What not to do with IVR
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 5:53 am
The possibilities are endless with IVR . Rather than a list of best practices, perhaps it is more useful to share "bad practices" to avoid.
The more effective your IVR is, the more it will benefit your customers. On the other hand, a poorly designed IVR can disrupt the experience and lead to customer frustration.
The goal here is to make things more convenient for the customer - not to make them want to throw their phone across the room.
Overly complex menu
One way to help your callers is to make the recorded menu as simple as possible. Start with a few general categories in the drop-down menu (preferably no more than four or five) and make sure all the options are simple enough for the customer to navigate quickly.
Keep it short and sweet. If you take the caller through too many sub-menus, they're more likely to get confused or hang up because they feel like they're getting nowhere.
Reserve the earliest sections of the menu for the topics that customers call for the most. Otherwise, the caller will choose to bypass the menu altogether, believing that the subject of their request is not included in the menu at all.
An elusive agent
No matter how user-friendly your canada b2b leads IVR menu is, don't expect everyone to cooperate. Always provide the option to speak to a representative and don't bury this option too deep in the menu.
The fact is, some callers have questions that don't fit into any of your menu categories. Not putting them in contact with an agent makes the customer feel neglected and always results in a negative customer experience.
Long holding times
Let's face it, patience is not the virtue most people possess when it comes to waiting.
There's a simple way to save your customers the time and frustration of waiting too long. When customers select the callback option, they can hang up and wait for their call to be returned when an agent is available. No wonder most people prefer to get a call back rather than wait on hold.
Who uses IVR?
The reality is that almost every industry can benefit from Interactive Voice Response.
Typical use cases include:
Account identification
Transaction data
Product Support
Sales call forwarding
Appointment confirmations
What is the purpose of IVR?
Businesses use Interactive Voice Response (IVR) for three main purposes:
Distraction of incoming calls . Reduce the number of live calls handled by a live agent to reduce costs.
Improving the customer experience. Offer customers a self-service feature to resolve simple account queries. In addition, reaching the correct department improves the resolution rate of the first contact.
Reducing management times. Provide customer service agents with real-time caller information such as account verification and call drivers.
IVRs can save thousands of businesses every year on idle talk time and provide a better customer experience.
What is Smart IVR?
Smart IVR or smart IVR is an Interactive Voice Response system that adapts to callers' responses in real time. Instead of static, linear menus, callers can have a natural conversation with a virtual phone system
. Not every business needs a smart IVR. Designing your call flow with redundant menu paths can meet the expectations of most customers. Companies with a high volume call center and a wide range of products are best suited for a smart IVR.
The more effective your IVR is, the more it will benefit your customers. On the other hand, a poorly designed IVR can disrupt the experience and lead to customer frustration.
The goal here is to make things more convenient for the customer - not to make them want to throw their phone across the room.
Overly complex menu
One way to help your callers is to make the recorded menu as simple as possible. Start with a few general categories in the drop-down menu (preferably no more than four or five) and make sure all the options are simple enough for the customer to navigate quickly.
Keep it short and sweet. If you take the caller through too many sub-menus, they're more likely to get confused or hang up because they feel like they're getting nowhere.
Reserve the earliest sections of the menu for the topics that customers call for the most. Otherwise, the caller will choose to bypass the menu altogether, believing that the subject of their request is not included in the menu at all.
An elusive agent
No matter how user-friendly your canada b2b leads IVR menu is, don't expect everyone to cooperate. Always provide the option to speak to a representative and don't bury this option too deep in the menu.
The fact is, some callers have questions that don't fit into any of your menu categories. Not putting them in contact with an agent makes the customer feel neglected and always results in a negative customer experience.
Long holding times
Let's face it, patience is not the virtue most people possess when it comes to waiting.
There's a simple way to save your customers the time and frustration of waiting too long. When customers select the callback option, they can hang up and wait for their call to be returned when an agent is available. No wonder most people prefer to get a call back rather than wait on hold.
Who uses IVR?
The reality is that almost every industry can benefit from Interactive Voice Response.
Typical use cases include:
Account identification
Transaction data
Product Support
Sales call forwarding
Appointment confirmations
What is the purpose of IVR?
Businesses use Interactive Voice Response (IVR) for three main purposes:
Distraction of incoming calls . Reduce the number of live calls handled by a live agent to reduce costs.
Improving the customer experience. Offer customers a self-service feature to resolve simple account queries. In addition, reaching the correct department improves the resolution rate of the first contact.
Reducing management times. Provide customer service agents with real-time caller information such as account verification and call drivers.
IVRs can save thousands of businesses every year on idle talk time and provide a better customer experience.
What is Smart IVR?
Smart IVR or smart IVR is an Interactive Voice Response system that adapts to callers' responses in real time. Instead of static, linear menus, callers can have a natural conversation with a virtual phone system
. Not every business needs a smart IVR. Designing your call flow with redundant menu paths can meet the expectations of most customers. Companies with a high volume call center and a wide range of products are best suited for a smart IVR.