Voicemail Messages are Part of Your Brand!
Who would have thought that leaving a voicemail would impact your reputation?! This morning Kim @ Bike Virginia commented that my message was the easiest for her deal with because I left my name and number twice at the end of the message. Kim takes care of the customer experience and handles loads of calls every day. That my message elicited a comment prompts me to get back online and share the experience with you.
When you are asking someone to help you, make it as easy as possible for them and you’re more likely to be at the front of the line. Duh! I know. And, I’ve seen people that seem to want to be right more than they want to have their problem solved. They’re demanding, sometime rude, and sometime just missing a couple of bits that would help them reach their real goal – getting help. Sometime the caller (we) don’t realize the customer experience person doesn’t have all the background we do and they need to be filled in – calmly. And trust me, if you’re asking for help, unless you’re the boss, and even if you’re the customer, others can make things tough – drawing out the process, requiring extra steps, putting you on hold just because they need to calm down or think that you need to calm down.
Regarding the voicemail example, which is also addressed in another post here: Good Voicemail Messages Matter. When you give the full details for your call you leave a good impression. You build your brand to be what you want it to be. And, you’re more likely to get the results that you want. A little planning trick many people use is: jot on a piece of paper:
- Your goal for the call
- Supporting point 1
- Supporting point 2
- Supporting point 3 (max)
- What you’re going to ask the listener to do – be specific
This little trick also avoids hanging up, snapping your fingers and thinking, “Oh man, I forgot to mention…..”
Having this record also gives you confidence that you made the first call, what you said in case they miss something on their end, and allows you to move on.
Give it a try – let us know how it works!
10/01/2009 at 2:07 pm Permalink
I never thought of my voice mail announcement as branding but I can’t disagree…You are totally correct about this. I’ll be changing mine soon. A small way to work on the business instead of in the business.
-Steve
blog.closet-solutions.com
15/01/2009 at 5:40 pm Permalink
Hi Susan,
I just stumbled upon your blog by accident and was delighted to see this post on leaving voice mails. I’m going to be more conscientious and to the point from now on. You are right, it is certainly easier on the listener’s end.
Thanks!
Leigh
05/02/2009 at 9:44 am Permalink
This is a very informative article and very up to date. It is true, that we our voice messages are part of our brand. keep up the good work
12/02/2009 at 12:20 am Permalink
Great point – leaving a more efficient voice mail helps increase their productivity, which in turn can increase yours when they get back to you more quickly. It’s a win-win! This was not an area to which I had give any thought. Will now be even more focused when leaving messages – thanks!
29/06/2009 at 6:11 pm Permalink
My girlfriend (who is a recruiter) makes a habit of always speaking slowly and clearly in her messages to clients, and leaving her return phone number twice. Is it a coincidence that she moved up to become one of the top recruiters at her company faster than anyone else? Probably not. Excellent info here.