IVR or Interactive Voice Response happens to be an automatic telephony system communicating with callers, accumulating data, and routing calls to the proper recipients. An IVRS or IVR system provides the proper responses in the form of various contact methods such as fax, voice, email, and callback.

IVR systems might comprise software applications, telephony equipment, a supporting infrastructure, plus a database. It is possible for a company to operate an IVRS by investing in the required hardware and software. Otherwise, it has the option of going through an IVR hosting service as well by paying a monthly subscription.

How is the IVR system going to work?

Previously, conventional IVR technology was considered to be costly and complicated. It was imperative to install the IVR application on a different computer that required a different telephony card allowing you to include hardware components to the computer system so that it can work.

However, these are all things of the past. The contemporary interactive voice response system is integrated automatically into the system and all the essential infrastructure is handled by the cloud provider.

How an IVR is going to work with other business features

• It is possible for IVR to interact with the callers depending on pre-recorded queries and responses. The caller will be greeted by auto-attendant features after the arrival of a call and he will also be prompted with an IVR list of options.
• DTMF or Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency signaling is utilized by the majority of the IVR systems which will allow the caller to choose pre-determined options by using their keyboard.
• The majority of the sophisticated IVR systems likewise make use of speech recognition while enabling interactions just like humans by making use of voice commands while responding to IVR prompts rather than pressing digits manually.
• While the menu is navigated by the caller, he is directed to the resolution of the choir or data-gathering process.

IVR uses

You will come across quite a few uses when it comes to IVR systems. Among these, the most typical usage would be to automate outbound as well as inbound calls and route calls as well.

While routing calls, the IVR system eliminates the requirement for a switchboard operator for replying to incoming calls. The caller is often presented with a list of options by this instance and he can make an effort to reply to FAQs.

A proper instance of this would be when a movie theater is called by a customer for inquiring regarding movie times. An updated database is used by the IVRS for providing the caller with a comprehensive list of the most recently available movie timings, thus allowing him to get rid of call wait times which can result in enhanced gratification of the customers.

Here, we have mentioned several other examples of the use of an IVR system:

• call center forwarding
• office call routing
• selective information lookup
• simple order entry transactions
• stock and bank account transfers and balances

It is likewise possible to use IVR systems in more complex manners to streamline procedures in other departments.

Marketing – IVR systems can be used by marketers for dispatching services to figure out the interest in a particular service or product.

Sales – It is possible for customers to use IVR systems for filling out sales order forms using a phone keypad. Following this, the completed form will be sent by computer to a salesperson.

Medical records – An IVR system can be utilized by medical practitioners for transcribing patient records and notes while having a copy of the records dispatched to the office.

Advantages provided by an IVR system when it comes to business

1. Enhancing the productivity of the agents and automating boring tasks

It is possible for an IVR solution to automate questions that are asked again and again, boring tasks, as well as routine calls. IVR self-service empowers the callers while enabling the agents to manage more complicated questions or calls. This helps to enhance the efficiency and productivity of the agents and provides them with better tasks as compared to repetitive queries. This helps the customers to receive a quicker response with the help of IVR self-service, and their call time is minimized as well.

2. Taking care of bulk calls

Unlike a single agent that is able to attend just one call at any given time, it is feasible for an IVR solution to manage lots of calls at the same time. An IVR system assists contact centers and businesses to maintain and monitor their KPIs such as “Zero Out” Rate, AHT (Average Handling Time), Call Containment Rate, Call Abandon Rate, and so forth. This leads to superior customer service as well as better retention of customers.

3. 24 hours access

The customers are empowered by the IVR to gain access to customer service resources at any point in time. They are allowed to gain access to real-time info according to their convenience without any limitations on weekends, business hours, geographies, holidays, and so forth.

It will be imperative for every company to comprehend its customers in the best possible way and gratify their requirements for surviving in this immensely competitive market. IVR will enable businesses to provide superior customer support, optimize ROI, and reduce their service expenses as well.

4. Quicker first contact resolution

Several levels of IVR menus allow the companies to create different prompts for the present customers, fresh customers, language selection, FAQs, and so forth, enabling them to accumulate all the required data for routing inquiries to the suitable agent for fast resolution vs multiple transfers.

IVR advancements via AI

We expect the usage of IVR applications to increase in the upcoming days, thanks to the enhancements in conversational voice recognition and AI technologies. We make use of NLP (natural language processing) to enhance IVR systems since it is feasible for the technology to evaluate spoken language in a better manner, and it allows IVR with the help of natural language generation apps to provide a conversational reply to the callers.

Besides this, businesses can make use of IVR analytics applications to evaluate issues using their innovative voice response systems and provide them with superior customer service as well.