IVR allows businesses to interact with callers through a series of automated menus, often enabling the customer to self-serve for faster resolution. An IVR system typically plays a recorded greeting for the caller, announces the menu options, and then either connects the caller with the most qualified agent, transfers them to a queue, or facilitates the self-service action, such as providing an account balance or operating hours. On their part, callers respond to the interactive voice response (IVR) system’s menu prompts by pressing the buttons on their phone’s keypad or by simply speaking the responses.
Robust interactive voice response (IVR) systems can handle multiple call center locations. Additionally, they can handle thousands of DNISs (dialed numbers) and give each of them a unique greeting and menu. For example, if a company publicizes different phone numbers on their TV ads than they do on their billboards, the interactive voice response (IVR) can play a different greeting and provide different menu options to the customers calling in response to the TV commercial. This is also helpful for companies that use different phone numbers for different functions, such as sales and service.
Originally IVRs were limited to basic menus and routing. Over time, as businesses evolved, these IVR menus got increasingly longer, and customers were waiting from “press one” until “press nine” to find out what they had to do next.However, call routing through the IVR has come a long way since then, with contact centres now able to route according to much more sophisticated rules.
Away from the technical elements, there are other simpler IVR innovations that are being used more and more. For example, some contact centres have started to use different voices at different stages of the IVR for great personalisation, while others are creating innovative messages to play to customers who are waiting in the queue. Both of these innovations can be used to benefit the customer.
The key to an effective IVR is to keep it simple; simple for customers and simple for staff, and your surest way of developing an effective IVR is with the assistance of the contact centre experts from CentrePal. Speak to us today and find out more!
