Out-of-hours voicemail: how to avoid losing customers when the business is closed
It’s 7 pm. A prospective customer is trying to get hold of you to request a quote. Your office is closed. They get through to your voicemail. What they hear in the next 20 seconds will determine whether they call back tomorrow morning or contact your competitor this very evening.
According to a study reported by VoiceLab, 70 % of callers hang up after 60 seconds of silence and 30 % never call back. Yet 90 % of business calls end up on voicemail. This means that, in terms of volume, your out-of-hours voicemail is your primary point of contact with customers. And yet, the majority of companies do not devote even ten minutes a year to it.
What a caller expects when they get through to you outside of office hours
A caller trying to reach you outside your opening hours isn’t surprised to be put through to an answering machine. They expect it. What they don’t expect is to learn nothing useful in the seconds that follow.
There are three pieces of information they absolutely need. Confirmation that they have indeed reached the right company. Assurance that their enquiry will be dealt with, and when. A clear action to take straight away to ensure their enquiry isn’t lost.
If your out-of-hours voicemail doesn’t provide these three pieces of information within 25 seconds, they’ll hang up with a negative impression. That’s not the result you want from your first interaction with a prospective customer.
The three types of out-of-hours voicemail messages
Not all out-of-hours messages serve the same purpose. Before writing your script, you need to choose the right type.
The answering machine. The caller can leave a voicemail message with their contact details. This is the most common and effective way of ensuring that no business enquiries are missed. It does, however, require you to check your voicemail regularly and to call back within the specified timeframes.
A basic answering machine without a message storage function. The caller is informed that you are unavailable and asked to call back during office hours. This format is suitable for situations where enquiries are not urgent, or where the volume of messages left is difficult to manage.
The deterrent answering machine. Used during exceptional closures or holiday periods, it informs the caller that the line is unattended and offers alternatives. It should be even shorter than a standard voicemail message, ideally under 15 seconds.
The choice between these three formats depends on your ability to handle incoming messages. An answering machine that records messages but is not checked is worse than a simple answering machine: the caller thinks their call has been dealt with, when in fact it never will be.
What a good out-of-hours voicemail message should include
Whatever type of message you choose, there are six key elements that make for an effective out-of-hours answering service.
Company details at the start. «You’ve reached [Company]» as the opening sentence. This reassures the caller that they have dialled the right number and prevents them from hanging up straight away.
A clear statement of the opening hours. «Our offices are open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm» is better than «we are currently unavailable». This level of detail gives the caller information they can act on straight away.
A binding deadline for payment. «We’ll call you back by 12 noon on the next working day» is far more reassuring than a vague «as soon as possible». A specific commitment keeps the caller on the line, whereas a vague promise makes them hang up.
Clear instructions on how to leave a message. «Please leave your name, your number and the reason for your enquiry» tells the caller exactly what you need to know in order to call them back effectively.
An alternative channel for emergencies. If your business receives urgent enquiries outside normal opening hours, please provide an email address, an on-call number or a web address. This option ensures you reach callers who do not wish to wait until the next day.
A reassuring closing line. «Thank you for your call; we remain at your service» ends the message on a positive note and maintains the impression of availability despite the fact that we are actually unavailable.
Examples of ready-to-use out-of-hours scripts
Standard answering machine:
«Hello, you’ve reached [Company]. Our offices are open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm. Please leave your name and number, and we’ll call you back by midday on the next working day. Thank you for calling.»
(Duration: 18 seconds)
Automatic message for temporary closure:
«Hello, you’ve reached [Company]. Our offices are closed today as an exception. We will resume business on [date] and will be happy to assist you from then on. You can also email us at [email]. »
(Duration: 15 seconds)
Automatic reply for annual leave:
«Hello, you’ve reached [Company]. Our whole team is on holiday from [date] to [date]. We’ll be back to answer calls from [return date]. Please leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we return.»
(Duration: 16 seconds)
Answering machine with urgent call function:
«Hello, you’ve reached [Company]. Our teams are available Monday to Friday from 8 am to 7 pm. For emergencies, please contact us at [email] or on [on-call number]. Please leave a message and we will call you back as soon as we open.»
(Duration: 20 seconds)
«Hello, you’ve reached [Company]. Our offices are open Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm. Please leave your name and number, and we’ll call you back by midday on the next working day. Thank you for calling.»
(Duration: 18 seconds)
Automatic message for temporary closure:
«Hello, you’ve reached [Company]. Our offices are closed today as an exception. We will resume business on [date] and will be happy to assist you from then on. You can also email us at [email]. »
(Duration: 15 seconds)
Automatic reply for annual leave:
«Hello, you’ve reached [Company]. Our whole team is on holiday from [date] to [date]. We’ll be back to answer calls from [return date]. Please leave a message and we’ll get back to you as soon as we return.»
(Duration: 16 seconds)
Answering machine with urgent call function:
«Hello, you’ve reached [Company]. Our teams are available Monday to Friday from 8 am to 7 pm. For emergencies, please contact us at [email] or on [on-call number]. Please leave a message and we will call you back as soon as we open.»
(Duration: 20 seconds)
The most common mistakes in out-of-hours messages
The same message has been appearing for months. An answering machine message stating «Closed for holidays from 1 to 20 August» in October suggests a disorganised business. According to AKAIRO, the answering machine message should be updated monthly or whenever there is a change. An out-of-date message instantly undermines credibility.
The lack of specific timetables. «We are currently unavailable» provides no useful information to the caller. They do not know when to call back. Without this information, many do not call back at all.
The message is too long. The out-of-hours answering machine message must be no longer than 25 to 30 seconds. If it is any longer, the caller will hang up before hearing the instruction to leave a message. If they don’t hear it, they won’t do it.
Poor sound quality. A message recorded on a smartphone in a noisy corridor comes across as the opposite of what you intended. The quality of your voice is a direct reflection of the quality of your services.
Forgetting to update the message on returning from holiday. Resuming business without reactivating the standard welcome message is a very common mistake. Callers who get through to you on the first Monday after the holidays will still hear the holiday message. This gives a poor impression, even though you are available.
How often should you update your out-of-hours message?
The simple rule is this: your out-of-hours voicemail message must always reflect your actual situation. This means you should update it in five specific situations.
Before each period of leave, stating the exact return date. Upon returning from leave, to restore the standard message. Whenever opening hours change. During any exceptional closure, however brief. When an employee mentioned in the message leaves the company.
In practice, the difficulty lies not in knowing when to update the message, but in doing so promptly. The longer it takes to update the message, the longer your voicemail will be giving callers incorrect information.
With Voconix, you can create or edit an out-of-hours message in under two minutes from any browser. Simply write your text, choose a voice from 25 options, and the file is automatically sent to your telephone provider. No technical intervention is required. The message is active within a few hours, not several days.
The impact of voice quality on perception outside working hours
Outside office hours, your voicemail is your sole representative. There is no staff member on hand to make up for a poor first impression. The quality of the voice, the tone, the background music and the clarity of the message make up the entire customer experience at that moment.
A professional voice, accompanied by music that is consistent with your brand image, immediately conveys the message that this company is reliable, organised and looks after its customers even outside office hours.
Voconix offers 25 voices in French, English, German, Spanish and Italian, with a a catalogue of over 10,000 royalty-free tracks. The voice and music are mixed automatically. The result is a studio-quality message, without the need for equipment or any availability constraints.
