The customer service sector was built on telephone communications. While we are certainly progressing more toward a mobile and Internet-centric era, and while we’re seeing the rise of the multi-channel customer experience, nothing will ever quite replace a good ol’ phone when a customer really needs something.
Businesses should be prepared for all facets of customer interaction, and investing in software solutions to better handle customer inquiries, regardless of origin, can only help, not harm the process. While we’re seeing a lot of agents spending time on the social media outlets, managers and decision makers should not overlook the value of investing in IVR and monitoring solutions when it comes to telephone communications.
IVR was the sort of advent to self-service. Where we see customers checking FAQ pages or heading to the Web for self-support, IVR was at the forefront to allowing customers to choose what they were looking for and who they needed to speak to. IVR has come a long way. Companies should take advantage of the latest advances in speech recognition and other technologies to create a robust IVR. By investing in these solutions, customers will have a self-service option in the phone channels, and companies can deflect calls from live agents in the process.
There are providers who are constantly updating their technologies to benefit the call center space. Just recently, TelcoAlert announced its most recent offerings for its IVR systems and load testing. According to the press announcement, the update ensures 24/7 uptime with continual testing and immediate notification upon detection of any service interruption or problem. Companies can take advantage of a free trial with immediate use; instead of waiting for days, managers can start the monitoring process right away.
The updates to the system also include speech synthesis, DTMF tones and speech recognition technology.
"TelcoAlert's goal is to educate customers on the benefits of cost effective IVR monitoring and load testing solutions for even the smallest companies. Up until now, load testing was so cost prohibitive that it was out of reach for most small businesses." said Randy Pollestad, President and CEO of TelcoAlert in a press announcement.
An IVR system works best when it is catered to the customer it is trying to serve. IVR systems are typically used to service high call volumes, reduce cost and improve the customer experience. Load testing means validation of your IVR, quantifiable data for future planning, identifying known issues, and, most of all, ensures all systems are go.
We can agree that the phone is here to stay, so it makes sense for companies to take advantage of the latest advances in speech recognition and other technologies to create a robust IVR.
Edited by Maurice Nagle