The appeal of voicemail just isn’t the same anymore. Maybe if everyone’s voicemail message was as awesome as George Costanza’s then this would be a different story.
The act of leaving someone a voicemail has dropped by 8% in the past year, and then the people that are actually listening to their voicemails has dropped by 14%. Considering the fact that just a couple of years ago nearly 80% of people had voicemail and used it, I think it’s safe to assume that voicemail is becoming outdated and is slowly losing momentum as a means of communication. (Forbes).
Nowadays, getting notified that you have a voicemail waiting to be heard on your cell phone or office phone is rather annoying and unappealing. Once upon a time, voicemail was an essential tool for communication. It kept friends and loved ones close together and was also a very popular business tool. But as time passed, voicemail slowly started becoming more of a nuisance rather than a productive means to communicate. But why is something that was once so useful all of a sudden dwindling down in popularity? Listed below are some of the reasons:
Reason #1) It’s a fast-paced world, and listening to a voicemail slows us down
Reason #2) There are quicker ways to communicate such as with texts and/or emails
Reason #3) Having to record a voicemail puts you on the spot, causing callers anxiety
Reason #4) It represents a gesture of intimacy this generation isn’t accustomed to anymore
Reason #5) The value of the message varies from “unimportant” to “highly dire”
Reason #6) Voicemails are frequently left by mistake (butt dial, wrong number, someone forgot to end the call, etc.)
The process of leaving a voicemail is also rather monotonous. Everyone by now should be relatively familiar with the voicemail operator. You know, the one that prompts the caller to leave a voicemail after the “beep.” The prompt itself takes about 30 seconds to get through, cutting into people’s precious time. Also, not many people realize this, but people are actually paying for their voicemail service whether they actively use it or not. And the costs add up big time.
“If Verizon’s 70 million customers leave or check voice messages twice a weekday, Verizon rakes in about $620 million a year. That’s your money. And your time: three hours of your time a year, just sitting there listening to the same voice message over and over again every year” (Pogue’s Post, NY Times).
Aside from voicemail becoming monotonous, archaic, and all around time consuming, it’s also becoming less popular. According to Vonage, people in general are interacting with voicemail less and less. Reason being, they would much rather use a more sensible and quicker form of communication. For instance, when we want to communicate with our friends and family we will most likely call them. And if you think about it, a missed-call notification is enough of a request to call the other person back. Another more sensible option is to text. In fact, young adult sends an average of 60 text messages a day (Forbes). Then there are also social media options such as Facebook, Twitter, and even webcam chat like FaceTime, Skype, and Lifesize, all of which are widely used and growing in popularity daily.
So, clearly with all this advanced technology, getting rid of voicemail can work in everyday situations. But can it work for business?
Yes, it can!
For example, JPMorgan Chase recently asked its employees if they would like to cancel their voicemail. And the results were staggering: 65% opted to get rid of their voicemail boxes, saving over $3.2 million annually. Looks like the Chief Financial Officer at JPMorgan Chase definitely got the savings he was looking for when he decided to take the company in this new direction. Productivity was also noted going up because people weren’t spending so much time listening to voicemail after voicemail.
Coca-Cola said bye-bye to voicemail as well. They did it for the same reason too; to cut costs. In doing so, they also increased productivity, improved team collaboration, and all around became more acclimated to modern day technology.
And the greatest thing of all is that even though these businesses are getting rid of voicemail, they aren’t considering this a sacrifice. Instead, businesses are spending more wisely and turning to better forms of communication such as Cloud Computing, video conferencing, and VoIP.
If you’re interested in improving your business, let us know! We’re here to update you 🙂