IVR Dos and Don'ts

After years of growing pains and mixed reviews by users, IVR systems are ubiquitous in large and small companies, yet many are still poorly designed or ineffective. Despite volumes of customer feedback and frequently publicized best practices, there is still often a disconnect between design and functionality/effectiveness of some IVR systems. DestinationCRM.com has put together a concise list of Dos and Don'ts for IVR systems that should serve as a starting point for companies that are new to IVR implementation as well as those who are considering changes and upgrades. These key ideas will not only improve customer satisfaction but it should also decrease overall call volumes to live operators in call centers.

One of the keys to good IVR systems is a clear road map specifying the call center processes that are most troublesome and time consuming. Identifying those key areas are an excellent starting point for planning an IVR system. However, many companies fall into the trap of expecting the IVR to be a replacement for human operators while it should instead be used to free call centers of easy tasks so that they can focus on more complex problems requiring one-on-one customer support. It is also very important to implement IVR systems around existing processes. Attempts to update processes and implement IVRs concurrently typically overwhelms an already overtaxed system. Simply learning from what others have done both correctly and incorrectly can lead to a smooth implementation and a benefit to all parties including the end user.