Many companies have come to trust the value of the interactive voice response (IVR) system as a way to take some of the heat off a call center, giving customers an easier way to settle many simpler issues that said customers may encounter in the course of normal operations. This is especially true when it comes to billing—why use a live human contact center agent for something as simple as a balance check or a billing due date?--and provides some insight into why companies like Billtrust are offering IVR systems in billing services.
Billtrust recently made the jump itself, adding the IVR services to its normal array of billing-related services. With the new additions, Billtrust not only offers inbound IVR systems, but also outbound IVR as well as emergency alerts. This allows customers to get one central, easy to use jumping-off point for access to current account balances as well as a means by which to pay those balances regardless of the day or hour.
The service is available literally around the clock—it's described as 24 hours a day and seven days a week—so customers can call directly in, authenticate with the relevant account numbers, and from there launch into a variety of options. When none of these options suit customers, the ability to transfer to live service representatives is also present. What's more, when service outages or other issues happen, the IVR system can step in here as well, communication updates about estimated time to restoration as well as taking customers' notifications about outages.
As explained by Billtrust's vice president of marketing, Mitch Rose, in a statement, customers are eager to pay bills in a multitude of different ways. Being able to accommodate those various payment styles not only improves customer service in general, but also improves the likelihood that payments will be made in a timely fashion. Since Billtrust can not only accommodate credit card payments but also ACH, there's plenty of value here for the business that uses it.
It's hard to look askance at a system that not only provides value for the business that uses it, but also for the customer that turns to it as well. Being able to offer a variety of convenient payment methods for the customer helps ensure that payments are made, while customers can better plan for bill payment with easy access to account management tools, as well as provide information about trouble in the service. The faster such troubles are addressed, the more likely the customers are to maintain accounts.
Billtrust's addition of IVR service to its roster may not solve every problem, but any problem that can be solved is one less problem that will have an impact on the business later. Billtrust is clearly taking a forward-looking approach here, and though not every business will be able to mimic that step, those that can are likely going to be well-served in making the attempt.
Edited by Rich Steeves