Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems play a critical role in modern customer service systems. While the number of communication channels available to customers has expanded rapidly over the past decade, telephony has retained its position as channel-of-choice for a large segment of customers in both the public and private sectors. At the same time, telephony systems have continued to develop, incorporating new technologies and integrating many of the more advanced self-serve and automation solutions utilised in other channels. Conversational IVR is the next stage in the technology’s evolu ..read more

Traditional IVR systems have been with us for the best part of 40 years. Over that time, they have evolved and adjusted to an ever-shifting customer service environment. However, the emergence of omnichannel IVR is arguably the most significant development in the technology’s history. In this comprehensive guide, we examine what distinguishes omnichannel IVR from previous iterations, how it benefits your organisation and where the technology is heading in the future. Integration is essential in modern customer service systems Traditional IVR systems typically operated in a multi-channel sy ..read more

7 Signs It Is Time to Upgrade Your IVR IVR systems have come a long way since contact centres first implemented them en masse in the 1980s. However, many customer service teams are still stuck with outdated IVR platforms that fail to encourage self-service, facilitate channel shift or accurately route callers. Today, Intelligent IVR systems are a crucial component of world-class omnichannel customer service setups. They serve customers who continue to utilise telephony channels and also connect to increasingly popular digital self-serve channels, resulting in a joined-up customer service sys ..read more

Is Your IVR Fit for Purpose? IVR systems first emerged in the 1980s. Since then, they have gone through remarkable changes, culminating in modern Intelligent IVR systems that are far more powerful and capable than those relatively basic early models. However, not all IVR systems are fully up to date and fit for purpose. Some may be causing more harm than good. In this article, we look at how you can tell whether your IVR is well-suited to the modern customer service environment. By answering seven simple questions, you can know whether your IVR needs some TLC, a bit of an upgrade or a whole ..read more

How to Stop Customers Abandoning Your IVR Tree IVR systems are the beating heart of most modern contact centres. Though digital channels are becoming increasingly important, telephony still rules. As the omnichannel approach grows in popularity, more organisations are considering ways to blur the boundaries between digital and traditional telephony to create Intelligent IVR systems that enhance the customer experience. In doing so, organisations need to be careful that they don’t negatively impact IVR performance and increase the number of frustrated callers and abandonments. In this article ..read more

What Makes Good IVR? Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have gone through various iterations over the years and they’ve continued to evolve as new technologies emerge and industry expectations change. Today, Intelligent IVR is at the forefront of telephony technology innovation. Making the most of digital developments and new AI tools, Intelligent IVR is proving itself a relevant and valuable component of the modern contact centre environment. But what makes a good Intelligent IVR system? What features and functionality should it include? In this article, we discuss seven characteristi ..read more

How Many Options Should an IVR Have? Designing an Intelligent IVR system that both improves the customer experience and reduces call volumes for your agents isn’t easy. In fact, it takes a great deal of expertise and experience. One of the key areas that companies often get wrong is menu design. How many options should your IVR give customers? How deep should the menu go? Recent studies show that 46% of people think there are too many options to remember on IVR systems (Smart Digital). That means 46% of callers are having sub-standard customer experiences that could cause them to put down th ..read more

7 IVR Improvement Strategies to Reduce Agent Pressure Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems are designed to lower your contact centre expenditure, improve the quality of your customer service and reduce pressure on your agents. However, your IVR may not be helping your agents as much as you would like. In this article, we take a look at seven improvements you can make to your IVR so that your organisation benefits fully from the technology’s game-changing capabilities. Authenticate Caller ID in the IVR Menu Customers hate having to wait in a queue. So much so that companies have p ..read more

What Is Intelligent IVR? IVR has been a mainstay of the contact centre for several decades. In that time, the technology has evolved slowly, rarely making a significant leap forwards in terms of capabilities or design. That all changed with the introduction of Intelligent IVR – the system’s modern incarnation. But what is Intelligent IVR? And how does it differ from traditional systems? In this article, we answer those questions – and more – in an attempt to explain just how significant Intelligent IVR will be over the coming years. Looking at Traditional IVR Traditional IVR has been use ..read more

7 Ways IVR Can be a Self-Serve Hero As customer service technology advances and developments in AI put increasingly powerful tools at the disposal of contact centres, it’s tempting to dismiss older technologies as obsolete or out of date. One technology that’s regularly grouped with older customer service tools is Interactive Voice Response, or IVR. Considering IVR has been around since the ‘70s, it’s not surprising that some people consider it an outdated technology. However, these critics understand neither the value of telephony channels nor the giant strides forward IVR has made in recen ..read more