IVR, an automated phone system technology, allows incoming callers to access information by listening to pre-recorded voice responses without speaking to an agent. They can also direct their calls to particular departments or specialists using menu options via touch-tone keypad selection or speech recognition. With the help of a well-designed IVR software system, customer satisfaction can be increased while contact centre operations and KPIs are enhanced. An efficient interactive voice response system can reduce hold times by enabling customers to self-serve simple tasks and find answers, especially during periods of high call volume. An IVR service provider can serve multiple purposes. It can include, IVR for self-service, hosted IVR, and agent assisted IVR.
Features of IVR
Some of the key features of IVR includes the following points. These features are mostly provided by all IVR service providers in India. The pointers are as follows:
- Information provider
An IVR menu can be used to provide a caller with incredibly helpful information after they have called a system. Using this information can be a great way to connect callers with the appropriate department and offer helpful information. Your IVR menu should strike a balance between providing callers with useful information without going overboard and providing them with all the information they might need when their problem might be complex and require immediate advice. Save the more in-depth information for a different section of the menu; for instance, include as much of this in a frequently asked questions section as you can. In this manner, only the appropriate individuals will receive pertinent information.
- Call filter
Call filtering is one of the IVR system’s earliest and most noticeable features. This filtering procedure enables a business to manage high call volumes and organise what might otherwise be completely overwhelming if an IVR menu wasn’t in place. A smoother experience is made possible by call filtering, which enables a customer, depending on their needs, to quickly find an answer by speaking with a live agent or by calling an urgent/emergency call department. From a business standpoint, quickly determining the reason for a call helps customers get answers as soon as possible and lessens any friction.
- Identification
An IVR system can be a very useful tool for identification if your business deals with personal information, particularly financial information. Although many businesses have a dual-level of security (by asking a customer to confirm their identity both at the IVR stage and when speaking with an agent), it still helps to relieve the pressure on agents to be able to verify a customer’s identity through IVR. This initial security check eliminates any illegitimate calls and provides your customer with a sense of security when calling you. Not to mention the impact on your company’s reputation that such a thorough security check has.
- Call queuing and callback automation
Call queuing has long been a useful feature of IVRs that helps organise incoming calls by routing them to specific departments, and it will continue to be so in 2022. Long wait times are decreased by having callers go through an IVR system that not only queues them but also directs them to the appropriate department. Callback automation is a crucial component of call queuing. If a customer doesn’t have the patience or the time to wait in line, the IVR system will automatically record their information and can schedule a callback. This is known as call-back automation.
- Voice recognition
Voice recognition, and more specifically how sophisticated voice recognition has become, is one of the main features that IVR systems and IVR service providers in India now offer. A component of computer silence that facilitates the interaction between computers and human language data is Natural Language Processing. Its development is essential to IVR and will play a significant role in determining how much an IVR system can comprehend. IVR systems can understand and recognise complete sentences in addition to simple words and phrases thanks to NLP (natural language processing). In essence, as NLP advances, it will enable users to interact with computers (or IVR systems) much like they would with real people.
- Call recordings
Every time you speak with a live agent, you might find it a little inconvenient to be questioned about whether you mind if this call is recorded. For any business with a call center, the ability to record calls is a crucial feature of IVR. These call recordings can reveal important information about how your customers communicate with your live agents and with your IVR system. Every time you use this knowledge, you’ll be able to create a better system and improve your IVR procedure.
- CRM/IVR system integration
Customer relationship management, or CRM, software provides you with information about your customers. For instance, their previous interactions with your business, where they are in the customer life cycle, and any problems you may have had with them in the past. This procedure is automated when you integrate this software with your IVR system. You can provide your customers with more individualised service and better services by using the data collected by this software.
- Self service actions
Allowing users to take independent action is currently a very popular feature of interactive voice response systems. Customers can, for instance, dial a number to get account information, check their balances, update their contact information, or even top off their accounts and make payments. Consider your mobile phone provider as a simple illustration of this. Giving customers this option is very beneficial from both your company’s and the customer’s point of view.
Why do businesses need an IVR service provider?
A large business, like one that offers healthcare, financial, or retail services, is likely to get a range of inquiries and worries from potential customers. Additionally, it will be anticipated that some agents will be better than others at responding to specific customer inquiries. When a less effective agent takes longer to respond to a question that another agent could have answered more quickly, this can lead to an inefficient use of resources. Routine questions can be handled by an IVR service provider, freeing up valuable resource time for handling urgent inquiries. Intelligent Virtual Response systems that are powered by artificial intelligence aid companies in increasing agent productivity and enhancing customer service.
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There are multiple IVR service providers in India. One of them is Msg 22. At Msg22, we are skilled at enabling the use of an intelligently scripted IVR system by our clients’ customers so that they feel empowered. With the help of our IVR software, businesses can serve customers around the clock. With the help of our contact center technology solutions, customers can perform routine phone tasks like paying bills, tracking packages, making reservations, etc. without needing an agent’s assistance. Consequently, costs can be decreased while providing them with faster service.
The addition of tools like automated callbacks, IVR self-service, IVR voice recognition, and text-to-speech could have additional advantages. Let’s examine some of the advantages and benefits that IVR provides.
- Intelligent call routing
When linked to your CRM, IVR phone system technology can intelligently route calls based on the caller’s phone number. Therefore, among a plethora of other options, calls can be automatically routed to the consultant who the caller just finished speaking with, VIP callers can be put at the head of the calling queue, and calls can be routed to a particular consultant who speaks a particular language. The advantages of intelligent routing that is tailored to your customer journey include lowering call abandonment rates, reducing call wait times, and providing personalized IVR callback options during times of particularly high call volume.
- Support for busy times and disaster recovery
IVR contact center technology enables businesses to give callers the option of self-service and message-taking. In times of high demand brought on by emergencies or seasonal peak activity, the IVR self-service feature can help the contact center by relieving pressure on your agents. Simple tasks, like answering frequently asked questions from customers about their accounts, orders, or payment due dates, can be automated. Thanks to a modern IVR service, messages and menu options can be changed during these busy times quickly and easily.
- Improving the customer journey
IVR systems (both inbound and outbound) have a bad reputation historically. Callers may become frustrated with poorly designed systems due to their intricate and awkward designs. IVRs, which offer a useful self-service tool, are revolutionizing the customer journey today with concise messages that reflect the organization’s brand. If the caller does need to speak with an agent, the information must be seamlessly transferred and presented to the best agent to handle the inquiry. This is the key to improving the customer journey. Productivity soars, and caller annoyance falls as a result. Additionally, callers can self-serve outside of your regular business hours with the help of an advanced speech IVR (a system that ccan recognizespoken words or is “speech-enabled”), enabling your company to be accessible 24/7/365.
- Measuring customer satisfaction
A post-interaction IVR survey will help to provide accurate satisfaction scores if customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores are significant to your business. An agent may report on these results, which may be useful for incentive or training programs. Enhancing the on-hold experience is another way to raise customer satisfaction while reducing dropped calls and hang-ups. Virtual assistants can manage IVR callback requests and announce wait times. Additional self-serve tools that can do away with the need to even speak with an agent can be offered by an “agent-less” system.
- Improve morale by freeing consultants from menial duties.
Callers can use IVR self-service, and an IVR can route routine calls and frequently asked questions, freeing up agents to handle more complicated calls or questions via multiple channels. Instead of asking the same questions over and over again, it can greatly increase efficiency and give agents more interesting tasks to complete, like collecting payments or checking account balances. An IVR phone call can be used to make special offers, send welcome messages and reminders, or complete collection calls without taking agents away from other services when used in an outbound mode with Text to Speech (TTS).
