Benefits of Interactive Voice Response (IVR) for Marketing

Interactive voice response (IVR) is an advanced telephony technology that allows clients to interact with the company’s phone system in real time through customizable voice scripts. Interaction with the special voice menu is based on key presses in tone mode or speech recognition technology.

IVR is used to automate client access to information of interest. It can also be used to route calls within the call center, ensuring a rational workload of operators according to their specialization. In this article, we will discuss who needs IVR, what it gives, and how to optimize it.

Types of IVR systems

There exist two types of IVR systems: static and dynamic. Let’s take a closer look at each of them.

Static IVR system

Static IVR systems are based on the voice menu, which provides clients with a strictly limited amount of information in the form of pre-recorded voice messages. For instance, they can give info on the relevant discounts, addresses, representatives’ contacts, services, working hours, etc., or provide answers to frequently asked questions.

Dynamic IVR system

Dynamic IVR systems are supposed to provide clients with the requested information from the company’s database in accordance with the existing rules of routing in the company. For instance, in the financial sphere, they can request information on the current status of their account or the current exchange rate.

Also, IVR systems can differ in their forms of interaction:

• by touch-tone keypad selection to access information (e.g., the pre-recorded message could be “For the information about the current status of your order, press one…”);
• by directed dialogue with voice recognition (e.g., “Are you looking for information about the state of your order or do you want to make an order?”, and the customer may reply: “make on order”);
• by natural language when the robot understands human speech (e.g., “What is the purpose of your call?”).

The application of IVR systems

IVR systems are used in various spheres and industries from Big Tech to small start-ups.

• Education. For example, through interaction with IVR, parents can get info on their children’s grades. 
• Customer service. IVR can be used by call centers to answer common customers’ questions or handle complaints. Namely, it can be used in the beauty sphere, taxi services, delivery companies, HR agencies, and so on. 
• Healthcare. Making/canceling an appointment, getting info about specialists’ schedules, or about the analysis results — all these procedures can be done without an operator if the healthcare organization has an IVR system.
• Finance. In the finance and banking sphere, IVR can give access to info about applications’ statuses, bank account balance, etc. 

What an IVR system can help you with

IVR can be a solution to various issues connected with communication with your clients.

• IVR can help make call routing more efficient. After obtaining and processing information received from the client, it can route the call straight to the competent specialist, bypassing the call center operator and saving time. 
• Also, it can accept more than one call at the same time, so the clients don’t have to hang on hold, waiting for their turn. Moreover, while the clients are waiting for the specialist, the robot can inform them about some relevant promos, discounts, and new services. It can potentially increase your sales. 
• IVR can give access to the information in the database on weekends, holidays, and at nights. That can release your workers from work at peak-off hours, and you will save some money by reducing their working hours.
• One more advantage is increased security. It is mostly connected with sensitive data, for example, medical analysis results. IVR can give a client access to the information from the database without talking to an operator.

How to make your IVR system less annoying for the clients

Often, people prefer communication with a real person rather than a robot, as robots can’t compete with humans in their flexibility during a conversation. However, sometimes IVR is essential for the optimization of communication with clients. So, the only thing you can do for your clients is to make their interaction with the robot as convenient as possible. Here is what to pay attention to.

• The greeting and introduction should be polite and short. There is no need for a long description of the company — the person who has the company’s number probably knows about the company. 
• If there is a touch-tone menu, the description of each item should be laconic, so that your client doesn’t forget what the sentence has started with when it ends. 
• The items on the menu shouldn’t repeat each other. The wording should be clear, so as not to confuse your clients.
• Also, your clients should be able to contact the operator at any stage of the interaction with your IVR. 
• It should be possible to get back to the previous stage of the menu and to listen to the menu options multiple times if needed. 

Conclusion

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems offer benefits such as improved call routing, efficient handling of multiple calls, access to information outside regular hours, and enhanced data security. Businesses should consider factors like their specific needs and financial considerations when deciding whether to implement an IVR system. To ensure a positive client experience, it’s important to focus on concise greetings, clear menu options, and the ability to contact a live operator if needed.

Now that you have a general idea of how IVR works, you can decide if your company needs it. Beforehand, calculate the financial aspect — in some cases, it is more profitable to have live people as operators.