We have all been stuck on the telephone trying to get information from an automatic phone system in a struggle against the machine that occasionally appears to be designed specifically to stop us from discovering what we are searching for. While that almost certainly was not the intent of this automated phone system, bad execution can leave a large number of customers with a bad taste in their mouth. A well designed IVR (Interactive Voice Response) mobile system can be an important resource, but a badly designed system is only going to reflect badly on your company’s communication and client service.
With that being said, here are a few tips to help make sure you are designing a Great call flow to your automated IVR system:
Summarize the Call Flow for Your IVR
A flow graph or an outline is the best place to start. You really need to spend some time to plan out how a person will interact with your phone system long before you begin creating the actual IVR on your own software. Taking the time to plan it all through in the beginning can allow you to keep the big picture in mind and to avoid creating a long trail of prompts.
Think like Your Clients
Always keep your customers in mind. Why are they calling the system? Place the choices for the most often used items at the start so that they can be retrieved quickly and easily. At each step along the way consider the way the message will encounter from a client is point of view.
Keep It Simple
Do not attempt to do everything. Less is more. With an automatic telephone system that you wish to keep the amount of key presses to minimal. Attempting to do a lot of things just gives the callers more areas they can get lost on the way. Really consider what choices should be available and who’s calling in. By way of instance, if you will need to offer various services to clients and vendors it may be better to have two unique systems instead thane on that does everything, keeping every line simplified and tailored to its purpose rather than trying to do everything on a single line.
Keep Menu Prompts Clear and Concise
The more your message, the harder it will be to get a caller to recall everything that is being said and what they have to do to interact with the ip office phone system. Make certain to use the identical language as your customers, avoiding industry slang and vocabulary callers may be unfamiliar with.
Offer Universal Commands
Alternatives like pressing the star key to return to the main menu at any point in a call, or an option to repeat a prompt will make it far easier for callers to navigate the IVR system.
Give the Choice to Speak to somebody or Leave a Voice Message
The objective of an ivr services system could be in part to decrease the amount of calls your staff should handle, but there will be occasions when the system does not fulfill a client is needs. You have to provide these callers the alternative to either speak with a live person or leave a message for someone to call them back.
