IVR Best Practices For Greetings And Implementation
IVR stands for Interactive Voice Response and is one of the most prominent features of a cloud communication solution that allows businesses to offer a self-help tool for customers. IVR is also an effective system to resolve customer queries swiftly.
However, if your hosted IVR solution is not set up correctly, it can also damage the
hard-earned reputation of your business as well. Your IVR should be consistent
and, most importantly, easy to use. Most companies struggle with creating an
effective IVR system as they are not aware of the best practices to
follow.
In this complete guide on IVR best practices, you will learn how to design a simple IVR flow, choose IVR greetings, and some do’s and don’ts while designing and implementation of an IVR.
IVR Best Practices For Greetings And Implementation
1. Keep the IVR flow simple
The menu of your IVR system should be
simple. Hosted IVR solutions allow you to create multiple level IVR systems,
but you should not add too many levels as it makes it complicated for users.
The ultimate goal of IVR is to deliver a remarkable user experience through
easy and navigable menu
2. Ensure that your IVR is easy to
navigate
For multi-level IVR systems, users
should be able to navigate back and forth through the menu options easily.
Always include the option to return to the previous menu and repeat the current
menu options.
3. Prioritize important options first
Don’t add too many options in your IVR
solution. Only include essential options and put them on a priority-based
order. One way to find out is to A/B test your IVR system and see how users
interact with different options. After that, you can put the most frequently
used options ahead and allow users to take quick actions.
4. Allow customers to connect with
your agents
There are still many users who prefer
talking to agents for resolving their queries. Hence, it would help if you
always put the option to allow users to speak with your agents anytime .
5. Intelligent call routing for first
call resolution
First call resolution is a vital call center metric that gauges the ability of your
agents to resolve customer queries on their first call without any follow up
required. And one way to improve this metric is to implement intelligent call
routing via your IVR system.
Allow customers to connect with your
internal departments as per their requirements for faster query resolutions.
For example:
Press 1 to connect with our sales
team.
Press 2 to connect with our product
support team.
Press 3 to connect with our finance
team.
How To Choose Your IVR Greetings?
Choosing a well-articulated IVR
greeting is quite essential. You should avoid technical jargon in your IVR
greetings to keep it simple for your customers. Here we are sharing some of the
best IVR greetings which you can use.
1. Welcome greeting
templates
“Thanks for calling XYZ (Company
name).”
“Thanks for calling XYZ, please
stay tuned while we connect your call with our support agent.”
“Thanks for calling XYZ, your
call is important to us. Kindly stay on the line, and one of our agents will
soon answer your call.”
“Thanks for calling XYZ. Do check
out xyz.com to see our latest product offers & services.”
2. Main menu IVR script
After the welcome greeting, you have
to design the main menu IVR script. Creating a simple and yet effective IVR
menu script is critical for your business. Avoid adding a long list of options
for your customers. Only add the most frequently used options and prioritize
them on the same basis.
Here is an IVR template for businesses
allowing their customers to connect with different internal departments.
Thanks for calling XYZ (company name)
where (company slogan) or any (informational or promotional message).
Press 1 to speak with our sales
agent.
Press 2 to speak with our product
support team.
Press 3 to speak with our billing
team.
Press 0 to speak with an agent.
Press 9 to repeat the options.
3. Voicemail greeting
For businesses, every call is urgent.
In case if your agents are busy and the new calls are on hold, then you should
ensure that they do not wait for too long. One way to handle this situation is
to transfer calls to voicemail after a specific time (it can be 1, 2, or 2.5
minutes). With an IVR, you can easily do it by specifying your voicemail as the
failover destination.
IVR voicemail template: Thanks for
calling XYZ. All of our agents are online. Kindly leave the message after the
beep, and one of our agents will get back to you as soon as possible.
4. Industry-specific IVR greeting
templates
Healthcare
Thanks for calling XYZ.
Press 1 if you have a
prescription.
Press 2 if you have a new
prescription.
Press 3 if you want to book an
appointment
Press 9 to talk with our agent.
Press 0 to repeat the options.
If the user presses 1 or 2 options,
then IVR will connect with your CRM to
collect prescription details and provide further options based on your IVR
configuration.
Education
Thanks for calling XYZ company.
Press 1 if you are an existing
student.
Press 2 if you are a new
student.
Press 3 to know our course
details.
Press 4 to speak with a career
counselor.
Press 0 to repeat the menu.
If the caller chooses option 1 and 2,
then your hosted IVR system will connect with your CRM to fetch all the
necessary details of the student and provide further options based on your IVR
system design and implementation.
Automobile
Thanks for calling XYZ company.
Press 1 if you are an existing
customer.
Press 2 if you are a new
customer.
Press 3 to know the latest car
launches.
Press 4 to speak with our sales
assistant.
Press 0 to repeat the menu.
IT Sector
Thanks for calling XYZ company.
Press 1 if you are an existing
customer.
Press 2 if you are a new
customer.
Press 3 to know about our product and
services.
Press 4 to speak with our sales team
Press 0 to repeat the menu.
IVR Best Practices for Design and Implementation
Do’s for IVR systems:
1 Only provide a maximum of 4 options
with the most frequently selected option being first on the list.
2. Keep keypad presses consistent
through your multi-level IVR system.
3. Keep the IVR voice the same
throughout the process.
4. Avoid heavy dialects in the IVR voice
and keep it simple.
5. Try to give your customers the
option to talk with an agent as many callers can’t be satisfied with an IVR
system.
6. Test your IVR before making it
live. Fine-tune the options and see how your customers are interacting with it.
7. After making your IVR live, check
it for user acceptance.
8. Perform load testing of your hosted
IVR system.
9. Inform your clients of the planned
business or IVR changes before.
Don’t for IVR systems:
1. Don’t make it difficult for your caller
to connect with the agents.
2. A poorly implemented IVR system can
damage your business reputation. Therefore, plan your IVR system before
launching it and evaluate its performance regularly.
3. Don’t neglect the importance of
customer feedback. Take input from your customers on how they feel about your
IVR system and how you can improve it any further.
Final Thoughts:
IVR serves the purpose of delivering exceptional customer experience and support only when you design and implement it using the best practices mentioned in this post. Follow these best IVR practices to create a system that helps your business to solve customer queries efficiently.
Talk with our IVR solution experts to
get answers to your queries and get help in implementing an IVR system that
engages your prospects and customers.