Top 10 Features of IVR That Help Businesses Grow

No company can function without an IVR system. Only some IVR systems provide excellent service to their users. The good news is that you can increase your income from incoming calls by utilizing technology to create an excellent IVR system that provides a wonderful customer experience. Promoting self-service through an intelligently designed IVR system from IVR solution providers can lessen the burden on your customer service resources and let callers resolve their problems without interacting with a live agent.

For a better customer experience, this post will go over the essentials of an effective IVR system. 

Call Forwarding

The ability to forward incoming calls to a single agent from various devices or lines is known as call forwarding. Thanks to this, callers won’t have to hang up and dial multiple numbers anymore. An agent’s cell phone, home phone, voicemail, or another agent’s phone will take over if no one answers the call at the contact center.

Call Filtering

An early feature of interactive voice response systems was calling filtering. A company can handle heavy call volumes and organize tasks that would be too much without a structured IVR menu, all thanks to filtering.

A company that gets a lot of calls can use structured call filtering. It is one of the greatest ways to provide better customer service and can help handle many calls. By streamlining the process of contacting the emergency department or live agents, call filtering enhances the user experience and helps customers find solutions faster.

Call Queuing and Ring Groups

Even in 2023, call queuing is still a crucial component of IVRs because it allows for rerouting calls to specific departments and the organization of incoming calls.

We can guarantee that clients will immediately respond by categorizing these agents and departments according to their expertise, education, and function within your company.

Call centers should update their customers every few minutes on their wait time and the number of people in line.

Automation

Interactive voice response systems also have automation. Callers can get the necessary information or speak with an agent by following the automated system’s pre-programmed steps. Thanks to AI and call processing, the information gathered from DTMF tones or voice, and the reason for calling, the IVR system provided by IVR solution providers can automatically route the call to the correct department. You can automate IVR functions like call routing, hold music, and message taking, eliminating the need for a live agent. 

Identification

Businesses that deal with customers’ private information, particularly their financial details, may find an interactive voice response system invaluable. Many companies use two layers of security: when customers interact with an IVR by IVR cloud solutions and when they speak with a real person. But there’s no denying that the time and effort saved by having customers’ identities verified through IVR is substantial.

Speech Recognition

Modern IVR systems rely heavily on speech recognition. It lets users control the IVR system just by speaking to it.

To accomplish this, speech recognition software deconstructs spoken language into its component phonemes, which the IVR compares to a database of known texts to extract meaning.

Call Recording

Every time you talk to an agent, they will ask if you mind if they record your call. This might not be very pleasant for customers. However, any company that operates a call center should prioritize the ability to record calls as an essential feature of their IVR system. These call records let you learn much about your customer’s interactions with your live agents and IVR system.

Omnichannel Experiences

On its own, an IVR can’t deliver an omnichannel service. However, to provide a more personalized experience for customers as they transition between channels, make sure your IVR system can gather data from other communication methods like website chats, social media chatbots, etc.

End-to-End Self-Service

Users can follow the IVR system’s step-by-step instructions without speaking to a customer service agent. It takes care of everything involved in the communication flow, rather than just relaying information like an on-hold message or telling the caller which department to press on the menu.

CRM Integrations

An external solution that provides caller and customer data is CRM. It reveals your customers’ overall experience and loyalty to your business. Automated CRM call pops, which appear whenever a customer calls, are a great way to incorporate CRM features into your IVR system and give your agents easier access to caller information.

Conclusion

An effective and faultless IVR system by IVR Cloud Solutions is necessary for any business that deals with a reasonable number of daily calls. Call centers can alleviate stress, increase customer happiness, and strengthen bonds between businesses and their clientele with the right system.