A Great Auto Attendant is Essential for Success

If you never had the frustrating experience of contacting a company via telephone and dealing with a poorly designed auto attendant, you are one of the lucky few!  Long-winded introductions that waste your time, confusing menu options that make you scream, and an overall lack of organization of auto attendants make you want to take your business elsewhere.

For many small and midsize businesses (SMBs), an auto attendant is the first and most important point of contact with their clients.  A poorly designed auto attendant is a potentially fatal flaw for SMBs.  In a survey conducted by Software Advice, it was discovered that 42% of callers choose to do business with another company after an unsatisfactory experience with an auto attendant.

Simplicity + Practicality = Power

Practical and simple is the way to go.  An effective auto attendant adheres to the following guidelines:

• The introduction length should be under 3 seconds. No one wants to sit through a lengthy introduction when they need assistance.
• The length of the menu should be less than one minute.
• Five menu options are ideal. You should never exceed 8 options.
• A logical order of options is crucial. The most frequently used or most important options should come first.
• The options should be clear and concise. Callers need to get through to the proper extension without any confusion.
• For most SMBs, departments should be listed instead of individuals. For some extremely small businesses with only a couple of employees, a list of individuals may be sufficient.