Voicemail transcription: the best service for your customer, also when you’re not available 

Preferably, you want to help your customers at any time of the day, but you can’t always be available. This is a dilemma that a lot of businesses experience, because what if not being available causes you to lose your customers? Through smart installation, you can overcome this challenge and you won’t miss any phone calls. 

To keep an overview and to follow up your customers’ voicemail messages faster, we have a new smart feature for you: voicemail transcription, powered by privacy-friendly AI. From now on, in addition to the audio file, you will also receive your customers’ transcribed voicemail messages in your email box. This enhancement, integrated with Voys’ VOIP system, streamlines how you manage and respond to voice communications.

In this blog post, we will tell you all about the smart use of your Voys voicemail and VOIP features, and you will discover exactly how the new transcription feature works.

Being available at all times is impossible

With Voys VoIP, you can be available at all times. However, there are always calls that come at inconvenient moments. For example, you might be about to go for your afternoon run, engaged in an extensive meeting, or deeply focused on writing an offer. The temptation to pick up anyway is strong, as it could be a valuable customer, a new lead, or a complaint that needs immediate attention. But if you decide to answer every call while trying to complete other work tasks, you’ll find yourself getting nowhere. At some point, you have to make choices.

For many business owners, this challenge extends to days off as well. The phone rings regularly during your child’s swimming lesson, while you’re in the supermarket, or just as you’re about to start dinner. The impact of missing a call can be significant for your business, but so is the impact on your personal life when you do answer. Maintaining a healthy work-life balance is crucial.

No matter what you choose, it often feels like you’re letting someone down.

A good voicemail greeting is a good solution

The solution is a lot easier than you think. With a well-crafted voicemail greeting, you can effectively capture most customer calls. A voicemail doesn’t have to be irritating or frustrating if you approach it strategically.

With the right voicemail greeting, customers who might otherwise turn to a competitor will stay with you. In fact, a voicemail greeting that aligns perfectly with your business can make customers feel welcome and provide a strong first impression.

However, many businesses, while focusing on their reachability through Voys VoIP, often overlook the importance of voicemail. It becomes one of those tasks that gets pushed to the backburner—on your list for someday, when you have time, which, of course, is never the case.

3 tips to instantly improve your voicemail greeting 

Perhaps you recognize this situation and want to get started on improving your voicemail right away. If so, we have three fantastic tips for you that will help you manage calls even when you’re in less-than-ideal situations—like sitting on the toilet.

(Let’s be honest, some customers really seem to have a radar for those moments!)

Tip 1: Give immediate confirmation that the customer has called the correct number

Always include your company name and your own name first, so that customers immediately know they’ve called the right company. That gives a lot more confidence than, ‘This is the voicemail of: …BLEEP…’

If you’re not clear about this, many customers will opt out immediately. It simply does not come across as trustworthy. 

Tip 2: Say what you expect from the customer

Do you want customers to leave their name and phone number, or do you also want to know the reason for their call? Or would you prefer that they visit your website or call back at a later time? The possibilities are endless.

If you don’t specify what you want, there’s a good chance the customer will either leave a vague message or not leave a message at all. To avoid ambiguity, be proactive and clearly state the next step you’d like them to take. This way, you guide the caller and ensure you get the information you need to follow up effectively.

Tip 3: Give clarity about the follow-up

When you expect clarity from your customers, you obviously need to provide clarity yourself. Therefore, in your voicemail message, clearly state what customers can expect after they leave a message. Will you return their call the same day, within 24 hours, or will a colleague follow up instead?

Be transparent and honest in your response. Making promises you can’t keep will only work against you, so ensure your commitments are realistic and manageable.

Bonus tip: Write down your voicemail greeting

Before recording your voicemail greeting, it is a good idea to write it down first. This way, you can easily check if what you want to say actually makes sense. Also, say it out loud a few times to someone in your surroundings, to see if they also understand what you are saying. With a little writing and editing, you’ll soon have a voicemail that customers will love to listen to. 

Written voicemail in your mailbox

You haven’t yet tackled one challenge, and now you’re already facing the next: as more customers start leaving you voicemails, how do you keep track of them conveniently and effectively? Do you really need to set aside time to listen to every single message?

The answer is no.

We’ve developed something incredibly clever: voicemail transcription powered by privacy-friendly AI. With this feature, you receive every voicemail message transcribed directly to your inbox. This makes following up on messages infinitely easier. After all, reading an email is more frequent, simpler, and faster than listening to voicemails. As a result, you’ll never miss an important message again.

The best part is that you immediately demonstrate to your customers that they can count on excellent service after leaving a voicemail. The transcription serves as a useful reference, allowing you to address their questions right away and making them feel heard.

Our test group of customers was enthusiastic about the new feature. They found that scanning voicemail messages saved them a significant amount of time and made it much easier to determine urgency—exactly what we aimed for.

Voicemail transcription to improve processes

That voicemail is ideal for maintaining customer relationships when you’re not available yourself is clear. But we’ve come up with a few more clever ideas that we’d like to share with you. Because, and now we’re being immodest for a moment, you can do quite a few brilliant things with voicemail-to-text technology to make your company’s processes run just a little smoother.

Here are a few examples:

• The Physician’s Assistant’s Prescription Line: Imagine how much time and effort is saved when all messages are transcribed, allowing the assistant to process repeat prescription requests twice as fast.
• Shared Inboxes in the Support Department: With voicemail transcription, you no longer need to manually take notes on the content of voicemail messages. Everyone can quickly see the urgency and details from the transcription.
• Taking Sick Calls: How convenient would it be if a colleague receives an email notification when someone calls in to say they’re better and returning to work? This saves time and avoids interrupting someone’s workflow. Our colleague Jeroen, who handles sick calls, is particularly enthusiastic about this improvement.
• Placing Orders: Imagine placing orders for parts directly with your supplier through transcribed voicemails. With regular customers, you can skip lengthy questions and provide faster, more efficient service.

These are just a few ways voicemail-to-text can streamline operations and enhance efficiency across various aspects of your business.

Do you make use of a CRM package? Then there’s the possibility of having the transcription put directly into your CRM. Or how about having a call summary created with AI. You get the picture: voicemail transcription can set a lot in motion for your business. 

Feature with privacy-friendly AI

You might be thinking: “A written-out voicemail in your inbox sounds great, but what exactly is privacy-friendly AI?”

We completely understand your curiosity and are happy to clarify. If you know us at all, you know that we take your privacy very seriously. That’s why we’ve implemented a completely secure AI application for this feature, allowing you to use voicemail transcription with peace of mind within your company.

Rest assured, we do not rely on external services for transcription, nor do we use our customers’ voicemail messages to train the AI. We enhance the feature solely based on user feedback, ensuring that your messages remain 100% private.

Voicemail transcription has indeed sparked our interest in how AI can further enhance our service. However, we’re not diving in headfirst. Your safety and our reliability are too important for that.

Instead, we are carefully exploring how to integrate this privacy-safe AI application into the new products we’re developing. We can’t yet reveal exactly what this will look like, as it depends on what’s feasible within our strict privacy, security, and reliability standards, all while ensuring full compliance with GDPR.

Give your opinion on voicemail transcription

From now on you’ll receive every voicemail message in your mailbox as transcribed text by default, in addition to the audio file containing the voicemail message that every Freedom user receives by default. We are very curious about your opinion on voicemail transcription. Be sure to fill out the feedback form so we can keep improving the feature. 

Not a Voys customer yet, but enthusiastic about transcribed voicemail messages in your mailbox? Then join or request a quote for your business telephony. 

Still Not Sure What VoIP Is and How It Can Boost Your Business?

If you’re sitting there thinking, “What’s this VoIP thing all about, and how can it help my business?” you’re definitely not alone! VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) might sound a bit techy, but trust me, once you wrap your head around it, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.

To help you out and see if VoIP is a good match for you, we’ve got some awesome resources lined up. Check out these links to get the scoop on VoIP and find out how it can really change the game for your business:

• What is VoIP? – This resource breaks down the basics of VoIP, explaining how it works and why it’s such a game-changer for communication. If you’re new to VoIP, this is a great place to start.
• Keeping Your Business Telephone Number – Worried about changing your business phone number while transitioning to VoIP? This page will guide you on how to keep your existing number, ensuring a smooth transition without the hassle of informing every client and partner. Plus, we offer 012, 021, and 087 numbers to help you maintain a professional presence.
• VoIP Cellphone – Discover the Benefits of VoIP on your cellphone! With the Voys App, you can easily turn your smartphone into a powerful VoIP phone. Experience crystal-clear calls, lower rates, and enhanced flexibility