Making an original and helpful recorded greeting for Christmas
It’s December. Christmas lights adorn the street, and the restaurants have all broken out their new year menus — but what about you? Some companies put together souvenirs for their customers, giving them out closer to the end of the month. Others have representatives call all their clients to wish them a happy holiday season. But that takes some time, to say the least. Still, you must do something! We’d like to suggest a way to wish your customers a happy holiday as simply and easily as possible. It’ll even prove helpful for the customers themselves.
If you use HPBX, there’s a 99% chance you have a recorded greeting. Your customers call and hear something like: “Hello, you reached ABC. If you’d like to speak with the sales department, press two. For accounting, press three. Or stay on the line to speak with our first available representative.” Dzinga lets you change that greeting with ease, and it is the focus of today’s article. Your holiday greeting — can you use it to spread a little cheer?
The first thing that comes to mind is adding some sort of seasonal message. And that’s a good idea, though it isn’t the most important thing. Instead, your pleasant greeting needs to be helpful as well. What do your clients need to know in the run-up to Christmas? Exactly: they need to know when you’re available. And so…
Tell them about your holiday schedule. Let them know that you'll be closed from December 24 to January 1, or that, while accounting will be on vacation, your customer support team will still be available every day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. That’s what your clients most need to hear, given the fact that they wouldn’t be calling on December 24 if they didn’t have something important to ask. They most likely understand that you won’t be able to resolve their issue right away, though they certainly don’t want to be kept in limbo.
Offer another way to get in touch. Let people who are calling leave you a voicemail or point them to the contact form on your site. And don’t forget to mention that you’ll read everything as soon as you’re back in the office. Another, even better alternative is to have your customer support team read messages from home in between all the Christmas movies they’re watching and respond as soon as they’re able to.
Wish them a great holiday season. Of course, your greeting should be formal, though it also needs to be warm and sincere. On the other hand, you could go ahead and crack a joke — but only if you know your customers will appreciate it.
Formal: Hello, and thank you for calling ABC. We are off for the holidays from December 24 to December 30, so, unfortunately, we cannot pick up the phone. You’re welcome to send us an email at hello@abc.com or leave a message after the beep. We will be sure to get back to you after the holidays. Merry Christmas, and a happy New Year!
Somewhat less formal: Hello, and thank you for calling ABC. We’re at home celebrating the holidays, and we’ll be back in the office on January 2. We hope you’re having a great holiday season as well! If you have an urgent question, please write us as hello@abc.com. We’ll be sure to get back to you. See you next year!
Informal: Ho, ho, ho! You reached ABC. Unfortunately, we’re busy with great food and tons of presents, but expect us back on January 2. We hope you’ve been good this year, and that Santa’s going to be bring you some goodies too! If you can’t bear to go without us for that long, we love getting emails at hello@abc.com. See you in January!
Figuring out what to say is half the battle. Here’s a few more tips that will help you come up with something great.
Show the text to a colleague. Once you’re done with your well-written greeting, show it to a colleague or two. They’ll be able to point out things you missed or maybe even add some ideas you hadn’t thought of.
Record the audio in a quiet room. Make sure there isn’t any background noise where you are so the recording is clean and clear. Another option is working with a professional narrator, though they can be expensive and busy this time of year. Christmas is their busy season, and you may not be anywhere near the head of the line.
Smile while you’re recording. Smiles are audible — it’s true! Callers can always hear a friendly tone with a smile from the other end of the line (even if you have HPBX instead of an actual line).
Be short and sweet. The age-old principle of KISS (keep it simple, stupid!) is as true as ever. If your greeting starts to drag on for a couple minutes, customers will probably just hang up — even if they were the ones who called and they really need to talk with you.
How to change your IVR with Dzinga
- Log into your account and in the panel on the left select Settings > IVR.
- Create a new call processing plan and make it temporary for while you’re on vacation. Or just replace the audio file in your existing voice menu.
- To change the audio file, click the gear across from the call processing plan you want to edit. In the Audio File menu that opens, scroll down to Upload and add an .mp3 file.
Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas! We hope you’re on vacation as well, and that you’re having a fantastic time. Our client support team will be available around the clock, even on Christmas and New Year’s Day. So, go ahead and give us a call — we’ll be happy to hear from you, do what we can to help, and, of course, wish you the very happiest of holidays!