturally, you put them on hold until someone can attend to their needs. But have you ever taken a moment to think of the real marketing opportunity this scenario presents? After all, you have a captive audience, provided you can hold that caller’s attention long enough to keep them on the line. This is where a well thought out on-hold script is crucial. You want to keep it informative enough to be of value to your caller, but not so detailed and long-winded that you lose their interest. So, what do you include in your on-hold messages? Look no further! Whether your system utilizes a short 4-minute on-hold message or an extended 8-minute on-hold program, we’ve outlined all the essentials to include in your on-hold scripts, as well as what not to include...

Let’s face it, impressions matter. Whatever your industry, prospective customers are constantly sizing you up to get to the core of what you’re really about. And this isn’t exclusive to business interactions. People are constantly making assumptions about one another based on their other characteristics and behaviors. Psychologists call this Implicit Personality Theory, and simply put it means that we assume that people exhibit other traits that are commonly linked to the key characteristics we perceive. For example, if your server at a restaurant rushes you through your order without making an idle chit-chat, you might assume he’s unfriendly or doesn’t particularly enjoy his job. On the other hand, if someone displays a happy disposition you are more likely to assume that they are friendly and warm. 

So what does all of this have to do with your voicemail greeting?