What is IVR? IVR for Call Center

What is IVR?

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated system, it manages the interactions with the respondents; people who call in, and responds the answers using keypad.

The IVR system can also record voice message from the respondents and save them in the database.

Each key on the telephone keypad generates a specific tone that is the combination of both keypad response and voice telephone input through which communication between a phone and a computer takes place.

These signals are known as dual-tone multi-frequency(DTMF) signals.

Your organization can opt for IVR system in two ways: 

1. Purchase the software and hardware required.
2. Select an IVR hosting service

What are the benefits of IVR System?

Automate Customer Support

IVR system allows your customers to solve their problem and obtain information without the need of any real person. It helps to reduce agents time and automate monotonous tasks.

24 hour Service

IVR system can provide a service to your customers whenever they need. As it works on an automated system, it can serve your best users even when your agents are not available.

Cost-effective

IVR is cost-effective and efficient solution specially for call centers. IVR helps to reduce the number of live agents required to cater the customers. IVR also reduces cost by handling large volumes of calls and enhance customer experience. IVR system takes care of the most Frequently Asked Questions so that the technical support team can concentrate on other important stuff.

Handle Large Volume of calls at a time

Sometimes there are calls which require simple interactions. So IVR system can be deployed to handle those large volume of calls using pre-recorded audio that is generated dynamically.

Easy Call-Routing 

It enables easy routing of calls within an organization. The caller can be presented with a list containing menu options and the questions that can be asked frequently. The system can answer them by itself and rest calls can be routed to trained specialists.

What are the drawbacks of IVR system?

Lengthy Menus

Sometimes menus have more than four choices and thus making it hard for the caller to remember the choices that seems as wastage of time for them.

Too much Information

While scripting for IVR, don’t offer all the information up front instead try to start with less amount of irrelevant information possible. Give an opportunity to the caller to ask for more information rather than providing everything in single menu.

Difficult to understand Voice prompts

Sometimes organisations don’t hire professional voice and record audio on the phone instead of recording it in a studio or use text-to-speech software that are cheap and difficult to understand.

How does IVR work?

Customers hear automated voice at first, where they are given pre-recorded multiple options to choose from. It is IVR that transfers the call to a Host system of the organization. 

Customers are asked a series of questions which helps the agents know about the caller’s requirements in advance.

Then customers can make choices by pressing keys accordingly. Every time the caller clicks an option, he is redirected to a different menu which enables him to choose appropriate option. 

This conversation between IVR and customer helps company to save a lot of time and efforts.

With Speech recognition the caller uses voice to interact with the system, making your pain with touch-tone interaction go away. This voice response system makes customers interaction effortless.

Most IVR systems work on voice extensible markup language (vxml) programming language.

The basic components of IVR technology include:

Telephone network

The Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) also known as VoIP network is used to route incoming and outgoing phone calls.

TCP/IP network

It provides internet connectivity in an organisation.

VXML telephony server

This server comes between Telephone network and Internet network which serves as a gateway for callers so that they can access information located on the databases.

Web Server

It is connected to the VXML telephony server over the TCP/IP network. It houses different applications on the same server that are designed to perform different operations.

Database

IVR applications access the information stored on databases. Multiple databases can be linked to single web/Application server over TCP/IP network.

IVR for Call Center

Easy-to-Manage

Using IVR for call center can provide a wide range of options and enables easy management of Reporting system which perform entire surveys hosting through IVR.

Provides Flexibility

IVR for Call center provides flexibility from designing surveys to collecting information. It optimizes the performance of call centers by managing the callbacks and connecting them. IVR for Call centers allows the respondents to be redirected easily to an automated voice survey. 

Building a Customized IVR

Call Centers can design personalised IVR system according to their relevance and therefore can create brand awareness among the callers. Different factors such name of the IVR options, the number, the music to be played when the customer is waiting as well as greetings can be customized.

Prioritize Calls

IVR system Call center allows to prioritize calls according to the value of the customers. When the high prioritised caller calls, IVR redirects it to the specialists who are qualified enough to address their issues. So, you will never lose your esteemed customers.

Voice Broadcasting is a very effective communication tool for call centers which leverages IVR technology to reach a larger number of audience in shortest span of time.

What is the use of IVR system in other departments?

IVR system can be used in other departments to simplify their processes. These Department include:

Sales

IVR system can be used to make customers fill the sales order forms using phone keypad. Then the computer can send the completed form to the appropriate salesperson.

Marketing

IVR system can be used by Marketers to measure the interest of the customers in product or service through surveys.

Medical records

IVR System can be used by doctors transcribe patient records and have a copy sent to the office.

Technology advancement and Future scope of IVR

The use of IVR technology is likely to increase in the near future due to advancement in Artificial Intelligence and Voice Recognition technologies. For better IVR systems natural language processing is being employed to analyze the spoken language in a better way.