Helping Enhance
the Invisible Part of Your Brand
When Was the Last Time You Heard the Recorded Phone Messages People Hear When They Call Your Business?
Our Guess Is It’s Been Quite a While.
That’s not surprising. People working for a company don’t have to call the main number, so they’re not aware of what their callers are hearing – and unfortunately they seldom give those messages a second thought. They often fall through the cracks and are completely forgotten.
We believe those phone messages are a critically-important part of a company’s brand that gives callers an immediate first impression of the business and its desire to be helpful.
But if they’re ignored, that’s a missed opportunity of major proportions.
Here’s an Example of How We Can Help.
This Business Has a Beautiful,
Compelling Brand Identity Online
Here’s what their old “welcoming” message sounded like.
We’ve helped them develop this new approach that’s consistent with the rest of their brand.
It’s YOUR Brand
Your Brand Is a Very Big Deal.
It conveys your company’s values, how you can be of service, and how you want people to feel when they interact with you.
It’s the personality of your business and a commitment to customers and clients that should set you apart from others.
Brands almost always are seen (literally!) as a visual medium: websites, advertising, written promotional materials etc.
But we believe the phone messages callers hear are an important audio component of your brand that can be designed specifically for the ear and convey a feeling consistent with the rest of your brand.
Let’s assume a potential client or customer heard great things about your company from others, was blown away by what they saw on your website, and decided to call to find out more.
What they hear ought to give a first impression that conveys the same feelings and qualities they’ve already observed – same welcoming tone, same caring, same professionalism, same desire to be helpful.
FrontEnd Messages Can Help Small or Medium-Size Businesses Accomplish That by Creating One-of-a-Kind Phone Messages That Are Consistent With Their Specific Brands.
Words Matter!
You’ve probably noticed how many companies’ recorded phone messages use exactly the same wording as untold numbers of other companies.
Here are a few examples.
So how exactly does that create a unique first impression?
Because businesses seldom take their phone messages seriously, they’ll often listen to other companies’ messages and assume that’s what phone messages are supposed to say.
So they take the easy way out and end up using those same tired, trite words and phrases that convey nothing unique at all about the company and are totally inconsistent with the feeling conveyed by the rest of the brand.
They don’t have to sound that way.
Your phone messages are, in a very real sense, the voice of your company – a one-on-one vocal communication with an individual human being on the other end of the line who has specific needs and wants to find out if and how you can help.
With commitment and a bit of creativity, your phone messages can present an image of your company that’s welcoming, caring, professional and eager to be helpful – even fun!
It all starts with the scripts. Because your messages will be heard by real people, they should use wording that’s comfortable, conversational, and easy to understand.
Breaking Away From Those Tired Old Messages and Creating Customized Scripts That Represent Your Brand In a New And Unique Way Is a Fun Challenge We Always Enjoy.
One-on-One Communication
We Believe Conveying a Conversational Tone Is an Essential Quality of Effective Phone Messages. But Making That Happen Can Be Quite a Challenge.
Even if the words in the script are perfect, asking someone to read those words off a piece of paper and making it sound like they’re talking directly to a caller isn’t easy at all. Our brains tend to try to figure out the best way to say things and which words to emphasize, and that can create a sound that’s far from convincing.
Recording phone messages involves much more than finding someone with a “good voice” and asking them to read a script for you. It takes more than a good voice to make a great message.
A person with a pleasant-sounding voice, but without professional voice training or acting experience can miss the mark in your attempt to have your recorded messages sound consistent with the rest of your brand.
Here’s an example of the kind of messages
we all hear every day.
Here’s another version, using exactly the same options, but with different wording and a conversational tone.
We Love Transforming Businesses’ Phone Messages, Creating New Ones That Are so Different From the Norm That Callers React With Surprise and Delight. Eager to Find Out More About Our Company?
How We Can Help
FrontEnd Messages’ Sole Purpose Is Helping Small and Medium-Size Businesses Take Advantage of the Unique Opportunity to Use Their Phone Messages to Add an Entirely New Dimension to Their Brand Identities.
Here’s How We Do That
1
Review your existing brand presentation to understand the identity you’re already conveying to the world.
2
Talk with a representative of your company about your callers and your brand, asking questions like these.
- Who are the people who call – current or prospective customers?
- What are some of the reasons they call?
- What services do you offer them?
- How do you address their needs?
- How would you describe your brand?
- What are some adjectives you’d use to describe it?
3
Using that information, draft a new script (or scripts) for the main message, as well as any additional messages necessary for individual departments, company information, announcements, etc. All scripts will use conversational language and appropriate terminology from the rest of your brand and will be subject to your approval.
4
Have a professional voiceover artist record the script, using a tone that’s consistent with your overall brand presentation.
If all this sounds interesting, we’d welcome a chance to explore your options further.
Simply leave us a message with the form below and we’ll get back to you promptly. Thanks for your time and attention.
About FrontEnd Messages
FrontEnd Messages was founded by Jack Armstrong more than 20 years ago in Southern California. Over the years it grew to include national clients such as Pepperidge Farm, Dacor, Paramount Pictures, Beech Street Health Insurance, United Way, and Nestle Baking – as well as many major museums, nonprofits, credit unions etc.
As Jack reached retirement age, he decided to step away from the business and enjoy some free time that had been in short supply. But his passion for written and verbal communication – and the joy he always felt in helping companies enhance their brands – eventually got to him, and he now has decided to resurrect FrontEnd Messages, though only for small and medium-size local businesses.
Jack has lived a fun and exciting life. He was a Peace Corps volunteer in Latin America, managed four nonprofit organizations in different parts of the country, ran for Congress, and served as a hospice volunteer for more than 30 years.
Following his professional career, he became a successful voiceover artist whose work has been heard on commercials, documentaries and industrial films – as well as an on-camera actor who had roles in commercials and national television programs.
He’d love an opportunity to visit with your business and talk about ways he might be helpful.
