Skills-Based IVR Routing

Everyone in the IVR industry is well aware of the ability for the technology to reduce costs in a call center by automating some functions while making others self-serviceable for customers. This frees up call center operators to handle more complicated tasks thus saving companies money and headcount in the call center. After implementing such a system, some companies go no further but oftentimes this results in a disconnect between the perception of satisfaction between company management and customers.

One method for updating an IVR system to improve customer satisfaction is the implementation of a skills-based routing procedure. Many companies already employ a simple version of this design which routes English or Spanish speaking customers to the appropriate IVR menus and, if necessary, live operators who speak their language. However, more advanced methodologies can be employed which perform specific customer and problem identification that can be used to route the call to the appropriate department and/or subject matter specialists. Customer satisfaction should be improved by such a design so long as the process involved to reach the appropriate operator is not overly long or complex. Another pitfall to avoid is to require the customer to repeat information to the operator that has already been collected by the IVR system. This results in customers feeling that their time up to that point in the call has been wasted. A skills-based IVR system will cost more to implement but it will also pay dividends in customer satisfaction and retention.

Voice-Based Identification

In our current world of rapid globalization, more business is being conducted over the telephone and internet than ever before with key players often never meeting face-to-face. This allows small businesses to have a larger reach and market than they might have been able to achieve only a few years ago. Unfortunately, there are those in the world looking to fraudulently capitalize on these types of transactions. Companies have to be ever vigilant in the fight against identity theft and payment fraud. Most financial institutions rely on customer-defined PIN numbers, passwords and security questions to verify identity and complete electronic or telephone transactions. Other businesses are just as vulnerable yet they rarely require any kind of verification to complete an order or transaction.

Voice Commerce has developed a platform to provide voice identification, verification and payment services for businesses. The VoiceTransact Trust Center uses voice signature information to identify and verify a customer's identity before allowing a transaction to be completed. Not only can this technology be utilized to reduce payment fraud and identity theft perpetrated on a business, it could also help reduce call center costs by eliminating the time taken by an operator to verify a customer's identity. An IVR system could be implemented to verify the identity of a caller as part of the process of routing the caller to the correct call center operator. This would would allow the call center operator to immediately begin work on the customer's issue rather than having to spend time verifying the caller's identity through security questions and PIN numbers. Voice-based identification technology may not put an end to identity theft and fraud, but it will surely reduce the number of cases and could improve business processes along the way.

IVR Cheat Sheet

Anyone who employs an IVR system in their business knows that customers can feel frustrated and taken for granted when not immediately connected to a live operator to resolve an issue they've called about. In an effort to help businesses make a more user friendly IVR system, angel.com has created the IVR Cheat Sheet for Business. The cheat sheet lists ten key concepts that can help a business create a pleasing and useful interactive environment that will encourage customers to utilize it for self-service and still be satisfied with the results.

The cheat sheet simplifies and summarizes lists created by other IVR specialists and focuses the tips on simplicity and communication. Studies have suggested that users respond better to IVR menus that are not overly complex and achieve results in a short time. It is best to keep the numbers of choices limited otherwise the user will become overwhelmed. Communication with the customer is key. As they are waiting on hold or for data retrieval, information about approximate wait time is important so that customers do not feel that they have been left in limbo. Audience perspective is key when writing an article or delivering a speech so it should also apply to IVR systems. Taking users perspective into account will ultimately help improve overall customer satisfaction.

IVR from Microsoft

As speech recognition software continues to improve, its IVR technology is growing. The days of pressing number keys to navigate menus is coming to an end and voice response systems are becoming more common among companies and more acceptable to consumers. Complicated customer service procedures can now be carried out more easily with the voice response systems than with touch-tone systems, so much so that Microsoft has entered the market.

After the acquisition of the Tellme Networks in 2007, the Speech at Microsoft group was formed to utilize and market the technology. In addition to speech recognition applications in the works for use on home and office PCs, Microsoft recently introduced an outbound IVR system. Besides the standard function of calling customers with important account alerts, the IVR is capable of allowing customers to act upon the alerts through further voice response menus. The system is optimized to work on all common customer communication platforms: telephone, text messaging, email, instant messaging and web browsers. The end result is a highly personalized customer self-service experience. As companies continue to cut costs, they will likely employ more systems like Microsoft's to communicate and do business with their customers.