Your Welcome Greeting: Your First Chance To Get It Right

First impressions matter – and the message or greeting you use to welcome visitors to your business environment can mean the difference between the start of a lasting relationship, or their leaving immediately to seek the goods and services that you offer, elsewhere.

Why Your Welcome Greeting Matters?

For first-time callers, your welcome greeting will set the tone for the conversation that follows – and help determine whether or not a potential customer decides to do business with your organization. For loyal existing customers, that greeting can assist in cementing the feeling of trust they already have when dealing with your business. And it can create a make-or-break impression for existing customers who are calling to air a grievance.

So it’s important to get it right. net2phone not only provides a comprehensive business communications solution that includes a virtual auto attendant with customizable welcome greetings as standard. Also, we created a helpful guideline on how to create the perfect welcome greeting. Here are some best practices:

Project A Positive Attitude

Enthusiasm is contagious. Likewise, boredom or hostility also communicate themselves to the listener, and provoke a similar response. So the tone of your welcome greeting can be almost as memorable as its content.

Psychologists and other behavioral experts advise a number of precautions, to ensure that speakers create the right mood. Sitting up straight in your chair, taking a deep breath before recording your greeting, and having a smile on your face as you speak are all confidence builders – both for yourself, and for the person who’s listening.

Ask For The Information You Require

Hopefully, the first call you receive from a customer won’t be the last one you get. In subsequent calls, your representatives may need details such as their account information, phone number, name, transaction history, etc. If this information will be required, you should specify it in your welcome greeting, as well.

Create Customizable Welcome Scripts

Not all of your staff members will share the same personality type, and a welcome greeting that sounds natural to an extrovert might sound strained coming from someone who’s less outgoing. So your welcome scripts should be designed with some “wiggle room” for speakers with different characteristics. Besides introvert / extrovert, other considerations might include gender, or education level.

End On A Helpful And Positive Note

First-time resolution of customer service issues or a first-time sale are the ideal, for any phone call. But even if matters aren’t successfully concluded right away, leaving the caller with a helpful and positive closing is always good business.

Keep Refining Your Welcomes

Finally, it’s a good practice to periodically update your welcome greetings. This can help to keep the script fresh, in the face of changing market conditions, staff turnover, or other factors.

The new net2phone business communications platform includes a comprehensive set of call queueing software and routing features in addition to customizable welcome greeting options, to help your business in the critical area of customer experience management. Contact a net2phone representative, to find out more.