Keep Your Callers Happy with These IVR Tips

Phonexa

4 minute read

It’s nearly impossible for customers to reach their desired call destination without wading through general IVR filters and funky hold music, but how long will it take for a caller to hang up?

Unfortunately, there’s such a thing as caller abandonment. It generally takes around 12 minutes for a caller to abandon the call out of frustration. The sad part is that “more than 70 percent [of callers] are likely to exhibit agitation and frustration” if they choose to remain on the call for more than 12 minutes. To raise the stakes even higher, the Beryl Institute discovered that 75% of customers who hang up out of frustration don’t call back. Instead, they call a competitor. If that’s not enough incentive to invest in the best call routing system available, we don’t know what is!

So, what should a perfect call routing experience look like? We’ll try to paint several vivid scenarios:

IVR Tips: Good

Bobby wants to change his subscription plan, so he dials a number at a bus stop and an automated attendant greets him after three rings.

The auto attendant gives him four options to choose from. Bobby speaks out his options but has to dial into the keypad once because the voice recognition failed to understand his native accent. Bobby is then routed to the correct department.

Bobby is told that all representatives are currently busy, so he waits with generic hold music for 30 seconds, until a representative who can help him with his inquiry finally becomes available.

The total amount of time spent on the phone waiting to talk to a representative: 5 minutes

IVR Tips: Better

Bobby wants to change his subscription plan, so he dials a number at a bus stop and is surprised with hold music that doesn’t feel generic. It’s actually something he’d listen to while driving his car. Bobby recognizes the tunes and is entertained. (30 seconds, but it feels like 15).

Bobby navigates through an IVR that successfully and efficiently routes him to the appropriate representative, with minimal wait time. The representative asks him about his point of referral.

The total amount of time spent on the phone waiting to talk to a representative: 3.5 minutes

IVR Tips: Best

The most ideal situation would be no waiting time at all by offering the customer the option to self-service, but for the sake of demonstration, here is an ideal scenario of advanced call routing.

Bobby dials the number and is greeted by a realistic auto attendance. She gives him three options to filter his needs. Bobby’s speech is recognized and recorded immediately because the sophisticated IVR system is programmed to pick up multiple accents. Bobby is directed to the appropriate department.

The representative effectively handles his inquiry, without the need to ask any further information, such as all the information he already answered with the IVR, or his point of referral, because the phone system is integrated with advanced call tracking and analytics.

The total amount of time spent on the phone waiting to talk to a representative: 2.5 minutes

Phonexa’s call routing software is fully integrated with premier analytics, call tracking, SMS capabilities, click-to-call options, and a state-of-the-art voice recognition system, all in one unified call platform. We provide all the tools you need to guarantee customer satisfaction, and with Phonexa powering your calls, your leads will be routed to the right agents immediately.

Schedule a consultation and see for yourself!