INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE (IVR)
In telephony, interactive voice response, or IVR, is a phone technology that allows a computer to detect voice and touch tones using a normal phone call. The IVR system can respond with pre-recorded or dynamically generated audio to further direct callers on how to proceed. IVR systems can be used to control almost any function where the interface can be broken down into a series of simple menu choices. Once constructed IVR systems generally scale well to handle large call volumes.
Anywhere, anytime self service is great for clients on the run. Greet
your clients with customized, automated voice menus that gather
critical routing information, such as client IDs or deliver pre-recorded
announcements – instantly and without programming – to quickly
send them on their way.
Benefits: How can it help?
IVR systems can be beneficial to clients, client staff, and callers. By operating a touch-tone telephone to navigate through a menu of choices, callers are able to perform a significant number of simple transactions on their own. Information can be retrieved or accessed quickly with or without additional human assistance. IVR systems allow hours of operation to be extended without the need for operators to be on-hand 24x7. As a result, callers may call at their convenience and still perform a variety of transactions. The wait time for calls may be reduced, and calls can be quickly directed to appropriate departments or representatives within an organization. The system is caller-friendly, easy to navigate through, and able to repeat messages when requested by callers. An IVR system can accommodate various caller types, including those who need multi-lingual support, or those who require special hearing or speech needs.
IVR systems have been used to off-load the repetitive tasks of customer service representatives by quickly responding to common requests and needs of users prior to assistance by a representative. Company representatives can experience reduced call volumes, manage calls more efficiently, and concentrate on other important tasks.
With an IVR system, clients will be able to expand their call capacity, respond to larger call volumes more cost effectively, and be able to reduce customer service costs. Those clients who process payments regularly for their businesses can accept payments over the phone any time of day or week. If callers are placed on-hold at any time, clients can use this as an opportunity to highlight updates or information on products and services in lieu of traditional on-hold music. Clients will also be able to monitor the progress and transactions of calls through daily call activity reports.
Typical Uses
IVR systems are generally used in situations where there are a large volume of callers requesting information that can be obtained easily by computers. Typical uses allow callers to have round the clock access to infrequently changing data, to request information that can be communicated via the phone, or to trigger external events such as sending a fax or ordering a product.
24/7 Account Access
Large companies use IVR systems to allow customers to have 24/7 access to their account information. Callers can call in and check their current balance, last payments made. Movie theaters sometimes use IVR systems to inform callers of current movies, show times and prices.
Call Centers
Call centers use IVR systems to handle large volumes of incoming callers. Users are asked to specify their preferred language and their reason for calling. The IVR system then routes their call to the appropriate extension or calling queue where it can be answered by the next available person. The system may also ask the user to enter their customer number so the person who answers the phone can have all the customers information on screen when they answer the call.
Technologies Used
DTMF signals (entered from the telephone keypad) and natural language speech recognition interpret the caller's response to voice prompts.
Other technologies include the ability to speak complex and dynamic information such as an e-mail, news report or weather information using Text-To-Speech (TTS). TTS is computer generated synthesized speech that is no longer the robotic voice generally associated with computers. Real voices are used to create the speech in tiny fragments that are spliced together before being played to the caller.
An IVR can be utilized in several different ways:
- Equipment installed on the customer premise
- Outsourced Solution Provider (OSP).
Many business applications employ this technology including telephone banking, order placement, caller identification and routing, balance inquiry, and airline ticket booking.
A simple Voicemail is different from an IVR in that it is a one-way communication tool (the caller leaves a message), whereas an IVR typically attempts a two-way interaction with the caller. A more complex voicemail with caller interactivity can be developed with an IVR. For example, the IVR could ask if the caller wishes to hear, edit, forward or remove a message that was just recorded.
An Automatic call distributor (ACD) is often the first point of contact when calling many larger businesses and can be used in place of an IVR. An ACD often can play a greeting, but typically routes a caller without prompting for input. This is significantly different from an IVR.
Interactive voice response can be used to front-end a call center operation by identifying the needs of the caller. Information can be obtained from the caller such as account numbers. Answers to simple questions such as account balances or pre-recorded information can be provided without operator intervention. Account numbers from the IVR are often compared to caller ID data for security reasons and additional IVR responses are required if the caller ID data does not match the account record.
IVR call flows are created in a variety of ways. A traditional IVR depended upon proprietary programming or scripting languages, whereas a modern IVR is structured similar to WWW pages, using VoiceXML or SALT or T-XML languages. This allows a Web server to act as an application server, freeing the developer to focus on the call flow. Developers no longer require specialized programming skills, as Web developers already have the tools needed to create an IVR call flow.
In telecommunications, an audio response unit (ARU) is a device that provides synthesized voice responses to touch-tone keypresses (DTMF) by processing calls based on (a) the call-originator input, (b) information received from a database, and (c) information in the incoming call, such as the time of day.
ARUs are used to increase the number of information calls handled and to provide consistent quality in information retrieval. |
Oracle Predictive Dialer ROI