What exactly is an IVR and how can it help my business? The answer is IVR is interactive voice response (sometimes it was called a VRU or a voice response unit). The idea is that when you call into a number you can respond to the announcements to get what you need within an organization. The typical set up for many businesses is
“Thank you for calling OUR COMPANY (insert your company name). In order to service you better please select one of the following options. Press
One (1) for Sales
Two (2) for Support
Three (3) for Billing questions”
You interact with the voice and respond as you select the option that you need. Then your call is routed to the appropriate department. What good is an IVR? An IVR will
- Allow you to quickly talk to the person you need. A billing question is very different from a sales request where you want to buy something new
- Minimize the need for multiple numbers- For example you can have one number for your clients to know.
IVRs are very useful for a company as you don’t need a person answering and transferring calls so you can save on staffing costs. You can keep track of how many support calls you get versus billing for example (you definitely want to use CIRCLE CCR to get even more detailed reports).
Just one thing to remember about IVRs; keep the options to a minimum. We normally don’t recommend more that 3 choices. Questions? Be sure to contact the Partner Service team at CIRCLE to find out about how you can better serve your clients. You can catch us here