Are you crafting your company’s telephone greeting, or thinking of giving your old greeting an upgrade? We recommend the KISS method: Keep It Simple, Silly! Your telephone greeting is an important touchpoint for customers, and an opportunity to make a great (or not-so-great) impression. How much do you need to tell callers about your business in a greeting? Let’s examine this information-packed greeting:
You’ve reached Paulsen Brothers Pickles, home of Cincinnati’s favorite crunchy dill, and three-time winner of the Gold Gherkin Award for Pickling Excellence.
Wow! The folks at Paulsen Brothers sure are proud of their pickles — and with good reason! But is this an effective greeting?
In fielding calls for our many clients, we’ve found that a solid telephone greeting includes three key elements: Welcoming words to greet the caller, the company name, and an offer of assistance. The Paulsen Brothers greeting nails the company name piece, but falls flat otherwise.
The trouble with greetings that include lots of extras is that they often skimp on the basics. The Paulsen Brothers greeting lets callers know they’ve reached an excellent pickling company, but it doesn’t necessarily make callers feel taken care of. Let’s face it: If someone is taking the time to call your company, they probably already think you’re pretty great, or at least you’ve already piqued their interest. Bragging about your company’s expertise in a greeting might be overkill. Imagine calling this company frequently; it’ll probably start to leave a bad taste in your mouth!
Share your company’s accolades and accomplishments on your website, newsletter, and advertisements instead. Your company’s telephone greeting, on the other hand, is an opportunity to thank customers for taking the time to call, and showcase your appreciation and eagerness to help:
Good afternoon! Thank you for calling Paulsen Brothers Pickles. How may I help you today?
A simple greeting like the above is simply perfect!
