Building relationships through IVR solutions

How can IVR solutions help you build the best possible relationship with your customers? 

Everyone knows that building a positive relationship with your clients all begins with listening to them and their needs. Implementing a hosted interactive voice response (IVR) system at your company works the same way. Hosted IVR is a system which allows customers to call your company and hear an automated message. This message may tell them to press 1 to speak to a sales representative or to press 3 to hear what time your company  opens and closes. It allows your customers to effortlessly reach the person they are trying to speak to.
 
The primary purpose of IVR for most companies is to reduce the cost of contact by  handling calls. A live agent or a receptionist answers phone calls and transfer them to the correct department, comparatively hosted IVR would remove the middle person making it more cost-effective. The system works 24/7, all year round without needing any benefits, holidays, sick days, or overtime. IVR is not solely a means of providing clients with  better customer experience; it's a means of delivering an inexpensive customer experience all while increasing customer satisfaction. Here are some tips on how you can make your customer’s IVR experience a positive one!

• First, understand your customer. Use those same surveys that are used to measure customer satisfaction after a call with a live agent, to measure customer satisfaction after an IVR self-service call. Be prepared to act on your client’s feedback and share with them what you will be doing with this information, i.e. designing a better, more cost-effective IVR service for both parties.

 

• Secondly, be proactive. Inform your customers on how you will ensure that their feedback is used to improve their experience. Your customers want to know the steps you are taking to make sure their experience a more pleasurable one.

 

• Lastly, gain  knowledge of your customers with proper segmentation of customer profiles in terms of demographics, preferences, and value-based segmentation. Track the way your customers contact you, finding out their preferred channel of communication, time of call, etc. Another important question is, why do your clients contact you? Make a list of all the possible reasons; are they complaints, issues, upgrades, faults? This will help you manage existing problems and figure out if there are ways to solve problems in the future.

 
How has your IVR system helped you build relationships with your customers? Has their experience been a positive one? Let us know in the comments below!