Advantages and Disadvantages of Voicemail in Business Communication

Many businesses avoid using voice mail as a phone system function. However, voice mail can improve your customer’s experience while also benefiting you. Voice mail is simple to set up and can help you avoid losing business due to missed calls. While responding to a missed call by text may sound reasonable at times, maintaining professionalism is equally important in business communication. So sending a text message may not always be fruitful. We’ve taken the difficulty out of it so you can make a reasoned decision. Continue reading to discover the advantages and disadvantages of voicemail in business communication.

What is Voicemail Messaging?

Voice messaging is a computerized way of storing and altering spoken recorded messages available to users 24 hours from any touch-tone phone. Local, distant, and mobile users can use a voice-messaging system via landlines or cellular phones. Messages can be created in a user’s voicemail mailbox and then forwarded to another voice mailbox, much like email. A voice messaging system includes:

• Voice messages.
• Voicemail distribution lists.
• Fax-in and fax-on-demand in the mailbox.
• Interactive voice response.
• Voice forms that may access from anywhere in the globe by any user.

How does voicemail messaging work?

Person A dials Person B’s number, but they are unavailable to answer the call. The call is received by Person B’s voice mailbox or answering machine, which replays it when Person B returns and accesses it. The answering machine can be customized for Person B or shared among numerous office workers. Person B can retrieve the communication using a digitized code if the company has a precise or shared system; this is a voicemail number. The voice mail system is set up to automatically transmit a person’s call to another phone via call forwarding and prioritize messages so that a specific phone number from Person A—the recipient—is ready to interact with Person B—the caller—for feedback.

Advantages of using voicemail in Business Communication

A well-designed voicemail system can benefit both the client and the company. Let’s have a look at some of the advantages of voicemail, which are listed below:

1. Available 24/7

Your business and employees will always be reachable, thanks to voicemail. While voicemail isn’t always as pleasant as speaking with someone directly, it’s better than not being able to reach someone at all. This is especially handy for jobs requiring employees to be away from their phones regularly, such as traveling salespeople or service people, or when regular employees cannot answer their phones while attending meetings. 👉 People Also Read: Dental Office Voicemail Greeting Examples that Helps to Bring Back Customers

2. Screening of Phone Calls

Your employees can use voicemail to screen incoming calls. High-priority calls will receive a quick response, while non-urgent problems will be sent to voicemail and dealt with at a later time.

3. Get Rid of On-Hold Calls

For most people, being placed on hold is a frustrating experience. With voicemail, a client or customer can quickly communicate their issues without feeling as if their time was wasted waiting in line. The recipient can then answer the call as soon as available, reducing the caller’s time spent on hold.  👉 Read Also: Best Virtual Receptionist Software for Small Businesses  👤🧑‍💻

4. Cost-Effective

Voice mail can help you save money on staff while still providing a high level of customer service. With voicemail, a company may not require as many customer service employees. Allowing voicemail to answer calls during particular hours of the day might also help a company save money on overtime pay for customer care employees.

5. Many customers prefer voice mail

Clients and customers can leave voicemails to communicate their issues without being interrupted. A client or customer can concentrate on their primary concerns without being distracted by irrelevant information. 👉  Read Also: Benefits of Having Customized Phone Greetings for Incoming Calls and Voicemails 📲📄

Key benefits of using voicemail for business communications

• To make calls, you don’t need a secretary or a receptionist. Voicemail allows calls to be directed to a Direct Dial Information even when an employee is absent from their desk for a meeting or lunch. This benefit eliminates the need to increase staff overheads, resulting in direct cost savings for the company. Voicemail helps you to effectively handle all calls without missing anything.
• You can also prepare for follow-up calls. You’ll be able to prepare for calls before returning voicemail because voicemail allows clients to leave additional information about their call. This feature is particularly useful for conversations that necessitate some research or lengthy feedback.
• Messages left on voicemail cannot be lost or corrupted in any way. Messages written on the top of your desk are easily misplaced. Because they rely on the recollection of the first recipient, verbal messages might be misinterpreted. You’ll get the communication in its original format, which will allow you to respond more quickly.
• Customers can submit additional information regarding their calls. Voicemail messages can last anything from a few minutes to an hour, allowing customers to leave detailed messages about their call.
• Most clients prefer to leave voicemail messages to receptionists or secretaries for personal and confidential reasons rather than spoken or written notes. As a result, using voice mail in your organization will almost certainly enhance client feedback.
• Customers are never placed on hold. Nothing is more irritating than being put on hold, and many clients find the annoyance and the financial implications unacceptable. Customers aren’t put on hold, thanks to voicemail messages. If no one is available to answer the phone at any given time for whatever reason, voicemail messages can be left immediately.

Disadvantages of Using Voicemail in Business Communication

Voice mail communication has many advantages, and it does, however, have some restrictions. The following are some of its primary drawbacks:

1. Reason for Security

Hackers can take advantage of message recording systems via spam email, calls, SMSs, or social engineering through spoofing techniques like phishing, vishing, and smishing. They can read the messages, and take personally identifiable information and confidential corporate information.

2. Costly

Voice mail communication is more expensive than other types of mail services. As a result, voice mail is used for only a few crucial and private messages.

3. Language differences between sender and receiver

This technique would be ineffective if the receiver and tender did not speak the same language. You will become tired of listening to the messages and delete them without listening to them, resulting in you missing vital messages.

4. Discretion

It’s difficult to listen to or answer voicemail messages without making at least one phone call to your voicemail provider; thus, it’s difficult to do so discreetly. In many public venues, such as a movie theater, chatting on a cell phone is considered impolite or even banned.

5. Personal Annoyance

Checking voice mail can be inconvenient for some people, especially when compared to the convenience of sending and receiving text messages. Procrastinators may avoid checking voice mail by persuading themselves that they will do so later. Other disadvantages of voicemail are:

• Many people are doubters of technological progress.
• If consumers aren’t educated to utilize voice-messaging systems, it can be challenging.
• For smaller businesses, a voice-messaging system may be less cost-effective.
• Many people hate being unable to communicate with a live person.

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What is Webmail?

Webmail accounts are email accounts that are accessible via the internet. Typically, they are free to email accounts that are managed through a website. Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo Mail are just a few examples. Users can view their emails using Webmail as long as they have an Internet connection and a web browser. This also means that the user will be unable to read or compose new emails while offline.

Advantages of using Webmail

1. Simple to Use

• You can access Webmail instantly as long as you have internet access.
• You need to remember the URL that takes you to your email login page, as well as your email address (which serves as your login ID) and password.

2. Backup

• You may still access all of your information (previously sent emails, drafts, other folders, etc.) via any computer or with a browser, and an internet connection can access Webmail.
• There is no need for any additional software or configuration; all that is required is an Internet browser.
• If your computer doesn’t work or is stolen, you don’t have to worry about losing your data.

3. Universality

• Although there are many different email accounts, can access none of them through the email application.
• Email clients use POP or IMAP email protocols to connect to the account via the server.

4. You don’t need a computer to participate

Webmail accounts are accessible from any computer. Webmail users don’t need to own a computer to access their emails because they can use a friend’s laptop or a cyber café to do so. You may also like👍: Best Practices to Create a Proper Business Voicemail Etiquette

Disadvantages of using Webmail

1. Advertisements

Since you’re not paying for the service, webmail providers must rely on advertising to make a living. This means you’ll have to deal with banner ads and tailored ads, which aren’t available with regular email providers.

2. Additional Spam

Because of their enormous client base, spammers choose to target webmail services over traditional providers. If you avoid signing up for commercial services, the spammer will find your address and bombard you.

3. No offline work

As more consistent and stable broadband becomes available, this is becoming less of a problem; still, you must be online to view your messages and enter and send new ones. This means you won’t be able to download new messages, disconnect, and read them offline, and you won’t be able to read old emails without being online. Similarly, you cannot compose and send a message when disconnected.

Voicemail vs. Webmail

Voicemail	Webmail
The receiver usually tries to comprehend and retain the message the first time they hear it, but they are free to rewind the tape and repeat it as many times as they need to. The volume and tone of one’s voice give away information about the importance of urgency.	The reader can read the information several times to ensure that they comprehend it. The simplicity of the design hides distinctions in importance, and the phrase must express relative importance or urgency on its own.
It’s possible to save it on tape for future use. But it isn’t easy to find individual messages that have been saved.	It’s possible to save it on a disk for future use, and it’s simple to get specific messages that have been saved.
Oral communication must be listened to at the same rate as it was delivered.	Written messages can be read rapidly or slowly, depending on the receiver’s preference.
The flashing indicator that a voicemail message is waiting can irritate the receiver, especially if they are busy at the moment.	The receiver can access the message whenever they want, possibly long after the message’s purpose has passed.
The person speaking is in charge of putting the message together. The speaker may sound inarticulate or disorganized if the communication comprises pauses, repetitions, or backtracking.	The writer organizes and edits the message for the reader. The writer may appear sloppy, insensitive, or illiterate if the communication contains misspellings and other errors.

Conclusion

Voicemail is one of the effective ways to communicate, especially in the business arena. Due to office-related business or personal issues, sometimes, the clients may not be answering your calls. On such occasions, leaving a voicemail would be the best way to get their attention. It’s also a professional way to communicate when the recipients are busy. So voicemail messaging is a must-have feature in business telephony. However, not all telecommunication service providers come with that handy feature. So businesses and enterprises are rapidly switching their telephone system into cloud telephony. And KrispCall is proving to be the most viable option for that migration. Sending and receiving voicemail is easy and straightforward with KrispCall. You can hear the voice message on the go without an issue. The best part is, you get an alert via email each time you receive a voicemail on your business phone. In addition to a reliable voicemail service, KrispCall comes with a plethora of other handy cloud telephony features. With features like Automatic Call Distribution, Call Recording, Auto Attendant, Call Transfer, Intelligent Call Routing, etc., you can enjoy seamless communication with your clients and customers. Despite all these amazing features, KrispCall is super-affordable when it comes to the price. There’s also a Schedule Free KrispCall demo now, for the starters. So why not give KrispCall a try?