Customer Retention and IVR

Despite the many improvements of IVR systems since their inception, they still score poorly on customer surveys. This is once again evident in a UK consumer survey conducted by Greenfield Online. The survey reports that 41% of users find voice self-service to be the "most annoying" customer service tool when compared with paper communications, email, text messages and live call center agents. Furthermore, only 1% of consumers have a positive impression of the technology. A main point of contention is the lack of integration between voice self-service and operator assisted service. This most likely refers to situations where customers are asked to repeat information to a live agent that they have already reported to an IVR system earlier in their call. The end result is that customers are left feeling less like an individual and valuable asset to the business and more like one of many identical clients.

Some would suggest that these results are an indication that IVR simply does not work and should be replaced by live customer service agents. However, this assertion assumes that live service agents are better equipped to handle the burden of customer support than an automated system or combination of the two. The fact is that while a human agent may be able to recognize speech better than a voice self-service system, the cost of doing business in such a way is unsustainable. It would be unprofitable for most companies to respond to every customer service issue with a live agent. The increased manpower requirement would likely lead to outsourcing to a foreign call center which introduces another set of customer satisfaction issues. Furthermore, call center agents would simply be overwhelmed by the volume of inbound customer service calls.

UK consumer data suggests that 73% of customers end a relationship with a business due to poor customer service and this costs the business £248 (approximately $400) per year. From this information, it is clear that there is a fine balancing act between running a cost effective business and maintaining customer satisfaction. It would appear that one of the best ways to retain customers while still employing an IVR system is to address the issue of perception. A customer wants to feel that his business is just as important as anyone else's and this can be achieved by creating a personalized voice self-service experience. There are redesign and implementation costs, but the long-term dividends gained by having satisfied customers can far exceed the short-term monetary investment.