You already know what an Interactive Voice Response is and have decided to try it. But if you are going to build an IVR to cut costs, maybe you better stop here. You will surely make mistakes that will end up costing you more.
We have read in several articles that the premise of building an IVR to improve the customer experience is false since all companies are looking to reduce costs, which minimizes the objective of their self-service system.
It may be true that you decide to build IVR services in Ranchi because it is reliable than having agents. It is one of its great benefits. But at the moment of designing it, that should not be the approach you should give it, but rather seek to make life easier for your client.
If you focus only on saving costs, you will be achieving an angry and dissatisfied customer. On the other hand, if you have a sincere intention to improve your company's customer experience, you can continue reading the strategies that we’ve compiled for you to make your IVR service in Ranchi a success.
Strategy 1: Less is More.
The IVR welcome message should be brief. You do not need to briefly review what your company does or any propaganda about your products and services. You leave that for the moments of waiting.
Strategy 2: It is not a Restaurant Menu. It is an IVR Menu.
Have you missed communicating with an IVR and giving you an endless list of options? Indeed after the fourth option, you no longer remember which ones were the first, and you have to listen to them again. Therefore, do not design IVRs that offer more than four options in their main menu; 3 options would be ideal.
Strategy 3: Use but don't abuse.
As an alternative to the menus and request for DTMF tones, you can use voice recognition. However, if you decide to incorporate this option, choose a promising technology. A lousy voice recognition system can cause the opposite effect to the desired one. Your IVR should not be based 100% on this technology, and you should leave the possibility of a menu of options that is not based on voice recognition. For example, what happens if your client has some inability to speak?
Strategy 4: Put Order!
The options presented in the menu must not be arbitrary but must correspond to what is most requested by customers. For example, if most of your customers call to get their account balance, that should be the first option presented on the menu. Similarly, if there is an option that only a minimum percentage of customers enter (less than 5%), then you should evaluate removing it from the menu.
Strategy 5: Allow the Escape.
At any point in the IVR services in Ranchi, the customer has to request a referral to an agent. Suppose your client does not find the right option for him on the menu, and the possibility of talking to an agent is not presented to him or is so hidden that he has to go around a thousand times to understand how to do it. In that case, the only thing you will achieve is that when you finally manage to find the option, the agent is already losing 3 to 0 with a frustrated customer.
Strategy 6: Did you cut yourself?
If the customer is waiting for an agent to attend, they should never "hear" silence. Has it happened to you from not knowing what is happening? Was it cut? Are they transferring me? You can play music, put advertising and even better, and notify him how long he has to wait— anything less to make the client feel that he was left alone.
Strategy 7: Not only Suitable for Self-Management
The purpose of an IVR should not only be to provide customer self-service functions, but it can be advantageous to obtain customer data, such as account number, identification number and refer the call to the agent with more capabilities to attend to your problem already with the specific data of the client.
Strategy 8: Our Business Hours
It is good that when the client calls at a time of day when the call center is inactive, he is notified in some subtle way and in advance that he will not be able to communicate with an agent. Thus we cut off any expectation of speaking with a representative who knows that he will only operate with the self-management options.
Strategy 9: Listen to your Customer.
Those who will ultimately be able to tell you whether or not your IVR services in Ranchi meets the objectives are the end-users. To measure your customers' experience with the system, ask them directly. A short survey before ending the call and after providing the service could be beneficial to measure the satisfaction of your customers and capture their immediate perceptions of the system.