In this post, we’ll discuss how to select voice talent for your on hold message. This is important to give your business a professional sound and image as well as a crucial aspect of your personal branding.
Consider the following:
1. Gender : The majority of all telephone system recordings are recorded by female voice talents, however, you may find that a male voice is more suited to your industry or organization, especially if you represent an industry traditionally associated with men.
2. Age : This refers to the age of the voice rather than the age of the voice actor. Some voice artists have a younger sounding voice than their age in years, others, for example, have a middle-aged sound even though they are only in their early twenties. What sound would reflect your customer base the best? Would a mature, sophisticated, informative style work best?
3. Style: Depending on what your company offers, you may want to consider matching the style of voice to your products and services. If your company is a health-care provider for example, would a warm, comforting voice be a more suitable style. Alternatively, if you're a Sports wear retailer, an upbeat, energetic voice would better reflect your company services.
4. Accent: Maybe you would like your phone system to have a more exotic sound. Many of our clients deliberately choose a British accent voice artist to bring a global feel to their recordings. It may also be worth considering employing a bi-lingual voiceover talent if your customer base has a large foreign language bias (English and Spanish for example). We’ve also had clients in which we provide an Australian voice, French and others.
Finally, the choice of male or female voice talent for your on hold messages can make a difference. If your products and services are geared to women or women tend to be the majority of calls you receive, you may want to select a female voice - selecting a woman to speak to and on behalf of her peers. If your business is traditional, old school or old money, you may find that a male voice commands the gentle authority you require. Then again, you might want to consider our “dual voice” offering whereas the messages alternate in a male/female rotation. This is helpful in two cases, first if you cater to both genders it makes sense to have dual voice, and secondly many clients opt for dual voice talent so that their callers “pay attention” as they are surprised to hear a different voice instead of the same one throughout their on hold or waiting period.