10 Ways to Put Some Life in Your IVR

Summary: An IVR, or Interactive Voice Response System, must evolve to meet today’s customer expectations.

An IVR system is your company’s first chance to make a good impression.  It’s more than a way for a business to filter customers. It’s the first time to define your company’s personality. The automated system is the outward facing voice of customer service and the start of a transaction. A well designed IVR system is a marketing tool. So, why do we let our IVR systems seem so…automated?

Call Center Tech defines IVR as “A computer phone application that accepts touch-phone keypad selection input from the caller and provides appropriate information in the form of voice answers or a connection to a “live” operator.” http://www.call-center-tech.com/vru.htm

An IVR system is an opportunity to put your best face forward and let the customer see a better side of your company’s service. We’ve compiled a list of 10 easy ways to put some life in your IVR system.

1. Drop the IVR clichés: “You’re important to us.” is a tired phrase that is so common in IVR systems that it’s lost all meaning. Many of your customers respond to these types of cliche’s by thinking, “If I’m so important, why don’t you hire more customer service reps to take my call?”

2. Replace the Pros: Instead of hiring a polished and perfect voice talent to create your IVR system’s welcome messages, one refreshing idea is to use a real employee. Even if it’s just to say, “Hello”. Rather than  the automated voice talent giving the first greeting, using a ‘real rep’ to record your messages is a chance to hear the real people behind the automated system. It’s an instant chance to connect with a customer on an emotional level and encourages callers to be patient.

3. Offer an IVR Out: I wouldn’t have called if I didn’t want to talk to a live operator. I would have emailed or checked my account on-line. The average call cost will increase a bit, but giving your customers the chance to speak to someone immediately will build a relationship and give you the chance to up sell.

4. It’s not one and done: Many IVR projects set a short timeline for completion. Company’s that take a “set it and forget it” approach to IVR systems miss out on the opportunity to understand the customer experience and improve their system’s accuracy. Refusing to dedicate resources to the IVR’s long-term results will result in low customer satisfaction, high abandonment rates and disappointing accuracy.

5. Less is More: Over the years I’ve managed many teams of copy writers. One lesson I commonly shared with them is paraphrased from a movie, “A good writer knows not what to write. A good writer knows what NOT to write”. Listen to your IVR messages and read the scripts. What words, phrases and full messages could you edit out. A quick and efficiently written IVR script will do more to improve customer satisfaction than bloated hyperbole.

6. Map it, Observe, Map it: As you plan your IVR system map out what you think the customer paths will be. Let it run for a predetermined amount of time. Then study the analytics and make adjustments. All of your pre-work and planning won’t let you find the IVR dead ends. The best way to find traps, loops and abandonment is to let real customers use the system.

7. Be transparent. You know the old line about presentations. Tell them what you’re gonna tell them. Tell them . Then tell them what you told them. The same can be said for IVR system scripts.

8. Let the customer hang up first. A recent post on a retailer’s forum was titled, “Allow Callers to say GOODBYE. geez”. When we’re trying to minimize call time and up efficiency, we forget to be polite. Even in IVR, don’t be afraid to give the caller some space, time to relate and some time to say goodbye.

9. Different strokes. An IVR system designed for a video game company needs to be designed as a different experience than an insurance company. Understand your customers and speak to them in a familiar voice. As most adults under 35 own a smartphone, you’ve got to imaging that their expectations are different from a less tech savvy population.

Smartphone Adoptoion

10. Look forward. Your call center system is going to change a lot over the next 10 years. With Twitter training people to expect an instant answer, your systems will have to react to customers with higher expectations.