I find myself the most inspired when listening to soft, upbeat music, and this morning the tune was one of the most recent Mac Miller tracks. This might seem irrelevant right now, but some of the lyrics were amazingly applicable to the danger of using a salon voicemail as your receptionist.
As I was about to get into advising you on the best practices of voicemail recordings and greetings, here’s what was blasting in my ears: “I can’t keep on losing you / Over complications / Gone too soon / Wait, we was just hangin’”… I’ll let you make the parallel!
Have you ever wondered how many clients you might have lost because you’re using a generic salon voicemail? The goal is to drive customers in, not away. So after chatting with some of our salon training staff, who have been in the industry for years, we’ve put together some messages that will guarantee you bookings.
The Danger of Using a Salon Voicemail As A Receptionist
Unfortunately, sometimes things get too busy in the salon for it to be possible to have a staff member only on reception duty. As a result, you rely on a salon voicemail greeting to do the job. But is it doing the job?
Many times, salon voicemail messages only take away from your remarkable customer service and without the wanted result: drive clients in for an appointment. This is why we do not recommend getting into this habit, even if we are fully aware it sometimes seems like the only available option.
Best Practices
Of course, you NEED a voicemail greeting for the times your salon is closed, at least. Here’s a checklist of best practices.
1. Make Your Recording As Short As Possible
The longer it gets, the more likely your potential client will hang up because they are annoyed.
2. Make your message upbeat, warm and friendly
It’s frustrating enough to reach a voicemail… being helpful and friendly in your message will go a long way to reduce annoyance!
3. Offer another booking method
Does your salon offer Online Bookings? If so, slip that information into your recording to drive bookings in. As well as offering the client a way of booking, you’ll reduce the number of calls coming through, freeing up your front-of-house staff.
4. Offer a call back within a certain timeframe
If you choose to do this, make sure you develop a discipline. If you promise to return calls within 2 hours, it must be 2 hours. Delivering on what you promise is what’s going to make your customer service stand out when it comes to busy times and people reaching your voicemail.
4. Don’t put too much information in your greeting
Keep things succinct and simple in your voicemail. Include a quick apology for not making it to the phone, before directing callers to your online booking (or salon app!) or advising them to leave their name and number for a call-back.
5. Avoid background noise
Background noise can make it hard for the person calling in to understand your greeting. Record your voicemail greeting in a silent place.
6. Practice makes perfect: rehearse
When creating an electronic greeting, practice or write down your message before recording it. Your message will feel more genuine if it flows, and will be perceived better by callers. Rehearsing might even help you find the perfect wording for you!
Creating The Best First Impression Via Voicemail
Your salon voicemail is an important part of your branding, which is why its so important to get it right. From new clients who are getting their first impression of you to long-standing visitors who just want to book their next appointment, keeping your voicemail friendly, short, and easy is key to streamlining the client experience, even when you can’t make it to the phone!
Psst: Want to continue streamlining your client experience once your clients enter the salon? Check out our guest self-check-in app to free up your front-of-house and ensure a five-star service for clients.
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