6 telephone greetings that A telephone announcement can be one of the first direct points of contact with a (potential) customer. Despite this, telephone announcements are often neglected – annoying hold loops, unclear announcements during business hours or poorly thought-out selection menus are unfortunately the norm. Your company can do better! We have compiled the six most important telephone announcements in customer dialogue for you, including text suggestions from our experts.
The 6 most important telephone greetings for professional companies are:
6 telephone greetings that. Which telephone announcements your company needs always depends on the wishes and needs of your customers . For each occasion, think about what information your customer would like to know at that time and formulate this into a clear announcement. The most important credo: put the customer at the center.
1. Welcome message
6 telephone greetings that. Am I in the right place? This question is often asked when the caller is not 100% sure whether the phone number is actually correct. With a meaningful greeting , you can prevent any mistakes and give callers a good feeling right from the start. Introduce your company with its name and slogan and make it clear to the caller in a few words what to expect.
Example text 1: Good (morning/day/evening) and welcome to (example company) . Please be patient for a moment while we connect you with the next available employee.
Example text 2: Welcome to (Example Company) , your specialist for ( Example Product) . We look forward to speaking with you.
The quality of your telephone messages is just as important as their content! Read here why it is worth having messages produced by real professional
2nd queue
– the mood killer among telephone announcements. But you don’t have to drive away your customers with bad music and empty promises!
Choose and provide your callers with important information . These loops can include facts about the company, alternative contact options or an explanation for the new zealand phone number library longer wait time. If you use an ACD system, you can also give callers their queue position so they can estimate how long they will have to wait.
Attention! Avoid unnecessary repetitions. These are of no use to the caller and can sometimes be quite annoying.
Example text 1: Welcome to (example company) . All of our employees are currently talking to customers. We will connect you as soon as possible. Your maximum waiting time is ( x minutes) . (Play music loop, approx. 1 – 1.5 minutes)
Example text 2: Welcome to the hotline of (example company) . All of our employees are currently talking to customers. Please be patient for a moment. ( 10 seconds music) The next free line is for you. ( 20 seconds music) Have you ever visited our online shop? At ( www.exampleshop.at) you can currently save 10% on our products. ( 30 seconds music) Unfortunately, it will take a little longer today because we want to take time for our customers and advise them in detail.
You can also make your caller’s waiting time more pleasant with pleasant hold music and/or announcements if you put them on hold , e.g. while you connect them to another subscriber.
3. Announcement outside of business hours
Even if you are not available at the moment, you can still contact your callers using a telephone greeting. State your business hours and let them know whether your customers should call back themselves or whether you will call back after leaving their contact details on the answering machine (call-back service).
Example text 1: Hello and welcome to (example company) . You can reach us outside of our business hours. You are welcome to call us Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Thank you for your call and goodbye.
Example text 2: Good day and welcome to (example company) . You can reach us by phone on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. or on weekends and national holidays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You are welcome to leave us a message after the beep. We will call you back as soon as possible!
4. Announcement in case of unavailability
Sometimes it happens even in the largest service centers: the queues are overcrowded, the waiting time increases, the lines are at capacity – at the moment not every call can be answered. But that is by no means a reason to send your customer into a spiral of call attempts and failures!
We recommend that you prepare to use an answering machine so that callers can describe their concerns and leave you their contact details.
But be careful: If you promise to call back, you really have to call and you shouldn’t let your customers wait too long!
Example text: Hello and welcome to (example company) . All lines are busy at the moment. Due to (problem X) it is currently taking a little longer. You are welcome to leave us a message after the signal tone and we will call you back as quickly and reliably as possible!
5. Announcement in case of disruption
Are you prepared for emergency situations? If there are disruptions or other exceptional situations, you have your hands full, so it’s good if you only need to switch on the appropriate telephone announcement. A telephone announcement for disruptions informs your customers about the problem and also makes it clear that you are already working on a solution.
Example text 1: Welcome to (example company) . Due to a technical problem, we are unfortunately not personally available at the moment. We ask for your understanding. Our technicians have identified the error and are working on resolving it. Please try to contact us again later. Thank you and goodbye.
Example text 2: Hello, this is Example Company ! Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing a technical problem. As soon as the problem is resolved, we will be happy to be available to you personally again. You can also send us an email to [email protected] . Thank you for your understanding.
6. Selection menu
Does it often take ages to connect your callers to the right employee? Then you should automatically channel your callers with a well thought-out selection menu . The selection menu is played after the greeting. Your customers can then choose between several options, maximum of 3-4 choices should be offered.
Our tip: Always give callers the opportunity to be guide must-have templates for researchers connected directly to an employee. Sometimes callers don’t know exactly which category they should be placed in, or are already so upset that they want to speak directly to an employee.
- To get information about (our products) , please say <PRODUCT> .
- For information on ( additional services) please say <SERVICE> .
- If you have any questions about (your order ) please say <ORDER> .
- To be connected directly to one of our employees, please stay on the line.
Sample text 2: Please select one of the following options by pressing the buttons on your phone:
- For general information about (Example Company) please press <ONE> .
- For details about (our products) please press <TWO> .
- If you would like to know more about our (offer) , please press <THREE> .
- To be connected directly to one of our employees, please press <FOUR> .
Attention! Wrong selection
When selecting a menu, it can happen that the caller makes a mistake when pressing a button , the voice recognition does not work if the dialect is shopping data too strong) or the caller does not press or say anything at all. Consider and design announcements for possible error outputs:
Example text 1: Unfortunately, your selection was not clear. Please select again.
Example text 2: Unfortunately, we did not understand you. We will connect you with the next available employee.
Conclusion: Maintain your telephone greetings!
As you can see, there are many types and uses for professional telephone announcements. But there are also at least as many ways to get things wrong. Which announcements you need for your customers depends on your company and your requirements. Our will help you with the concept! We wish you every success!