subject: Five IVR Benefits for Customers [print this page] Five IVR Benefits for Customers Five IVR Benefits for Customers
IVR systems dominate call centers across the globe these days, providing automated service to millions of callers every day. As more and more organizations turn to automation for the first line of contact, the number of IVRs out there continues to grow.
IVR systems automate functions including call answering and routing, caller identification through passwords or specific questions and interaction with organization databases. They can function as simply as directing calls to the correct extension or as complicated as carrying a customer all the way through an entire call.
They improve organizational efficiency by funneling calls to the correct department for easier handling, smoothing call flow with unlimited phone lines to eliminate long call queues and reducing the total customer-service staff any company needs to keep on hand.
But how exactly do they benefit the customers using them?
First-ring pickupCustomers don't have to wait in a call queue for a rep to pick up. They get an immediate answer and immediate service.
24/7 serviceCustomers can get the information they need anytime, anywhere without sticking to traditional business hours, which means they can get in and get out, taking care of things quickly.
Uniform serviceGives customers the same thing every time. The same voice will pick up every time, in the exact same mood (customers don't have to deal with a bad service rep or one who just doesn't feel like jumping through all the necessary hoops that day).
No live agentNot having to talk to a live agent can actually make interactions with an organization's database faster, especially if it doesn't come with sales pitches tacked onto the end of the call.
Natural voiceWith improvements to speech recognition in recent years, calls feel more like conversations than odysseys through a long menu system. Newer IVR systems can simply ask what the customer wants (instead of reading off a menu) and then recognize the answer (e.g., "bill pay" or "pay my bill").
IVR systems provide at least as many benefits to customers as they do to organizations, and with improvements to voice quality in the last few years, they're getting more natural and human.
