Why You Should Update Your IVR & In-Queue Messages for Christmas
As the festive season fast approaches, businesses across the UK begin to prepare for one of the busiest and most important times of the year. While you’re planning promotional campaigns, organising staff leave, and setting revised opening hours, there’s one essential customer-facing tool that often gets overlooked: your IVR and in-queue voice messages.
Updating your phone system’s messaging for Christmas is a small step that can make a big impact on customer satisfaction.
Here’s why it matters and what you should include.
1. Spread a Festive Feeling With a Merry Christmas Greeting
A warm, seasonal greeting can immediately set a positive tone for your callers. When customers hear a cheerful “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” message, it shows that your organisation is thoughtful, approachable, and in tune with the season.
A personalised festive greeting can:
Humanise your brand
Enhance customer experience
Start the interaction on a positive note
Reinforce your brand values and personality
With so many customer touchpoints becoming automated, a friendly seasonal message can help you stand out and create an instant connection.
2. Clearly Communicate Your Christmas Opening Hours
Festive operating hours often differ from your usual schedule. Updating your IVR and in-queue announcements ensures that customers receive clear, accurate information without needing to speak to an advisor.
Include:
Festive opening hours
New Year schedule
Any reduced staffing or service limitations
Expected response times during peak periods
Providing this upfront reduces frustration, prevents unnecessary call transfers, and frees up your team to focus on customers who need live support.
3. Update Your Voicemail for After-Hours Calls
When your business is closed over the festive period, your voicemail becomes a crucial point of contact. A generic, outdated message can leave customers feeling unsure but a tailored Christmas voicemail with clear next steps builds trust.
A good Christmas voicemail might include:
A friendly festive greeting
Your next opening date and time
Alternative contact methods (emergency phone number, email, online forms, FAQs, app, etc.)
Reassurance that their message will be actioned as soon as possible
This helps manage expectations and keeps customers informed even when your team is offline.
4. Reduce Call Volume by Answering Seasonal FAQs
Christmas often brings a spike in common customer queries delivery times, returns, payment deadlines, service availability, and more. Adding quick, helpful information to your IVR or in-queue messages can significantly reduce pressure on your contact centre.
Smart seasonal scripting can:
Deflect calls
Reduce wait times
Improve first-contact resolution
Create a smoother customer journey during peak season
5. Strengthen Your Brand with Professional Festive Voiceovers
Christmas is an ideal time to refresh your IVR with high-quality, professionally recorded voice messages. Professional recordings ensure:
Clear, warm, polished audio
Natural festive tone
Consistent pronunciation across all messages
Seamless flow between IVR menus and on-hold content
A professional production elevates your brand and ensures your seasonal messages sound confident and credible.
6. Show Customers You Care
Ultimately, updating your IVR for Christmas isn’t just about operations, it’s about connection. Customers appreciate brands that take the time to communicate thoughtfully. A simple festive message can foster goodwill and leave a lasting positive impression.
Make Your Christmas IVR Updates Easy
At IVR Recordings, we specialise in crafting beautifully voiced, professionally produced IVR menus, on-hold messages, and voicemail greetings, perfectly tailored for the festive season. Whether you need a full Christmas IVR script or just a warm “Merry Christmas” greeting, we can help you deliver a memorable experience.
Get in touch today to refresh your IVR and make this Christmas your best-sounding one yet.
Call us on 0333 050 7610 or contact us here
