Interactive Voice Response or better known as IVR is a communication technology that allows human individuals to interact with computers through voice response technology systems. You might be wondering if you’ve already encountered an IVR system before. So to make it easier for you to understand, the following example will provide you a crisp and vivid detail of what an IVR is.
Well, we are quite familiar with that lovely voice telling us to “Press 1 for this department, press 2 for that department”, and so on. That is what we call the IVR phone system. And just like Telnum, there are many cloud-based service providers where you can get this kind of communication service. However, we will focus on how this indispensable phone system can help your business grow without compromising your budget.
How Does IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Work?
IVR system saves time and money on your part, by trimming down the hold time and requiring less physical employees. It means that the advanced IVR system can provide better customer experience and satisfaction.
There are two types of IVR systems, basic and advanced. And it is worthy to know the difference between the two.
The Basic IVR System
There are two primary fundamentals of IVRs that allow the computer to process the caller’s requests. They are the voice recognition technology and the Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency signaling (or DTMF).
The DTMF signaling happens between a mobile device and a computer when callers choose to utilize their phones’ keypad to choose menu options. This touch-tone system allows automatic routing without human intervention.
Advanced IVR (Interactive Voice Response) System
With the continuous development of IVR technology, advanced IVR systems allow the customers to interact with this phone system more naturally and enjoyably. One of the most advancements is the Natural Language Processing software (NLP).
This refined voice recognition technology allows the computer to process and understand full sentences instead of limiting the caller to chosen words by identifying only certain commands or prompts.
The conversational approach by this kind of process can earn more appreciation from your callers because it provides them more freedom, while easily navigating the IVR.
In essence, the IVR system replaces human receptionists, making it possible for small, medium, and large businesses to automate monotonously yet an important task. Integrating IVR in your business communication system provides you a computerized approach that answers incoming calls and redirects them to the right department or personnel of your business organization.
Advantages from Using an IVR System
There are numerous advantages to using an IVR system. Some of these are the following:
Reducing your operation costs – by integrating IVR to your business, you tremendously reduce your operational costs by eliminating the need for a human receptionist. Instead of hiring someone to be assigned specifically on answering calls and rerouting or transferring them to the right person or department, you only need to configure personalized messages to give your customer a more personalized experience.
Increasing your customer service efficiency – your agents can address your customers’ queries more efficiently and in less time since they are already trained in the department they are assigned. Agent efficiency can be improved over time through call monitoring and call recordings, resulting in a reduced call transfer.
Increasing your first call resolution – increasing your first call resolution simply means that almost all incoming calls can be transferred to the right department immediately. Thus, providing your customers with a much faster resolution to their concerns, increasing first call resolution.
Customer satisfaction – an increase in customer satisfaction will grow as you integrate IVR to your business. The benefits of solving customer issues immediately and efficiently pave the way to positive customer experience.
Building your brand image – reducing your operational cost is not the only thing that you can experience when you have an IVR phone system. It also helps you in making your customers feel as if you are a big company. The customized prompts and messages such as assigning a keypress for each of your departments gives your clients the impression that you are indeed a professional business owner.
Marketing your business – yes, you can do this while receiving calls from your clients. Utilize the time during call transfer or call hold to inform customers about your new products or services. However, you can choose to play music while your customers are in a queue, but it would be more productive if you would inform them of your new offers or promotions.
How useful is IVR (Interactive Voice Response) for Your Business?
The usefulness of IVR for your business cannot be disregarded by the fact that it makes things easier for all involved. You don’t need any human intervention or hiring of employees to attend incoming calls from your customers.
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You are also providing a quick response to all your customers’ queries. Thus, providing them the help that they need much easier than before.
Value-Added Features of an IVR
IVR phone system has lots of advanced features that you can’t find in any traditional phone system. It’s a good thing to discuss the following features for your information.
Call Conference – call conference refers to the multi-way conversation and provides faster resolution to your customer’s issues or concerns by looping it directly to the appropriate person in your organization.
Customized Greetings – this refers to the customized voice of your choice that provides a warm welcome to your customers. It plays a significant role in your business and is possible through the integration of the IVR system to your communication service. You can choose an MP3 file to upload or an automated voice to play. Your callers can listen to either one of them while they are in a queue and waiting for their turn.
Call Transfer – another significant benefit that you can get from your IVR phone system is the ability to transfer calls. Call transfer provides faster resolution for your customer’s concerns and issues because it automatically transfers the call to the right person or department.
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Voicemail – voicemail provides your customers or callers an option to leave their messages whenever your customer support is unavailable. There are definite reasons for unavailability such as holidays or beyond business hours.
How Can You Use IVR for Your Business?
IVR’s sole purpose is to act as your virtual receptionist that can handle incoming calls without human intervention. As a result, you don’t need to hire an employee that would serve as a receptionist that is dedicated solely to answering incoming calls.
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In this way, you save time and money for your business. Time, because IVR’s intelligent system will transfer calls to the appropriate department or person in your organization. Money, because there is no need to hire additional employees to answer inbound calls.
Final Words
IVR aims to resolve customers’ issues faster and way more efficient. It gives way for increased customer satisfaction that would provide positive feedback for your business.
Now that you have a crisp and vivid detail of what an IVR is and how this amazing phone system can help your business grow, it is time for you to integrate IVR for more rewarding customer experience satisfaction.