Ever since IVRs arrived on the scene customers have developed a love-hate relationship with this feature. It is supposed to deliver self-service. Callers push buttons and follow directions to obtain information or get any other work done. Businesses deploy IVRs to drive down call costs and reduce load on agents assuming that the IVR does truly help callers. The ground reality is different in a poorly executed IVR deployment. Frustration starts piling up right from the moment the caller enters the IVR maze. First, he may have to listen to an extended welcome message followed by a main menu option recording and a key press leads to further menus ad-infinitum.
While on the way the caller may forget to press the right key or press the wrong one and he is back to square one. Worse, there is no way he can jump straight to getting in touch with a live agent. If thoughts could kill, the IVR and the people who deployed it would have been vaporized. This need not be the case with your business. Seek the right company for IVR solution development and deployment and you could deliver a great customer experience.
Dynamic IVR solution is the way to go
One reason why IVRs can be so self-defeating is the rigidity of the tree and branch structure. It may work in a small business with just one department that handles everything. In a larger enterprise with various branches and divisions, it can be frustrating since the IVR will have an extended menu system and the caller will be spending quite some time in the IVR tunnel before he sees the light of the day. The effective method in this situation is to opt for a dynamic IVR solution. The solution provider assists with menu development but the main advantage is that the client can customize IVR menus and cut short the time it takes for a caller to achieve a satisfactory resolution. The IVR solution development company provides a GUI designer and prompt management tool. This facility comes in useful in other ways too.
Use the dynamic IVR builder to keep refining menu and branches
IVR is not a fit and forget service facility. The tree and menu structure in a typical dynamic IVR solution is based on a set of assumptions. Monitoring and accessing call records will give users a better idea of what customers expect. The dynamic IVR builders help them to keep modifying the structure and keep refining the IVR to a point where the caller prefers it over talking to a live agent.
Dynamic IVR with CRM connect is better
CRM Integrated dynamic IVR improves matters considerably in that the CRM can fetch details of the caller if he exists in the database and get straight to the point without the caller having to go through key presses. Better still, omnichannel integration identifies cross channel communications and adjusts to suit the caller, raising the quality of interaction from his perspective. The CRM also presents caller data to the agent handling the call and he does not have to ask for details.
Enhancing the IVR to enhance customer experience
The standard IVR has been around for a long time and Dynamic IVR is a step up but the best thing to happen is a visual IVR blended with Dynamic IVR. It is assumed that most people will use their mobiles to dial into the IVR and when they do, it is a pleasant surprise to see a visual menu of the tree-branch structure. With just one tap they can jump right where they want to go and shorten the journey while getting done what they intended to do. One cannot see customers going ecstatic about this but it certainly is a quantum leap.
A chatty IVR
Even the best Dynamic IVR solution is one-way traffic. IVR solution developers with AI skills now endow IVRs with AI and a bot that converses with the caller to a certain level. Based on the response the IVR then carries out the appropriate action. From being an inhuman voice response system, the IVR sounds and feels quite human until a real agent comes on the line. Don’t customers love it!
Technology poses no constraint, especially if you have the right IVR developer by your side. The will to evolve your IVR will make a dramatic difference to the customer experience.