Secrets to setup customer pleasing IVR

IVR service has been a painless process of customer conversation over the years and widely used business phone system currently. More and more businesses are integrating IVR system to empower customer experience. Few managers who are not using IVR app, must be wondering what is ivr? IVR is a call management system works on customer input (Press 1 for support, press 2 for accounts) with call routing logic. According to response, it transfers the calls to relevant agents/departments. In case, question rises of what is the ivr full forms then its "Interactive voice response".

Interactive voice response system was in use to automate customer conversations and simplify business operations. But when set up incorrectly it can be a nightmare for both customers and organizations. If you are owning it already or planning to purchase it from ivr service provider, there are some points you need to consider.

How to set up better IVR

• The initial step to better IVR begins with setting-up a pleasant welcome tone for the callers. This can guide customers if they are calling the right business for their queries. Even the multi-lingual menu can help, if the business is spread around multiple geographical regions.

• Keep the human voice alive when setting up the greetings or IVR menus. People often find it boring to hear a robotic voice when calling any business. Having interacted with human makes them feel more close to the conversation. This can be easily done by any professional voice artist. Personalization is the key to sales these days.

• Keeping simple IVR menus or putting a most popular menu at the beginning will make communication more effective. In this fast pace world, no one likes listening to long instruction for a while. Just forwarding the calls in couple of inputs will do the job. When incorrect option is entered by customers, instead of repeating the whole menu, IVR system can redirect the call to available agent. Also, it is important to keep the pause between customer inputs to give them time to select the right option.

• Use a custom ivr system which is easy to change or modify when needed. Custom IVR comes with easy to use drag and drop menu options to alter the call flow with a few clicks.

• Ensure right agents are placed for each option for quick conversation. It will be a bizarre situation if a sales guy gets connected to a technical support query. Even putting right agents will not be enough as sometimes customers wants more specific answers. This can be ensured after proper training of agents about their specific role.

• The most important part in this setup is IVR number. Easy to remember virtual number can work like a magic when running marketing campaigns. It allows consumers to remember your brands for long term. Also, virtual number comes with features that allow your phone line to be available all the time. So chances are reduced of missing calls. This can be real a boost up to ROI.

• In usual IVR scenario customer gets tired waiting in long queues and hang-up eventually. Having a call back option when agents are busy can be cherry on top. When customers know the lines are busy they can provide input to call back and when one of the agents gets available, he/she can give a call back. This lets customer satisfaction to reach on peak and increase brand equity.

• It’s been in notice when customer is on hold; organizations put long promotional jingles which annoys callers. Instead of having long music on hold, companies can opt for short and informational content. This lets customers to engage more and consume more information about particular brand.

• Getting feedback is equally important to change and modify your IVR options. At the end of the call, asking for a feedback can be a good idea to analyze how your agents have performed or how the IVR has responded.

IVR Script

IVR scripts plays a major role in any IVR communication. It also defines brands image and professionalism of organization. Getting right IVR script can enhance areas like customer experience and dispute management.

Let’s look some examples of scripts which can help you personalize the conversation.

Welcome scripts: Welcome to (company name), we value your time and so that one of our representatives will be with you shortly

This can be done differently by "thank you for calling (company name); One of our agents will be with you as soon as possible.

Main menu script: Welcome to our main menu. If you already know where to go kindly press the key. For sales press 1, for support press 2, to speak to one of our agents press 3.

If agents are busy in case of customer choose option 3 then "All our experts are busy, someone will be with you shortly. To leave a message press 1, to get a call back press 2.

After hour script: Thank you for calling (company name). We are not available at the moment. But you can surely leave your message and we will get back to you as quick as we can. Also, reach us on mail: to know more about our products visit our website.

Choosing better IVR service provider

Few of the many points to consider when choosing better IVR providers; one of them is CRM integration. With CRM integration agents become more powerful in terms of Data handling. Having customer details on fingertips makes it more personalized to communicate.

Voice quality is one of the concerns in IVR systems. Getting high definition voice can ease the pain for customer support teams.

Few IVR providers give analytical dashboard with application, which enables call recording, in dept call analysis, and call monitoring. It also comes with data to measure agent performance during the calls.

This also includes scalability of the system. With an increased number of calls, your IVR should have capabilities to expand without any further hassles or heavy cost. This can be handy when expanding to multiple branches.

Better customer talks leads to major revenue and good brand value. These points can get you through your call management issues.

“YakoVoice” is an established and renowned company providing Cloudy Telephony (IVR and Toll free numbers) platform to the commercial world. In the past seven years of its service,