Does Your IVR System Deliver Value?

Problems in the call center can be as simple as the use of an improper headset to as complex as inaccurately forecasting for upcoming call volume and scheduling too many or too few agents in the process. For the telecom vendor trying to sell solutions that solve the problems in the call center, the industry is changing. This is especially true for those offering PBX (News - Alert) boxes as hosted solutions and the implementation of an IVR system are taking priority.

As this Channel Partners Online report highlights, telecom vendors catering to the call center today must be able to sell on value. Once IVR system and telecom dealers make themselves a part of the value proposition, and demonstrate that their expertise addresses the business processes within the contact center environment, they are much more likely to close the sale.

But again – the offered solution still has to solve the end user’s problems. It isn’t enough for the offered solution to bring new bells and whistles to the contact center environment. It has to build efficiencies, create economies of scale and automate those tasks that are currently taking too much time through manual processes. Perhaps most importantly, it also has to save the call center money. The IVR system should meet all of these criteria to ensure it delivers value within the respective environment.

In fact, when done correctly, the IVR system can help the call center to morph into a profit center instead of the typical cost center. The more functions that can be automated through the IVR system, the more value it delivers to the contact center from the start. When designed correctly, the system should address issues before a live agent needs to get involved, eliminating the need for live engagement in common interactions.

If the call does need to involve the live agent, all information the customer entered into the IVR system should be available for the agent on the backend, ensuring the customer never has to repeat anything. This not only shortens the time of the live call, it also delivers a better experience for the customer – which should be the end goal of any call center interaction. Before offering any type of IVR system, however, the dealer needs to understand the call center’s ultimate goals so that what is eventually promoted will deliver the anticipated value.

Interact is one company delivering on this value in the contact center space. The company understands the unique challenges that exist in the industry and designed its IVR system solutions to address those challenges so client companies can improve their global communications. This includes a priority focus on performance, flexibility, adaptive deployment and professional services.

Advanced capabilities in the Interact IVR system can include anything from advance VoiceXML (News - Alert) to SMS, message delivery to e-mail, central monitoring to VoIP, TDM to CC authorization, call announcements to carrier grade Linux, unified messaging to the support of multiple call flows and so much more. The motivation behind these developments is not only the efficiency of the contact center, but also the customer experience. If the latter isn’t optimized, the former won’t deliver on the promised value.

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO Miami 2013, Jan 29- Feb. 1 in Miami, Florida.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO (News - Alert). Follow us on Twitter.

Edited by Rachel Ramsey