Voicemail drop has become a popular tool for outbound sales teams, lead generators, and call centers looking to maximize productivity without sacrificing customer engagement. When used correctly, it allows businesses to deliver consistent messages, reach more prospects, and reduce agent downtime.
However, voicemail drop is not a compliance-free shortcut. Because it involves prerecorded messages, businesses must carefully consider consent requirements, applicable regulations, and industry best practices before using it in a campaign.
To maintain compliance while increasing efficiency, businesses must understand:
- What voicemail drop is
- How its use is regulated by the FCC through the TCPA
- Best practices to maintain compliance
What is Voicemail Drop?
Voicemail drop is an automated tool that allows callers to automatically leave prerecorded messages when a voicemail machine is detected or to directly deposit the voicemail into the called party’s carrier’s voicemail system, prompting the caller that a voicemail has been received. These systems are sometimes also referred to as “ringless voicemail,” but there can be meaningful differences depending on which platform you use.
While traditional ringless voicemail systems allow businesses to drop messages into voicemail machines without calling the user’s handset directly, systems like Readymode’s Voicemail Drop are designed for live callers who receive no answer. As soon as a voicemail machine is detected, agents can “drop” a message and move on to their next lead.
The benefits of this system are obvious. It allows:
- Time-saving efficiency by streamlining the outbound calling process, allowing agents to move on to the next lead more efficiently. Through this automation, agents can focus their time and energy on high-intent inbound calls, driving productivity and maximizing results.
- Consistent messaging through consistent delivery of the same voicemail messages across all customer interactions. The prerecorded messages can be tailored to specific campaigns or scenarios, allowing brands to maintain consistency and quality.
- Enhanced lead engagement with concise and consistent messages that can reach customers even when they are unavailable for the call. This allows sales teams and call centers to capture customer interest, convey important information, and prompt follow-up actions by customers.
When used properly, voicemail drop is a great tool. But businesses must be aware of the TCPA ramifications when using prerecorded messages. Specifically, businesses must make sure they are aware of compliance risks such as consent requirements.
Voicemail Drop Features and Capabilities
Voicemail drop systems with the proper features, like custom cadences in Readymode iQ, can aid with such compliance risks, which are discussed further below.
One important feature that you can enable to meet your compliance goals is the voicemail drop frequency limit. This feature can automatically limit the number and frequency of voicemail drops per phone number called. This helps keep you within the defined limits you set to meet your compliance goals.
Another feature allows you to create specific prerecorded messages per campaign. This allows you to ensure that each message you send can be paired with the proper consent flow.
How do the FCC and TCPA Regulate Voicemail Drop?
In 2022, the FCC found that “ringless voicemail” systems required consumer consent because they are “calls” made using artificial or prerecorded voice, governed by section 227(b) of the TCPA. Section 227(b) requires that, with few exceptions, such calls can only be made to people who consented to receive them.
“Prior express consent” must be provided by the person called if the call is transactional or informational in nature, and “prior express written consent” is needed if the call is considered telemarketing or an advertisement.
The path to compliance is simple: do not use voicemail drop on customers without prior express consent for informational messages, and prior express written consent for prerecorded marketing messages.
And even when you have the right consent, the FCC’s TCPA regulations contain additional requirements for prerecorded messages, such as disclosing the legal name of the business making or responsible for the message, and a phone number at which recipients can make a do-not-call request to the business during business hours. Before using voicemail drop, be sure to review the content requirements the FCC and any applicable state mini-TCPA law or regulation has established.
Best Practices for Implementing Voicemail Drop
To maximize the benefits of voicemail drop, outbound teams should follow these best practices:
- Customize Voicemail Messages: Tailor prerecorded messages to match the tone and content of each campaign or customer segment.
- Comply with Regulations: Proper consent flows and meeting-message content requirements are a business’s best friend and the key to complying with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
- Monitor Performance: Track metrics such as voicemail delivery rates, callback rates, and customer responses to gauge the effectiveness of voicemail drop campaigns.
Key Takeaways
Voicemail drop empowers your business to streamline operations, deliver consistent messaging, and enhance customer engagement. By leveraging the power of prerecorded messages, your business can achieve new levels of efficiency and success.
But it can get you into trouble if you fail to comply with the TCPA and state mini-TCPA laws. The path ordinarily involves ensuring you have the applicable level of express consent, but whether you rely on consent or an exemption, the safest approach is to match the message carefully to the exact specification of the consent form or exemption, and follow any related numerical limits, content rules, and opt-out requirements.
This article is only offered for informational purposes, not as legal advice. Please always consult a qualified attorney to address your compliance needs.
Joe Bowser
Joe Bowser is a partner at Roth Jackson. He has been practicing communications and marketing law for two decades. He advises and defends calling and SMS platform providers (like Readymode), carriers/VoIP providers, and heavy users of those services in their wide range of compliance needs. In his spare time, you can find him taking his boys to their sports, getting in a workout of his own, or catching an Arsenal match.
