What is IVR?
IVR (Interactive voice response) is an automatic telephone answering system that plays a pre-recorded audio message and guides the caller through the options provided by the telephone keypad.
IVR is commonly used in switchboards. call center to handle calls without the assistance of an operator, or to route calls to a dedicated operator.
Applications of IVR.
Is one of important features of call center, IVR is commonly used to:
Customer care
- Filter and route calls to appropriate customer service department skill-based routing.
- Automatic information notifications (event information, opening and closing hours, etc.)
Marketing, survey:
- Collect surveys and customer reviews on product and service quality.
- Perform auto call to automate telemarketing to customers
Look up information:
- Look up account information, personal information, contracts.
- Track bill of lading
How does IVR work?
Let's go through a scenario to better understand how IVR works.
When a user calls the switchboard of company A, at this time IVR is activated as follows:
Step 1: Welcome to contacting company A's hotline, for support on account information please press 1, for support on loan information please press 2, ….
Step 2: Users press key 2 according to their needs.
Step 3: The call is being transferred to the loan consulting department.
Step 4: Operator in charge of consulting.
Step 5: End call.
Note: During IVR interaction, there is often the participation of ACD system ( Automatic call distribution). You can learn about ACD to get a thorough understanding of how ACD and IVR work together.
What is needed to set up an IVR?
IVR system is built on programming language VoiceXML. To operate requires:
- Telephone network.
- TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol.
- Web server.
- Database.
- Pre-recorded audio file.
Benefits of IVR
Enhance customer experience
With the use of voice automation, customers will receive a response almost immediately, helping to minimize waiting time.
In addition, some advanced IVRs also have the ability to personalize messages based on available information data (name, gender, etc.)
24/7/365 continuous operation.
Programmed and operated fully automatically at all times, even without an operator present.
In case it is outside working hours, you can set up IVR as follows (For example): Welcome to contact the switchboard of company A, currently our switchboard operator only operates from 6:00 am to 8:00 pm. We hope you understand and please contact us again tomorrow morning. Thank you and wish you a warm evening!
Increase agent performance.
Reduce the time spent manually mining information that operators have to perform.
Agents are routed using skill-based routing, increasing the likelihood of successful handling and reducing stress.
Save costs – increase profits.
Depending on the operating model, IVR can replace humans to answer frequently asked questions (FAQs) or provide available information such as customer information, account balances, and shipping information.
Disadvantages of IVR
Despite the great benefits, IVR also has its drawbacks in automation, as businesses sometimes encounter cases where customers have specific needs while the system is not working properly. only limit the information to a certain scope.
IVR: What's next?
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) opens up possibilities for IVR. AI can be integrated into IVR for voice recognition to provide accurate, automated responses and greater security. New trends include:
- Voice biometrics
- Voice bot
