How To Set Up A Voicemail System That Clients Will Use

Companies are known to invest large sums of money in order to create effective voicemail systems that they think are customer friendly. Unfortunately, their efforts do not have the intended effect in some cases. All too often, corporate voicemail systems can be extremely ineffective, confusing, irritating, and clumsy. These types of systems cause frustration for many customers instead of solving critical problems. Customers often hang up the phone when they encounter a phone system that has all the characteristics listed above.

Here are several simple steps that can help any firm set up an effective voicemail system that will solve the issues and concerns of your customers.

Indication of Human Life

The lack of human contact is probably the biggest problem people have with corporate voicemail systems. Many consumers believe that they are entitled to speak directly with a customer support representative. These are the individuals that automatically dial zero (for the operator) at the moment voicemail takes the call. One may think that a company is smart to make customers deal with a machine, but there are some factors that should be taken into consideration before jumping to this conclusion.

A large number of customers don’t have the patience to deal with voicemail systems. Some may believe that your company does not care about their issues or concerns if it does not pay a live human being to answer the phone. This problem can be solved by employing a support rep and making it clear how to reach them.

Provide Intuitive Options

Providing intuitive options is another method of creating a voicemail system that’s customer-oriented. There are too many voicemail systems that are like a maze in which callers are offered many different options to choose from rather than just a few simple choices. This is a grave mistake that can be easily avoided. Placing many obstacles in front of someone will increase the hang up rate dramatically.

You should always concentrate on simplicity while designing your voicemail system. Keeping this in mind and making adjustments along the way will help you come up with a consumer friendly solution.

Allow People to Have The Opportunity of Skipping Long-Winded Audio

There is also a direct connection between how much audio is forced upon someone and their desire to stay on the phone. Individuals don’t care about what you have to say unless it solves their issues. This is an important point that should always be kept in mind.

This issue can be avoided by making it clear how one can proceed to the menu options that are related to their needs. For example, “For customer service, press 1. For billing inquiries, press 2.” Make sure all the information provided is relevant to customer needs and save other announcements for company blog posts or press releases.

Don’t Send Callers Directly To Online Frequently Asked Question Section

Sometimes it seems that companies use their voicemail systems mainly to refer people to their online FAQ sections. We’ve all been there at some point in time. You call up a company in order to get solid answers to your question, only to be automatically informed of the extensive help library. There’s nothing wrong with sending people to your Frequently Asked Question Section on occasion, but this should not be the main mode of addressing callers’ issues.

While it’s true that some customers never bother to visit the FAQ section, others do check it and don’t find an answer to their problem. When it comes to these individuals, refusing to provide personal service can lead to a loss of business. Reminding them about the Frequently Asked Question section repeatedly will be fruitless.

Guarantee Follow-Up Times

There are times when customers will not be able to get personal assistance. This may happen during a holiday or weekend. You can make customers feel more confident in using your voicemail if it addresses their needs. You can give customers a follow up time before asking them to leave a voice message. For example:

“Thank you for calling XYZ Co. Although we are presently out of the office, we will return your call within one or two days. Your call is important to us and will be handled promptly.”

This is a direct and effective message that will lead to desirable results. Using generic messages with no specific details about when the customer will receive a return call will make the customer think they will not receive a response, so it pays to be as specific as possible.

By: Gary G

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Grasshopper specializes in virtual voicemail for business. Grasshopper's systems offer local and toll free numbers, virtual pbx systems with unlimited extensions, and many other options to make it possible for businesses to get calls, voicemails and faxes anywhere.