At one point in time, the use of an interactive voice response (IVR) system for any company gave the impression that they didn’t think highly enough of the customer to provide a live individual to take care of that customer’s needs. While this sentiment may not have completely disappeared from consumer thinking, IVR systems have become so common that we actually expect them when we call a company.

 

There are many benefits for the customer when an IVR system is in place. For one, the customer can call at any time, day or night, and access information from the database. As long as the database is user-friendly and the customer gains access to the information that he or she needs, the customer is happy. There are generally no hold times and no frustration from being passed between multiple individuals who may prove to be of little help.

 

Strong IVR systems can be of even more benefit to the organization. If the solution provides the customer with what they need and when they need it, there are likely to be satisfied. Customer satisfaction leads to customer loyalty. Maintaining loyal customers is one of the best ways to ensure longevity in the market.

 

Organizations often look to the outsourcing of their call center operations for reasons such as the available staff cannot handle the anticipated volume of calls; the call center is only in operation for a 9-5 shift and customers are demanding information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; current campaigns are requiring more talk time, generating more customer wait time and increasing hang-ups.

 

"Efforts to control call center costs have directed many call center managers   to reduce labor costs by off-shoring call centers to countries where labor is plentiful and it is easier to provide 24 x 7 service because of time zone differences. But a recent survey by VoiceObjects shows that 69 percent  of consumers worldwide prefer to interact with an IVR-driven automated phone system than talk to an agent with a foreign accent," Bonnie Crater, Senior Vice President, Marketing, VoiceObjects, Inc. told TMCnet.

 

"Also troublesome to many call centers is the frustration  consumers face when menu choices are confusing, or the interface is long and laborious to use, resulting in very low customers satisfaction. The VoiceObjects survey also found that 92 percent of consumers have been frustrated with using an IVR-based system."

 

A good automated phone system can actually address most of these issues and  negate the need for outsourcing call center activities. At the same time, the cost for an automated service can be counted in nickels rather than dollars for every call.

 

"Imagine having an automated phone system that customers actually liked Personalized automated phone systems seem to have a high appeal according to the VoiceObjects consumer survey. 77 percent of respondents said they would prefer to interact with a personalized automated phone system than a generic IVR system. And combining new software called a “phone application server” with and IVR can supercharge the IVR with caller-specific, personalized menus, personalized voices, personalized prompts and dialogs, and even personalized advertising – all without a lot of coding," said Crater.

 

 

If specific, personalized information is available via the automated phone system on a 24 x 7 basis and the system is easy to use, the customer can access  information at any time, lightening the load on the phones during the day. This can help to reduce hold times, call times and hang-ups. As a result, more customers will gain satisfaction through their experience with the call center/organization and a higher level of service is delivered with very little effort on the part of the call center itself.