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Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
An interactive voice response (IVR) system delivers information over the phone 24 hours a day without requiring additional staff. It can be a powerful, easy-to-use system that quickly implements a professional voice response system into your business.
IVR systems allow the publishing of corporate database information through an interface familiar to everyone, the phone. It is a database interface technology, combining computer telephony hardware (a PC or server with telephony interface cards) and software. It allows a caller to ask questions and a business to provide answers by using keys on the caller’s touch-tone phone.
IVR Systems reduce customer service costs and enhance facilities by providing:
- expanding call capacity faster, and at lower cost, than hiring new agents
- providing multi-lingual support
- reducing the cost of call center agent turnover
- extended hours of operation with the same staff
- automation of routine tasks allowing agents to concentrate on critical issues
- speeding up access to data for end-users
For most customers, a turnkey product can show a six month return on investment (ROI) because of these benefits.
To begin, you will want to determine your application needs: how many calls or visits per day do you receive and expect, what is the average handling time per transaction, peak daily volume, required languages, etc.
If you don't have this information, don't worry! A good provider will be able to help you collect this information. They should provide you with everything from the initial design paperwork through installation of the IVR system. Typically they can even help coordinate the required network and phone resources.
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