Interactive Voice Response (IVR) has come a long way since it first landed on the market and is at this day one of the most widely used and progressive kinds of call centre software available. Used by all kinds of companies throughout the world, the key purpose of the IVR system is to organize large numbers of calls that some organizations of a particular nature can experience and is for a human impossible to handle. A well-designed IVR system can drastically reduce operating overheads and assist organizations in supporting both their clients and staff as well as improving the client's experience.
The IVR systems are able to distinguish between commands, whether they are input as a voice command or via the dial pad. The system responds to the input with a pre-recorded script to direct the caller on how to proceed, this can be a request to state the number from a list of given options or to select a number using the dial pad. IVR systems are most suitable for any task whereby the instruction can be separated and put into a simple menu option. In telecommunications these systems are generally very competent and reliable when it comes down to dealing with large volumes of calls.
Interactive Voice Response systems are popular as they save companies time and manpower as well as money. IVR appliances are often used in telephone banking industries, for televoting and credit card transactions. If an organization utilizes an IVR system, then the organization can extend its business hours to round the clock if necessary.
Companies that experience a high level of callers each day requesting the same information, (such as a bank where the customer is checking their bank balance, the opening times of a store or visa and passport information), find automated systems extremely useful and time saving. The alternative for a company is to recruit staff according to the volume of calls and enquiries. This would cost them considerably more as they would need to hire at least 2 or 3 members of staff to cover the same hours as an automated service can provide.
IVR systems range considerably in their functions, the less expensive models are quite basic and instructions a simple yes or no voice command, or press 1 for?.press 2 for?.dial pad command. The more advanced systems ask for names, dates of birth and your address and recognize the answers, so speeding the whole process up greatly. Systems like these are very useful for situations where the same information is needed over and over again and will provide it much faster than if the phones were to be manually answered.
Many of the largest IVR systems are facilitated for voting in popular TV game shows, such as Big Brother and Pop Idol, TV shows which can produce millions of calls during a short period of time and would prove impossible to answer manually. The systems are also useful for mobile users who are calling to register a logo or a new ringtone for their phone, anyone calling to ask about the weather forecast for the following will experience an automated system.
Call centres are the main users of IVR systems and use them to identify and redirect the user to the correct department where their enquiry can then be dealt with. The ability to identify customers further enables the organization to adapt its services to fit the client profile. With an automated service, the client can choose the information he requires, including choose an automated service, request a call-back or wait in the queue.
Many of the largest IVR systems are facilitated for voting in popular TV game shows, such as Big Brother and Pop Idol, TV shows which can produce millions of calls during a short period of time and would prove impossible to answer manually. The systems are also useful for mobile users who are calling to register a logo or a new ringtone for their phone, anyone calling to ask about the weather forecast for the following will experience an automated system.
IVR systems are normally installed in-house and maintained by the IVR provider who sets up the system through the client's network. There are limitations to IVR systems in comparison to having the telephones manually answered, but the advantages to clients and the organization by far overshadow these limitations.
If you are looking for an incomparable customer interface for your organization then check online for call centre and voice recognition software. Sophisticated applications that utilize speech recognition and voice biometrics can save your organization a lot of valuable time and bring your company costs down.
Interactive Voice Response Systems
The term IVR is short for Interactive Voice Response, which is a telephony technology that allows interaction between callers and a phone system to acquire or enter information into a database. More and more companies are turning to IVR to help reduce the cost of common sales, service, collections, inquiry and support calls to and from their company.
Interactive Voice Response or IVR is one of the most common telephone functions in use across the business community and is capable of bringing remarkable benefits to your company. IVR systems allow 24 hour access to a company from its customers via its phone system. In today's busy modern world, most callers expect on first contact with a company, to be handled via some kind of Auto Attendant or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. This method of call handling is generally accepted as long as the caller is given ample opportunity to opt out of the IVR system and be able to speak to a live agent.
IVR systems offer a cost effective and money saving way of handling customer calls twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The handling of routine phone requests for information can consume a substantial amount of company resources and ultimately money. Interactive Voice Response systems, tailored to a company's requirements can provide much the same information as a live operator at a fraction of the cost both financially and resourcefully. To put things in their most simple form IVR systems let callers interact with your company via its telephone system.
IVR systems hugely reduce customer call handling costs, and can be introduced into your company environment in a number of ways. The most basic IVR systems simply allow you to record a message that is played when a customer presses the appropriate number on the phone keypad. The more advanced Interactive Voice Response systems allow callers to interact with a company on a much greater scale. For example you could set up an IVR to retrieve specific account information that is relayed to the caller through the implementation of text-to-speech recognition technology. This technology allows IVR systems to read specific information from a database and then relate that information back to the customer in spoken format.
Typical IVR - Interactive Voice Response System Applications
The potential applications of IVR systems are virtually endless. IVR systems can be used to automate a wide range of services and requests for information. By combining the input of a caller with tailor made scripts, IVR systems allow callers to call into a company or IVR hosting company using a touch-tone telephone, and then to interact with the system in real time. Below is a list of example IVR applications:
1. Automated account payment systems
2. Customer account information
3 Banking service for account balance transfer information
4 Customer market surveys
5 Emergency notifications
6 Virtual receptionists
7 Call centre automation
8 Order status and tracking
9 Package tracking
10 Virtual PBX's
11 Voicemail services
12 Voice instant messaging
13 Bill reminder
14 Bill collection
15 Telesales
16 Virtual agents
17 Auto attendants
18 Call routing
19 Call recording solutions
20 Plus many, many more
Benefits of IVR Systems
1. Integrated Voice Response systems can be extremely beneficial to companies by cutting down on live call handling time, thus saving money and enabling staff to be free to concentrate on other business areas.
2. IVR systems can benefit callers by either allowing access to personalised information or, directing them to the right department or, by a combination of multiple input types and selections via menu choices involving telephone keypad input and speech recognition.
3. IVR systems allow callers to retrieve or access information quickly with or without additional human assistance.
4. Integrated Voice Response systems allow companies to easily expand their hours of business, without the need for live operators to be on hand. This allows callers to call at their convenience and still be able to carry out a multitude of tasks automatically.
5. Call queuing times to departments within a company can be drastically reduced. With IVR systems, calls can be transferred to appropriate departments through the menu selection process.
6. IVR systems allow company representatives to experience lower call volumes thorough the automation of repetitive tasks. This allows these representatives to manage their calls more efficiently and lets them to concentrate on more important issues.
7. Through the implementation of a good Integrated Voice Response System, companies may actually be able to expand their call capacity and respond to larger call volumes through the correct management and routing of all inbound calls, reducing the handling cost per call ratio.
8. For companies who accept payments via the telephone IVR systems can fully automate this task, allowing them to process transactions anytime of the day, any day of the week.
9. For when call volumes are high, IVR systems allow companies to highlight new products, updates or product information etc while a caller is on hold.
10.Companies are able to monitor call progress and transactions through the use of daily call activity reports.
Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) IVR or Hosted IVR The Choice Is Yours
CPE - This is equipment that is purchased or leased by a customer and is then located, hosted and maintained at the customers site. For most companies this is an expensive way of harnessing the power a good IVR system can bring to any business due to the initial cost of the hardware and installation work that would be required. For those companies that have the necessary funding for CPE there are of course benefits as well as drawbacks. CPE allows you to take full control of your IVR system and will also allow for future company expansion, though many hosted IVR solutions do allow for this also. The main drawback to CPE IVR systems is that you would need continuing technical support and maintenance either from your own internal staff or outsourced to the IVR system provider.
IVR Hosting - If a customer prefers not to host an IVR system on their premises, is restricted by location, lacks IT support or quite simply cannot withstand the initial financial outlay required for outright purchase then a remote IVR hosting solution that can be tailored to a company's requirements could be the answer. This option is particularly attractive for small to medium sized businesses who wish to take advantage of a fully featured Interactive Voice Response system, with a vastly reduced initial capital outlay, as well as eradicating the need for system IT maintenance, and support.
Whichever form of IVR system you decide to implement, it is better to ask the advice of experts before you go ahead and purchase any hardware or sign any form of lease agreement. A good IVR systems provider or IVR hosting company will take the time to sit down with you and discuss your requirements in detail before helping you make a decision on what type of system you should opt for.
Both Michiel Van Kets & Jason Morris are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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