Business owners have often argued that voicemail is impersonal, offensive to their customers and is bad for business. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This is an argument that has raged in business offices for twenty years. The owner or others in upper management want to make sure the phone gets answered. They hate leaving a message with a computer or a machine. They feel that voicemail is at best unproductive, at worst a convenient dodge for their employees to talk to their customers and therefore a business killer.

We will address this issue from the perspective of the customer, your employees and that of owners and upper management.

Voice mail systems have been added to the vast majority of phone systems today. There are still many thousands of phone systems in operation today that can not have voicemail added to them. They would have to be replaced to have voicemail. Still many thousands of system are in use that would have to be upgraded to add voicemail. Many more could have voicemail added at the customer's option.

Before fully addressing this issue, we frankly admit that voicemail can be implemented in damaging ways. Employees can duck calls. If the automated attendant is programmed to answer all calls (even during regular business hours), you risk alienation of your customers.

Customers have become used to being offered voicemail when an employee isn't available. They would usually rather leave a detailed message in someone's voicemail box. They can feel free to address an issue in full and without concern about confidentiality. When you try to leave a message with a person to be delivered by hand, you know that anything beyond your contact information is likely to be edited. Besides, do you feel justified taking up that person's time or do you cut yourself short so you won't overburden them? Largely, the customer would rather go to the voicemail box.

When the customer wants to speak to someone else right away, they should be offered the opportunity to do so. When someone isn't available to come to the phone, make sure your employees say "Would you like to go to their voicemail or could someone else help you?" 90% or more will take voicemail; the rest will appreciate the chance to talk to someone now.

Your employees will appreciate voicemail greatly. They can get their messages instantly, rather than when someone remembers to give them the message slip. They can check their messages from outside the office. They won't be interrupted from their work to take messages or deliver them. They can transfer calls from friends and relatives into that employees voicemail. They will be more productive for you.

Owners and upper management will benefit from having more efficient and productive employees as well as better communications with their customers. They will have to make sure that they don't put in voicemail the wrong way. Don't use automated attendant to answer calls during regular business hours. Don't set up large, confusing menu trees. Don't set up voicemail jail where there is no opportunity for a caller to reach the operator. Make sure that someone is designated to answer calls when people hit zero for the operator. Voicemail's chief benefit is the non-simultaneous completion of voice communication. Unless you have a huge operation with a call center, don't get yourself in trouble by trying to do more than that.

Voicemail will be appreciated by your customers, your employees and you--via the bottom line.

Bob Mrozinski

Owner of Applied Voice and Data, a broker of refurbished and new business phone system equipment from many manufacturers. Bob's eighteen years in the phone industry are mostly on the sales side. By visiting with customers in person and on the phone for so long, he has acquired a knack for honing in on what a customer really needs to make real world applications work.

http://www.avdphonesystems.com/