In this highly competitive business environment, customer loyalty is crucial for a business’s success. And customer service is one of the best ways to achieve it. Good customer service can not only build customer loyalty but also improve a business’s acquisition of new customers through positive reviews and word-of-mouth.
However, in this connected world, people want their issues to be resolved immediately. This is where IVR comes into play.
What is IVR?
Interactive Voice Response, or IVR for short, is a technology that allows customers to interact with the company and get answers to their questions without having to connect to an operator.
The history of IVR can be traced back to the 1930s when the Voder machine was created. This technology was the first to analyze the English language, and produce human-like audio. Today, it is being used by businesses from almost all domains.
How does it work?
There are two components in an IVR that interact. Voice input and a DTMF input. The caller helps with the voice input, while the keyboard is used for the DTMF (Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency) information.
DTMF signaling occurs between the phone and the computer when callers use the keypad on their phone to select menu options without any intervention from a human operator. For instance, you might have heard the voice say, “Press 1 to check your balance.
Why do you need IVR?
Get immediate answers:
Every business values its customers and is always ready to help them. But there is a limit to what a team of customer service agents can handle at a time. And waiting on hold for a longer period might make the customers feel frustrated.
With IVR, businesses can easily balance the number of callers and the number of agents available to answer by helping callers with simple queries.
24/7 Service:
You can never be sure when a customer might need your service. IVR will allow you to provide round-the-clock service even if no one is there.
This greatly helps banks and financial institutions to respond to customers’ quries.
Sometimes people don’t want to interact:
According to a study by Zendesk, 69% of respondents preferred to resolve issues themselves without needing human intervention. So, having an IVR will make them feel more comfortable. And it can also help tackle the language barrier.
Personalization:
Each IVR system can be modified and programmed with personalized greetings for known callers. This will make the customers feel closer to the brand, thus improving customer retention.
Avoid human errors:
High call volumes tend to put a mental strain on call center agents, which can result in misrouted users. This can severely impact your customer service experience and your brand’s name.
However, with the IVR’s automated routing, you can significantly reduce the risk of mistakes in directing a customer to where they need to go.
Bottomline:
Much like other technologies, IVR also went through several changes since in the past few decades. And today, it has made its mark as one of the most influential parts of any customer service.
If you are looking for an IVR System provider for your business, then our experts at Bautomate can guide you through the maze. Book an appointment to get started.
