An Exhaustive Guide to IVR and its Future in Business Communication

What is an IVR System?

The IVR system is becoming an integral part of organisations that are marching ahead with a progressive approach. Businesses are getting the solution to get its several advantages. But what is IVR? How is it improving operational efficiency and providing a better CX? Let's discuss this in detail.

IVR refers to Interactive Voice Response, and it is an automated call management solution. When the callers call the business, they are welcomed with a greeting message and multi-level menus. These menus help them to get speedy resolutions to their queries by selecting the correct menus. Moreover, they can speak directly to the agent and get their queries resolved.

Types of IVR

What is IVR all about? Well, the IVR Solution can be categorised broadly into two categories- Inbound IVR and Outbound IVR.

Inbound IVR refers to the process when the caller dials the number and is greeted with a pre-recorded message. There are multi-level menus from which the callers can choose the desired option. Either they can get self-help or decide to speak to the agent and get their queries resolved.

Outbound IVR refers to when a business sends a pre-recorded message when the call is received. The message plays automatically and conveys the desired message to the caller.

Business Benefits of IVR

Easy set-up: The solution is easy to install and use. A business need not invest in an elaborate infrastructure, nor does it not have to spend a fortune to obtain it. The solution is affordable and helps several businesses to streamline their communication process.

More Leads: With the IVR system's help, a business can get more leads and ensure customer loyalty with a robust iteration process. The company can nurture the best leads and get a high conversion rate.

Create and promote the Professional Image: The solution offers personalised greetings and multi-level menu categories for self-help. It guides the callers to find the best option and eventually an answer to their queries. The software helps in creating a professional image of the company. It reinforces the thought that the company is well-established with a professional communication system. Customers get quick resolution with self-help menus, and they appreciate the professional way of communication.

Handle high volume of calls: Every business aims to provide a superior experience to its customers. The IVR solution helps a company connect with many users simultaneously with the help of a multi-level IVR system. In this way, no caller turns away due to longer wait times, and the company does not lose any potential business opportunity due to lack of communication or delayed communication.

Personalised Experience: One of the several benefits of the IVR software is the personalised experience provided to the business. The welcome greetings with the customers' names and predicting the purpose of the call based on the previous conversation history make a considerable difference in the customer experience. Such an enhanced CX allows customers to stay with the organisation . So, every feature of the IVR solution helps businesses to get more customers and boost sales.

24x7 Availability: It is one of the significant benefits that IVR provides. If a business is available 24x7, then it is constantly available to its customers. It keeps the customers connected and gives them the ease to get their issues solved whenever they want. With the IVR, a business can forward the calls to the agents' mobile numbers and landlines. The organisation can get in touch with the customers with the extensive call data available and never lose a customer.

Call Routing: A company can efficiently utilise its resources and provide a better customer experience with the call routing feature. The calls can be instantly directed to the available agents and improve operational efficiency. Moreover, the customer's wait time is also reduced, which customers hugely appreciate as they prefer quick connectivity.

Call Recording: This feature of the IVR software enables the company to record calls in real-time. The business can use the material for training purposes. Also, they can understand the majority of the issues faced by the customers and take corrective actions. In this way, the business can meet the customers' expectations and strive to deliver better results.

Why upgrade and modernise with IVR

Being accessible to customers is not a nice add-on to the business, it is a necessity. It has been widely researched how inaccessibility and absence of a seamless channel for customers can negatively affect your business- communication can have long-term effects on your growth. However, studies have also shown that a positive experience while engaging with a brand will positively impact the business and take it on the trajectory of growth.

Businesses must accept the fact that customers today have more choices and would leave your brand in no time in case they even have an inkling of a bad experience. Hence it is a given, pleasant experience with a brand is of umpteenth experience. If you are not engaging with your customers positively, be ready to lose customers.

So to meet these ever-increasing demands and changing times, a business should upgrade its contact center and customer experience.

The future of IVR

Now that we are aware of how the current technology of IVR has come to where it is now and how it works in aiding businesses in managing the influx and outflux of customer calls. Let’s look at how IVR is beneficial for business, and dive deeper into how its modernization affects various areas of businesses-

Provide customers a seamless experience

If a customer calls you first, the IVR is essentially one of the primary customer touchpoints. This is a brilliant opportunity for a business to provide a seamless and personalised customer experience. With the well-designed IVR flow and sub-menus, a business can efficiently engage with its customers. A well-built IVR Flow keeping in mind the usual customer journey would let your business offer a seamless branded experience.

With a modernised and upgraded IVR, a business can have call wishes, greetings, have sub-menus, and A/B test your scripts continuously so that your customer’s IVR journey is in tandem with the overall brand experience currently. If a business designs its IVR Number call flow keeping in mind the ease of the customers, it makes sure that its customer engagement call processes are optimised and lead to more satisfying customer experiences

Improve Operational Efficiency

An IVR with a well-designed menu can handle calls efficiently and accurately route customer calls or even schedule a call-back for appointments and inquiries later. IVR is combined with other technologies and tools like Text to Speech to offer information and even complete tasks that would have otherwise required agent intervention. An outbound IVR system can be used to send notifications, product restocks information, bills, payment reminders, etc. automatically without involving a business representative.

With the increasing demand for stellar customer service, a business cannot make a customer wait. A customer’s queries should be answered in no time. According to various studies, customers prefer self-service over conversing with an agent. A modern IVR satisfactorily fulfils this need. By letting the IVR handle calls, the Call Center would essentially optimise the productivity of its agents- letting them focus on niche tasks and helping them get better at their job.

Hence, a business wouldn’t only be relying on a Modern solution to meet the needs of its customers but also using a solution that would save on agent expenses. The whole process would lead to agents focusing on calls that are crucial in the sales funnel.

Save on expenses

To reiterate, businesses want to focus on upgrading their customer experience but they don’t want to do it by overshooting budgets. Essentially businesses want to deliver delightful customer experiences without spending a lot more than they do. This conundrum is solved by IVR.

According to a recent study, an IVR System can solve a customer problem at 1/48th the cost of an agent experience. Yes, you read it right! With IVR, a business has real cost savings.

So, if you are a business still thinking about IVR and how it fits in your marketing and customer acquisition strategies, I am sure you have the answer by now. There is no stopping with productivity, cost-savings, and automation if you have the right IVR Service provider.

Conclusion:

Knowlarity is one of the most popular and reliable cloud telephony companies offering various solutions, including the** IVR system**. Now you know what IVR is and would like to get the solution to improve operational efficiency. Get the robust solution and high-quality services to streamline your business operations from Knowlarity.