Streamlining Your Call Centre: How IVR Can Improve Customer Service

In the early days of call centres, frustrated customers would find themselves stuck in a maze, waiting impatiently for an operator to direct their call. The experience was often tedious, time-consuming, and left customers feeling more exasperated than satisfied. Then, along came Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology, a game-changer that transformed the way call centres operate, making customer service more efficient, seamless, and enjoyable.

IVR was introduced to the world in the 1970s, a time when the world was witnessing a technological revolution. It was during this era that the idea of automating the call routing process took root, and IVR became the hero that call centres needed. As the decades rolled by, IVR evolved from simple touch-tone systems to sophisticated, AI-driven solutions capable of understanding natural language and providing a conversational experience for callers. Today, IVR has become an indispensable tool for contact centres worldwide, helping businesses streamline their operations, reduce wait times, and ultimately, deliver top-notch customer service.

What is IVR?

Imagine you're calling your favourite pizza place to place an order. As soon as the call connects, you're greeted by a friendly voice that asks if you'd like to order a pizza, track your order, or speak to a customer service representative. You press the corresponding button on your phone’s keypad, and the system directs you accordingly.

This interaction is made possible by Interactive Voice Response or IVR.

In a nutshell, IVR is a technology that allows callers to interact with a business’s phone system using touch-tone key inputs. IVR systems are designed to streamline contact centre operations, automate routine tasks, and provide a more efficient and satisfying experience for customers.

At the heart of every IVR system lies a powerful combination of hardware and software that can manage call routing based on the touch-tone inputs provided by callers. These systems are incredibly versatile and customisable, which means businesses can tailor the IVR experience to suit their unique needs and offer the best possible customer service.

From small businesses to large enterprises, IVR has become an essential tool for managing customer interactions and delivering top-notch support across various industries.

How Does IVR Work

If required, the IVR system can also play additional pre-recorded prompts or present the caller with further options for more precise call routing.

‍Role of IVR in Improving Customer Experience

IVR systems play a significant role in improving customer experience by offering a structured and efficient way to manage phone interactions. Let's explore how these IVR systems contribute to a better customer experience. ‍

1. Intelligent Call Routing

One of the primary benefits of IVR system is its ability to smartly route calls based on the touch-tone inputs provided by callers. By presenting a clear menu of options, the system ensures that customers are directed to the appropriate department or the right agent quickly and efficiently. This helps reduce wait times and frustration, ultimately leading to a more positive customer experience.  

In CINNOX, routing rules can be based on linear sequence, volume percentage or time of day. They are not just available for IVR systems, but across all channels.

• Alternative routing - Distributes incoming enquiries in a linear pattern to your set destination.
• Percentage routing - Distributes incoming enquiries at percentage value.
• Time-based routing - Distributes incoming enquiries using time allocation.
• Sticky routing - Establish a relationship between a caller and your staff. New enquiries from the same caller will directly route to same staff that previously helped them.

2. Reduced Call Volume for Agents

IVR systems help filter and categorise incoming calls to free up agents to focus on more complex enquiries that require personalised attention. As a result, customers receive better and faster support from well-informed agents. ‍

3. 24/7 Customer Support

One of the advantages of an IVR system is its ability to provide support around the clock. With a menu-driven interface, customers can access essential information or complete simple tasks even when live agents are unavailable. It gets easier for businesses to deploy customer support staff in shifts to provide round-the-clock availability, which significantly improves customer satisfaction, especially for callers in different time zones or with urgent requests. ‍

4. Consistent Customer Experience

IVR systems enables businesses to set audio prompts to greet, guide and engage callers immediately. This ensures that every caller is greeted with the same consistent and professional welcome message. This uniformity creates a reliable and predictable experience for customers, reinforcing the business’s brand image and setting the stage for a positive interaction.

Uncovering the Hidden Potential of IVR for Exceptional Customer Experiences (Use Cases)

As businesses across various sectors embrace the potential of IVR systems, they continue to discover innovative ways to enhance customer experiences and streamline operations. In the following use cases, we'll explore how different industries, namely e-commerce, hospitality, and financial services, leverage specific capabilities of IVR like smart routing, voice prompts, and call conferencing to deliver exceptional services and create lasting customer connections.

1. E-commerce: Smart Shopping Assistance with Intelligent Routing

In a bustling e-commerce call centre, a customer calls to enquire about a product they saw on the website. The IVR system is designed with smart routing capabilities that analyse the customer's phone number and detects interaction history. Based on this information, the IVR system routes the call to the same agent that the customer interacted with on previous occasions.

This enables a more personalised and efficient support experience, as the agent is well-equipped to provide detailed information and recommendations, ensuring a seamless and satisfying customer journey.

2. Hospitality Industry: Streamlining In-room Hospitality

A hotel guest wishes to order room service for dinner. They call the hotel's in-room service number, and the IVR system presents a menu with various options like "press 1 to order room service," "press 2 to request additional amenities," or "press 0 to speak to the front desk executive." The guest selects the option to order room service, and the IVR system transfers the call to the appropriate department, where the guest can place their order directly in the hotel’s kitchen.

3. Financial Services: Collaborative Support with IVR Call Conferencing

A customer is interested in learning more about her bank’s home loan offers and calls her bank, seeking assistance from a financial advisor. After navigating through the IVR menu, she reaches the financial advisory department. The advisor realises they need input from a specialist from home loan department to address the customer's concerns accurately. Using the IVR system's call conferencing feature, the advisor adds the home loan specialist to the call. Together, they collaboratively address the customer's query, providing a comprehensive and satisfying solution.

This seamless collaboration, enabled by IVR call conferencing, ensures a high-quality customer experience, and demonstrates the bank's commitment to addressing customer needs effectively.

‍The Future of AI in IVR Systems

AI is getting better and better with every passing day, and that means big things for IVR systems. You know, those pesky automated phone systems that make us press a bunch of buttons just to talk to a human? Well, with AI, they're about to become a lot more human-like and individualised to our needs.

Being the buzzword that it is, today, every business is scurrying to incorporate AI into its solutions, with IVR not being an exception. Conversational AI has proven time and again its capability to automate and enhance customer interactions. From intent prediction and context extraction, to formulating human-like answers in a jiffy in response to common customer enquiries, conversational AI has come a long way and can significantly boost the quality and level of customers’ experience with your business, thereby improving the efficiency and effectiveness of customer engagement process.

Getting Started with IVR in CINNOX

So, how can you implement an IVR solution in your business?  

Today, IVR solution is available as part of a comprehensive communication suite, such as CINNOX. You can consolidate all customer interactions like live chat, calls, SMS, emails, social messaging, and IVR into one, unified platform, ensuring seamless and efficient communication across all touchpoints.

Embarking on your IVR journey with CINNOX is a simple two-step process that combines offline and online configuration. To begin, sign up for an Omnichannel Contact Centre or The Ultimate CX Hub plan. Once that's completed, you can proceed to configure your IVR menu, keypress options, and destinations within the CINNOX platform, making the setup process straightforward and efficient.