Main Factors for the Success of IVR in Companies

Year after year, companies are striving to substantially improve their Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems. However, the goals set are often not achieved. And 2017 was not going to be less. This year began by marking new trends and opportunities for change, but as often happens, these ideas run into a reality that impedes marked progress.

As we move forward 2017, six factors have been outlined that allow us to draw the path of progress in the area of Interactive Voice Response: three potential obstacles and three opportunities that, according to a study by Nuance, are having a decisive impact on the evolution of IVR in companies.

Obstacles that Prevent IVR Improvements

All objective is the fruit of the overcoming of certain obstacles and, in particular, the success of the companies in IVR faces in 2017 three main obstacles:

1. Avoiding change is easy when you think everything is fine as it is. Thus, many companies that have already invested in IVR tend to consider that their system is fine, or that the new technology will not drive additional improvements. But the reality is that this attitude leads to the stagnation of both the IVR and the company itself, and does not meet the needs of the consumer. Voice recognition, greater analytical or automation capabilities are some of the great achievements of those companies that do not benefit.

2. Another important obstacle is to increase investment in new and “fresh” technologies, while neglecting investment in IVR, thus stopping the full and optimal integration between different channels.

3. The adoption of new IVR technologies such as artificial intelligence, analytic and assisted prediction occurs at a slow pace, as it is often preferred to see results before making a move. This causes a logical delay in adding value and improving experiences.

Opportunities that Drive IVR Improvements

In the face of the above obstacles, Nuance has also identified three key trends that will encourage companies to improve their IVR and customer services:

1. The customer is becoming more demanding, and this requires constantly improving his satisfaction. An old-fashioned, clumsy and uncomfortable IVR will generate a negative experience, causing the customer to flee to a better option, eventually to adopt improvements that should have been implemented before.

2. The desire to create a cohesive, coherent and integrated experience. Often, customers visit the web, consult Twitter or other online channels, before calling the IVR, and at that time, users expect a similar sophisticated experience, not an archaic experience.

3. Encourage self-service by reducing calls to agents. These are two trends in one, because the one leads to the other. Self-service reduces operating costs and allows companies to be more competitive because the agent can devote his time to more productive tasks, but for this, the IVR must be effective, recognize who is calling, identify the context and even take the initiative and to redirect the call to an agent if necessary. In short, the IVR must be intelligent.

In conclusion, in order to successfully achieve the evolution of the IVR in companies, it is crucial to overcome obstacles effectively, and to get on the bandwagon of new trends as soon as possible. This is what forward-thinking companies do that make clear the importance of constantly improving the customer experience.