IVR Phone Systems

2007-03-08 10:33:40

( Business )



What is an IVR Phone?

Try calling the customer care or service hotline of any business, and you will most likely reach an IVR system.

IVR stands for interactive voice response, a type of telephone technology using a touch-tone phone to enter or receive information. When you call a phone that is part of an IVR system, you will hear a pre-recorded message which gives you instructions during the call so that you will reach the right party or get the right information. You can end this session anytime by just hanging up.

Uses and Benefits of IVR Phone Systems

Because they require only occasional human interaction between business and customer, IVR systems can help companies save money from having to hire people to handle telephone work.

If you are calling a bank or telecom provider, the system instructs you to enter your account information and password which the system sends the information to a database for processing. You just keep following instructions until you feel satisfied with the information you receive. Chances are, you would have received all the information you need just by following what the IVR instructs you to do.

If you're not completely satisfied with the call, you can always hold or press another button to speak to a customer or technical assistance representative.
When the representative takes your call, he or she usually has your account information or profile on hand, thanks to the IVR system. This saves time for both you and the representative. The IVR system also records all conversations between customers and representatives to maintain quality of service.

Businesses can also use IVR phones for outbound purposes, such as conducting surveys and offering new products. A pre-recorded message calls you up and requests you to enter specific numbers to either verify your address or to indicate your demographic information such as your age, income level or status. The numbers you press go to a central database which will derive all the statistics of the survey. The same sequence occurs for new product offerings, except that the IVR system might ask you to press a button to indicate if you're interested in the product or not.

With an IVR system, businesses can operate survey or marketing activities even on 24/7 basis.

IVR Services for Your Business

Many online sites offer the IVR systems software, and they can easily set it up for your business. However, setting up your own call center requires a lot of capital just for the technological requirements alone.

As an alternative, you can outsource independent IVR hosting companies who have their own technologies and manpower to handle your customers' calls. You just need to work closely with the hosted IVR service providers on information regarding your product, company policies, quality standards, and customer profiles. The hosted IVR provider will do the rest of the customer care function.


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