There’s been a lot of literature on re-branding over the years and one thing I learned doing this over the last 14 years is that if you change the brand – then change the experience. The two go hand in hand. Your IVR system is a major touch point experience of your brand and customers are going through this experience on a daily basis.
Perhaps you are toying with the idea of investing in an IVR to boost your customer experience, but don’t know how and where to start? Or, you already have an IVR system but are thinking if you are really getting the most out of it? Or you want to upgrade your existing platform.
We believe that IVR is a powerful and effective communications and marketing tool that has huge potential!
Think of your IVR as an extension of your organization … the voice of your service experience. Are you with me so far? Here are some areas that you may need to consider in reviewing your IVR platform:
- Design the IVR experience:
Sadly many organisations design the experience with an internal view as opposed to a customer view. Put yourself in your customers shoes and test your system. Think about how to make the journey more efficient and simple. Areas to focus include 1) access to your agents – how quickly can customers get through or are they getting a busy signal. Do you have enough ports for the calls you are receiving? 2) How easy is it to navigate your system – do you have too many options and is it difficult to reach an agent? 3) How pleasant is your IVR tone? Yes I said pleasant – the IVR voice files need to be of high quality and consistent throughout your system. This is not something you have your staff record.
- Analyse your IVR data:
The detail is in the data. If you have not done so already look at your current IVR data and trends. What are your customers calling you about? Is the selection and menu tree set up for this requirement? Are there any functions that can be automated? Review your data on at least a monthly basis to determine how your customers use your platform. This will assist in making informed decisions on how to improve the experience.
- Maintain your IVR:
Your IVR is part of your service offering. Think of it as the voice of service. You need to monitor it consistently and make improvements and adjustments on an ongoing basis.
Voice selection is an important decision as the sound and experience will reflect the brand of your service. Too many times we come across IVR systems that have a variety of voice talents throughout the varying levels and this is just not acceptable or ok. If you have a chosen voice for your IVR system then you must ensure that this voice is consistent in all your prompts.
Not sure if you need help? Then, pick up the phone and call your own company IVR or office and decide for yourself. We look forward to speaking soon…
