There is a general notion of customers hating to interact with IVR system. They would rather spend a good amount of time searching for direct helpline numbers than trying an IVR system to discuss their issues. While interacting with IVR, customers complain about inadequate or irrelevant menu options, too many options to go through to reach a real agent, and inability of systems to process voice inputs. This means that there is nothing wrong with the technology but its implementation. Relevant menu and prompt redirection of queries to concerned teams by IVR systems would have resulted in better customer experience than it does now. In this article, we will explore how we can strategize the implementation of IVR call center solutions to garner favorable customer experience.
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Customer-centric IVR System Implementation
A well-designed IVR system menu drives a customer-centric implementation of this technology. It is the first step towards ensuring improved customer experience. Here’s a look at how:
Create a Menu that Customers Relate To
A dynamic IVR system uses DTMF tones and speech recognition to analyze callers’ inputs and contexts. Based on this analysis, the system resets menu options so that they align with callers’ queries. IVR systems analyzes past interaction of callers on different communication medium. Doing a data dip, the system understands callers’ needs and draws menu options to bring personalization in the next conversation. This significantly reduces query resolution time, thereby driving better customer experience.
Connect Customers to the Right Agent
Connecting customers to an agent best equipped to solve the former’s queries is more important than just connecting to a real agent. Skill-based routing feature helps an IVR system to understand a customer’s issue based on his/her menu selection. This enables IVR system to intuitively direct the customer to the right agent. This increases the chances of first call resolution and promotes a better customer experience.
Marketing Messages are a Strict No-No
When customers dial a contact center number, quick resolution of their issues is their priority. Hearing about latest products or services or discounts on products is the last thing that they are bothered about. Companies should steer clear from including any such marketing message in their IVR conversation flow. Instead, they should separately queue all marketing communication and sales-related queries on that channel.
Use IVR Jargon That Customers Can Understand
Often companies make the mistake of using jargon to which customers cannot relate to. Wordings used in menu options are lifted from company’s internal process terms which is not possible for outsiders to know. This confuses customers and they tend to drop off a conversation midway.
Overhaul IVR System with Features to Deliver Better Customer Experience
Innovations, if used correctly, can upgrade IVR system’s functionality of just routing customers’ calls. These upgrades are critical in boosting customer engagement and experience. Here’s looking at how:
Multilingual support
As businesses expand beyond their geographical boundary, it is essential that they scale their internal tools to suit their foreign client base. It should start with updating their IVR systems with text-to-speech technology. This technology along with multi-language support involves using a text file in one language and IVR system will intuitively translate the text in different languages that it supports. It then generates audio messages on the translated languages. Such a technology eliminates the need to go through prolonged customer conversation in different language. This allows a company to tap into the local audience and provide personalized customer experience.
AI-powered IVR
AI-powered IVR systems use sentiment analytics and natural language understanding algorithms to gauge customers’ intent of call and provide intelligent response. IVR system based on conversational AI is fed with data of customer’s part interaction. This allows the system to have insights into customer’s service expectations. The conversational AI enables human-like interaction with customers while resolving simple to complex issues in no time.
Integrate IVR into Applications
Integrating IVR system in a phone line and then introducing a call button in application is a great way to address customer queries. This is particularly relevant when there is a surge in incoming call volume. This eliminates the need of customers to leave an app to call customer support. They are automatically routed to the concerned department for issue resolution.
Conclusion
IVR system is a technology that should be constantly reviewed and upgraded to scale it as per business expansions and evolving customer experience expectations. However, the process of constant upgrading can be tedious and can add to enterprises’ operational overheads. This is prompting them to rely on third-party IVR system solutions providers. They can be relied upon to bring the right mix of technology that suit operational infrastructure and needs of enterprises to foster a great customer experience from the first call.
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