The old adage is true: you never get a second chance at a first impression.
Even when someone is familiar enough with your organization to dial you up, that first conversation can have a lasting impact on how they perceive your business. It’s important to keep that first impression in mind when crafting the perfect company phone greetings. Professional phone greetings can start the conversation off on the right note while also prioritizing call efficiency.
If you’re not sure if your existing call greeting accomplishes all it should, you may want to revise your messaging. Learning how to greet customers on the phone is simple – once you’ve read a few tips:
Lead with Gratitude
Anyone who has ever had to navigate an automated voice directory will be familiar with this idea. Company phone greetings often begin with a simple “thank you for calling.” There’s good reason for that: by starting with a thank you, you instantly convey your appreciation for their patronage. While the line has become standard with time, it’s still a better opening message than something like “you’ve reached our business.”
It’s also a good idea to confirm with callers that they’ve indeed reached the company they intended to dial. “Thank you for calling” can quickly be expounded upon by adding the name of your business. The difference between “thank you for calling” and “thank you for calling Map Communications,” for instance, has obvious benefits. A proper phone greeting should be about welcoming, thanking, and informing. This particular option offers all three.
Exchange Names
Putting a name to a voice can help humanize the person on the other end of the line. Some company phone greetings are pre-recorded, but when you partner with a service like MAP Communication, you’ll have real people answering each call in a personable, professional way. Since 86 percent of people say they prefer to speak with a human over a recording, the opportunity to have a live representative greeting each caller is simply too valuable to pass up.
Reps should always include their name as part of their call greeting, but it’s just as important to ask the name of the person calling. This small gesture can remind the caller that they’re speaking with a real person. Exchanging names can help build rapport, opening up the conversation for a true connection. Such a tiny detail might be easy to overlook or dismiss entirely, but asking for someone’s name is also a great way to transition to the core of the conversation. “Hi Sarah,” a receptionist might say after learning the name of the caller, “how can I help you today?”
Offer Instruction
Perhaps the most important step of any company phone greeting is the part when you offer callers information. Should you need them to take specific actions to complete their request, it’s best to bring it up at the beginning of the conversation. For instance, if you need their account number to access their membership details, ask them up front for those details. The last thing you want to do is waste the time of callers who don’t have their account numbers on hand.
Attention to detail comes in handy for this portion of the call greeting. Experienced agents may recognize the tell-tale signs that a person doesn’t know or have everything they’ll need to handle their question or concern. By communicating specific instructions and requirements to move forward, you’ll capture the caller’s attention early in the conversation. This saves everyone time in the long run.
Smile While Greeting
Phone calls are a customer experience unlike any other. You rely solely on your voice to set the tone. Even though callers can’t see your face when dialing in, they can hear the cheerfulness – or lack thereof – in your voice. While it may seem odd at first, smiling when answering the phone can convey an undeniable sense of friendliness. The last thing you want is to come off as cold or apathetic in your professional phone greeting, so as silly as it might sound, try smiling the next time you pick up your phone.
Minimize Distractions
You can do everything right in designing the perfect company phone greeting and still miss the mark if your callers can’t hear you. Poor sound quality and distracting background noise can be seriously detrimental to the customer experience. If you’re answering phones on a busy sales floor, are near noisy colleagues joking around in the background, or have children or pets creating chaos, callers may not feel like a priority. That’s why so many businesses are opting to outsource their calls to virtual receptionists at Map Communications instead.
Designing the Ultimate Customer Experience
If you’re hoping to step up the way you communicate with callers, a partnership with Map Communications could be the solution. We work diligently with clients to design company phone greetings that are effective as they are welcoming. Customized call scripts allow us to bring the same attention to detail to the entire conversation. Allow us to boost your professional reputation while enhancing the customer experience and providing the very best service possible. Get started with a free trial of our live answering service now!
Here are some related articles you might be interested in:
5 Benefits of Having a Toll Free 800 Number for Your Business
How Adding an After-Hours Call Service Can Increase Business Opportunities
Why Right Now is the Perfect Time to Use a Virtual Receptionist
