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Introduction
What if you never have to miss a call?
What if your business had the option of receiving call notifications along with audio files?
What if you could receive these emails on multiple devices?
What if this was a free or low-cost service?
If you’re a remote worker, entrepreneur, start-up or small business, you’re probably excited at the prospect of this being a reality. Well, it is possible with voicemail to email services!
We’ve put together an essential guide for sending voicemails to your email.
What is voicemail to email?
Voicemail to email is a free phone system feature of voice-over IP phones. Voicemail recordings are sent directly to your email with the audio file.
New voicemail messages can be accessed from any device that has your email inbox loaded, making it possible for you to attend to voicemail messages anywhere and anytime.
Advanced business phone services allow voicemail transcription. This is helpful when you can’t play a voicemail recording, e.g., When flying or when the content is confidential.
Voicemail to email is about making voicemail messages easily accessible so that wherever you are, your work continues.
How does voicemail to email work?
A voicemail box can send voicemail notifications but often phone messages are still lost. Voicemail to email is a business phone service that is set up via your VoiP provider’s user interface and prevents lost phone calls.
This is how it works:
- Preferences are set up using the providers’ app or website. An email address is given, allowing the program to send voicemail notifications directly to your email service
- A caller leaves a voicemail message when phone calls are not answered. This can be due to missed calls or after hours
- The voicemail service will forward messages to the email address and attach an audio file (.mp3 file, .wav file). Listen to the audio file using the device’s media player app or software.
- Email notifications are sent when the email arrives
- Caller ID information, date and time of call and length of the voicemail message is provided
- Voicemail transcriptions are set up when written records are required
- Voicemail to email messages can be shared with other team members allowing them to access voicemails at any time
Benefits of sending voicemail messages to your inbox
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Small businesses miss 62% of customer calls because they don’t have resources to attend to them [1].
The voicemail-to-email feature can be an important customer retention tool for such businesses. Different methods of customer contact save time, and allow the customer to feel heard.
- Increase efficiency when doing remote work
Businesses that work remotely need services that allow all team members access to communications.
When a laptop and a smartphone are all you have to convince your customers that you are running a professional office, a voicemail-to-email service provides seamless customer interaction.
- Get messages faster
Instead of constantly checking your voicemail box for new and important messages, you have the option of receiving all your customer communication in one place - your inbox
Thatch knows how important your customers are. They provide one mailbox where all your customer interactions can be managed - so you never have to miss a message.
- Share messages and keep the team informed of your response
Voicemail to email messages can be easily shared amongst multiple team members. This creates streamlined communication even when working remotely.
- Get notified when urgent voicemail recordings come in
Voicemail settings allow you to flag urgent recordings. This allows businesses to respond to customer communication timeously. If there is limited time to deal with messages, this function ensures you receive the email that matters the most.
- Improve customer satisfaction
Missed phone calls are missed opportunities. Voicemail to email is an excellent way to keep track of customer communication. 60% of customers call businesses after finding them on Google but 22% of those calls are missed [1]
- Organise and maintain customer records
Voicemail to email becomes a customer data storage solution. Add cloud storage from third-party platforms and you have complete customer management.
Voice recordings can be easily filed according to customer name, customer number, date of the call or telephone number. This streamlines the retrieval of customer information, speeding up response times.
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How to set up voicemail to email
It is not difficult to set up voicemail to email services. Once done, your messages will automatically reach your email without a need to intervene.
Service providers have various ways of setting up voicemail to email. The user interface provided will guide you through the process. Four options are available for these services:
- Request email with a recording attached
- Request email with a recording attached, and automatically deleted from your voicemail box
- Request an email notification of a new voice recording
- Request a link to listen to recordings on the service provider’s app or website
Forward voicemail messages via the phone system app
- Open the phone system app
- Go to voicemail settings
- Select forward voicemails
- Select the forwarding option that suits your preferences
- Enter your email address and save the options
Forward voicemail messages on Android, Computer and iPhone
Android
Computer
iPhone
On your device, open the Google Voice app
On your computer, go to voice.google.com
On your iPhone or iPad, open the Google Voice app
On the top left, tap Menu and Settings
At the top right, click Settings
At the top left, tap Menu Settings
Under "Voicemail," turn on Get voicemail via email
On the left, click “voicemail”
Under "Voicemail," turn on Get voicemail via email
Turn on Get voicemail via email
Advanced voicemail to email features
Transcription services
Some businesses love this function and others find it unnecessary. This is a good option if you want a written record of calls for legal reasons or follow-up.
- Access the transcription option from your phone system’s dashboard or website.
- Click on the voicemail tab (usually on the left of the screen)
- Enable the email transcription option and enter the email address for the transcript to be sent
Machine learning has been useful in making these transcriptions more accurate. There are, however, some improvements that still need to be made in this area. It is best to listen to the recordings if reliable information is key.
Source: Pexels
Conclusion
Why worry about losing contact with your customers? With voicemail-to-email services, you can confidently receive a voicemail from your customers and deal with them wherever you may be.
Small businesses, start-ups and remote workers who want to maintain a professional image, regardless of a physical location, can benefit from these VoIP services.
It's so easy to set up and yet customer management and satisfaction can be greatly improved by this simple technology.
Don't deal with another complaint about unanswered calls or messages. Let voicemail to email help you build your reputation as a reliable and efficient business.
Footnotes:
[1] https://www.numa.com/blog/22-business-phone-statistics
