When IVR (Interactive Voice Response) systems were first introduced, many companies immediately recognized the potential value it could bring on to their business. In addition to a reduction in manpower costs, an automated 24/7 service would most certainly lead to happier customers.

Some businesses do have the right tools & strategies in place enabling their IVR to focus on the end customer’s need. On the other hand, there are some striking similarities between the frustrating experiences that one encounters on a customer service helpline. To get to a live person, or having to repeat information umpteen number of times….. to navigating the eternally endless complicated menu tree;the crib list goes on and on.Organizations must understand that automation is effective only when it makes the callers (read customers) life simpler. According to Mike Ahnemann -Director, User Experience -Angel.com (now a Genesys company), a caller has the following given rights:

• 1. Remember Me
• 2. Don’t Make Me Repeat Myself
• 3. Get Me To The Right Place
• 4. Respect My Time

With the advent of technology and knowledge, the caller’s expectation from the automated system has grown higher and customers today expect the IVR to behave as smartly as their Apple products.

In order to fullfil these expectations, here are a few recommendations to improve each of the caller’s right to increase the overall Customer Experience.

Now this can be interpreted in different ways as, “Who is calling?”, “Why is he/she calling?” Based on the CLI (Caller Line Identification) of the call, one can identify the person calling by doing a simple CLI lookup in the customer database. This gives information to the IVR to identify the caller and logic for the call to be taken forward. The IVR can use the information to talk to the customer in his/her preferred language, play birthday greetings, authenticate him/her to retrieve specific account related information, prioritize the call among others. Authentication based on CLI may have concerns based on the industry segment, for e.g. in the Banking sector,it would be a strict “No-No”, but in the Insurance, Service Provider and Travel industries,this basic information can improve the experience by a great extent. For instance,instantly serving “I want to get” requests while the “I want to do” nature of requests can be made to undergo a secondary authorization process, can in turn play wonders!

Based on past interactions with the caller, the system can probably know why the caller has called and appropriate frequent calling menu options can be smartly suggested to him/her at the first level itself.

And all this can be achieved without even asking a single question to the caller!

Isn’t that providing a superior Customer Experience?

It is frustrating when despite performing authorization using TPIN (Telephone Personal Identification Number)at the beginning of the call flow, the IV Rasks for the TPIN again,to carryout a transaction. It is even more frustrating when the call is transferred to a customer care executive and he/she asks for the information which was provided earlier on the IVR. This indicates that a fantastic IVR without CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) and it can kill the show. When talking to a CSR (Customer Service Representative), the caller expects the CSR to be aware of his/her communication with the IVR. Similarly it is imperative that in case of abnormal call disconnection, the caller should be allowed to directly reach the same CSR, if available so that he/she can continue the discussion from where they left, without repeating the entire story.

• • “My call got disconnected. How can I directly go to my last menu option instead of navigating the IVR all over again?”
• • “Can I quickly access Fund Values or Request Premium Statement which are my favorite tasks?”
• • “I want to get answers to my queries/issues. Which option would connect me to CSR?”

These are a few questions asked by many and experienced by all, which if answered can provide a better experience to the Customer. The IVR designer should ensure that the IVR is so designed to address these questions. Also, a UI (User Interface) design plays an important role here. Sometimes, it’s a matter of menus that use “industry speak” instead of customer-centric wording – a user friendly interface is the need of the hour!

If we address the above caller rights, then this one automatically gets addressed. It goes without saying that minimizing the callers’ time on the IVR system means lower trunk utilization, lower AHT (Average handling Time) and a lower abandon rate. This means the Organization gets a double benefit, the user a better Customer Experience and an overall lower cost of servicing!

Hope you are in agreement.