Professional Telephone Recordings: Greetings, IVR, Voicemail and After-Hours

Your phone system speaks for your business on every call. Before a caller reaches a person, they usually hear a welcome greeting, a menu, a message on hold or a voicemail prompt. Professional telephone recordings make each of those moments clear, consistent and on brand. This guide covers the recordings most businesses need, how to get them right, and how to order them.

The Types of Telephone Recordings a Business Needs

• Welcome greeting. The first thing callers hear. Keep it short: your business name, a warm welcome and, if needed, a note that calls may be recorded.
• IVR or auto attendant menu. "For sales, press 1..." prompts that route callers to the right team. See our menu prompts service.
• Messages on hold. Scripted messages, usually mixed with music, that inform callers while they wait. See messages on hold.
• Voicemail greetings. For the main line, departments and individual staff.
• After-hours messages. Opening hours, website and email details, and what to do in an emergency.
• Holiday and closure messages. Christmas, Easter and public holiday hours, office moves or temporary closures.
• Queue and overflow prompts. "All our team members are busy..." with position-in-queue or callback options.

IVR Best Practice

A good menu gets callers where they need to go in the fewest steps.

1. Limit options. Aim for four or five choices per level, and put the most requested option first.
2. Say the action, then the number. "For accounts, press 2" is easier to follow than "Press 2 for accounts".
3. Offer a way out. Let callers repeat the menu or reach a person.
4. Keep wording consistent. Use the same names for departments everywhere in your system.
5. Test it. Call your own number and listen to the full journey.

For more detail, read our article on IVR recording.

After-Hours and Holiday Messages

After-hours callers want three things: confirmation they called the right business, when you will be open, and where to go now. Include your opening hours, your website, and any urgent or emergency number. Record holiday messages well before the break so they are ready to load. Our after-hours voicemail script article includes sample wording.

File Formats for Phone Systems

Different phone systems need different audio formats. Common formats include 8kHz 16-bit mono WAV, 8kHz u-law or a-law WAV, and MP3 for many hosted and VoIP systems. Tell us your phone system or provider when you order and we will deliver files in the right format, named clearly so they are easy to upload.

Use One Consistent Voice

When the greeting, menu, on hold messages and voicemail are recorded by different people, the experience feels patchy. Using one professional voice across every recording sounds polished and builds trust. You can browse our telephone voice artists to choose a voice that suits your brand, and keep using that voice whenever you update a message.

How Ordering Works and Turnaround

1. Brief us. Tell us what you need, your phone system and your opening hours.
2. Script. Send your own wording or have our team write it for you.
3. Choose a voice. Pick from our Australian voice artists.
4. Record and produce. Your recordings are voiced, edited and, for on hold, mixed with music.
5. Deliver. Files arrive by email in the format your system needs, with same day turnaround.

Telephone Recordings FAQs

What telephone recordings does a business need?

Most businesses need a welcome greeting, an IVR menu if calls are routed, messages on hold, voicemail greetings, and after-hours and holiday messages.

Can you write the script for my telephone recordings?

Yes. Our team can write scripts for greetings, menus, on hold and voicemail, or polish wording you already have.

What audio format do phone systems need?

It depends on the system. Common formats are 8kHz mono WAV, u-law or a-law WAV, and MP3. Tell us your phone system and we will deliver the right format.

Can I use the same voice for all my phone messages?

Yes, and we recommend it. One consistent voice across greetings, menus, on hold and voicemail sounds more professional.

How quickly can telephone recordings be delivered?

Telephone recordings are delivered with same day turnaround.

Get Your Telephone Recordings Done Properly

Call Media Group on 1800 086 183 or request a quote and we will take care of the script, the voice and the files for your phone system.