Decoding Interactive voice response

According to the statistics, the contemporary customer uses a variety of channels to get support. Consumers prefer phone calls (61%), interaction via email (60%), using live chat channels (57%), Self-help or researching about it (51%) and “click to call” support feature (34%). Though a customer uses every support channel, consumers still prefer using phone calls to a great extent. For brands big or small, it is fairly important to maintain a strong and worthy phone presence. Companies use Interactive voice response(IVR) to allow their customers to interact with a helpful & an expert agent. There is nothing like a phone call conversation used for immediate support.

This blog will decode what is IVR and how you can use it to communicate.

Defining Interactive voice response(IVR)?

We all have called on customer support numbers to get help for the issues we face. Press 1(one) for Hindi, press 2(two) for English. This is a computerised voice which helps callers make a selection and then get their call diverted to the right department. This is what we call as Interactive voice response(IVR).

In other words, IVR is a self-service technology offered by Cloud telephony which allows incoming customer calls to navigate through a phone menu. Based on the selection made on the phone menu, the system then redirects the call to a human agent for further problem-solving.

There are 2 types of IVR’s used by companies.

• Inbound IVR: When any incoming customer call comes and the IVR then greets the caller.
• Outbound IVR: This is typically used to collect feedback, computerised calls made to offer information and promotions, call blasts etc.

How does IVR benefit businesses?

So it’s quite clear that an IVR technology solves communication hassles and helps customer connect with the right agent. Let’s look at some more impactful reasons for a business to invest in IVR Technology.

• Immediate support:
  An efficient IVR system assists callers to get immediate support/first call resolution. This results in increased customer satisfaction and happy customers.

• Cost-Saving:
  IVR helps in cost reduction by effectively interacting with callers on the beginner level and then diverting their calls to agents if necessary. Callers can solve their problems with the self-help menu options that IVR provides. Moreover, it makes calls to a list of customer in one go to offer information which is hard to do for a human agent. It saves company cost by working standalone for the more monotonous work and only passing the more tedious tasks to human agents.

• Offers scalability:
  Unlike traditional phone systems, IVR technology allows enterprises to scale and descale according to customer demands and market trends. So Interactive voice response offers flexibility to work accordingly. Indirectly it allows spending budgets only when required.

Implementing an Interactive Voice Response system right away.

The interactive voice response system gets implemented in a plethora of ways which serve a variety of purposes. IVR brings many benefits to enterprises, its customer service representatives and its customers. Here’s how you can create an IVR experience which your customers will love.

• Your first impression will always be your last impression. Make sure you always greet your incoming callers with a pleasant welcome message.

• Speaking of an IVR menu, it should be clearly defined, simple to understand and short. Use simplistic & few menu options which could guide your customers.

• Make sure your IVR connects the customer with the right agent. The process should be simpler without any hassle. Hassles provide customers with bad experience.

• Always consider the caller’s preferences. For instance, a customer chooses English as his preferred language. Make sure the customer hears only the language preferred in his following calls.

• Use a soft pleasant hold music/ tone. Along with the hold music, appreciate your callers for giving their important time.

• If there is a new promotion going on and you want to promote it during the hold time, be careful while doing it. Always do it in a non-intrusive way.

Personalise your customer’s experience when they call you for inquiries and support. IVR is a modern yet classic way to communicate and interact with your callers seamlessly.
Want to know more how we can help you to design an IVR for your business, then call us now.