INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE : Interactive or Irritating?

Welcome to customer care. Press 1 for English, press 2 for Hindi. For

billing-related information, press 1; for value added services, press 2; for ISD

and roaming, press 3; for lost SIM card and PUK, press 4; for any other

information, press 5; to talk to our executive, press 9.... Your call is important

to us; please be patient, someone will attend to you shortly...(12 minutes pass)...

Hello, how may I help you? No, thank you...Wow! what an ordeal.

That's a typical IVR-interactive voice response-for you. A company's IVR

system speaks volumes about the organization's brand; as the literal ambassador

of the business, it can provide customers with a positive experience or it can

completely upset them. Today's harsh and ruthless competitive environment makes

it essential that every customer touch-point delivers fully on the brand

promise. That's why the IVR system is no longer merely a question of technology

or telecommunications. It is rather a strategic high-level decision with

far-reaching consequences for the company.

Historically, IVR solutions have used pre-recorded voice prompts and menus to

present information and options to callers and touch-tone telephone keypad entry

to gather responses. Modern IVR solutions also enable input and responses to be

gathered via spoken words with voice recognition.

IVR solutions enable users to retrieve information regarding bank balances,

flight schedules, product details, order status, and movie show times et al.

Additionally, IVR solutions are increasingly used to place outbound calls to

deliver or gather information for appointments, past due bills, and other

time-critical events and activities.

IVR Pain Points



No option of speaking to a person: The biggest trap is that the IVR tries to

make the innocent customer feel that the issue can be resolved without the need

to speak to a person. IVR vendors are often guilty of selling this offering.

While IVRs can be of great help in providing self-service to customers, it is

not the complete solution. Human interaction, at times, becomes extremely

important in resolving customer issues as well as developing rapport with them.

Poor transferring of call to an agent: A frequent trap is not allowing

customers to connect to an agent despite having the option to talk to an

executive. Cost may be the reason behind this. For example, a well-known mobile

phone company publishes a number to call if you have questions about your bill,

but it does not allow the option to transfer the call at once to an agent to

discuss the problem. Also, when transferring to an agent, details of the

customer should be transferred with the call. It is bad customer service to ask

for the same details again.

Poor menu prompt structure: This is widespread. The golden rule for a voice

menu is that you should never have more than five options. There should also be

no more than two levels of menu.

Poor voice recording: A poor voice recording has ruined many good IVR

applications. A good example is a frequent flyer application that speaks in a

calm voice: “your account balance is” followed by a break in the voice and then

the information about the balance which may not be complete. A common mistake

made by companies is to use a handset to record announcements rather than a

professional recording studio. This can result in inconsistent volume levels as

well as poorer speech quality. Recording studios are able to make volume levels

smooth and provide the correct frequency profile to match the telephone rather

than stereo quality.

Voice recognition accuracy: Voice recognition is a very powerful technology,

but it is not foolproof. It claims 95% accuracy, and that's frequently on a

single command. Mobile phone users can find difficulty using the service.

For some users, it simply fails to work. It should be used with care and it

works best for a closed user group. After two voice recognition attempts, the

caller should be connected to a live agent.

Too much time taken for frequent users: A new user will need clear

instructions to use the system. It is also important that frequent users can

enter information as quickly as possible. Most IVR systems allow 'type ahead',

sometimes called 'cut through', which allows users to enter data while the voice

command is on. So, a frequent user would not have to wait until the end of the

sentence (which he knows by experience and frequent calls) but can enter the

required information, say, the account number, in the middle of the sentence.

Though a lot of trouble goes into developing interactive voice response

applications for companies, in most cases, it appears that the system is not

tested on a small group of users to gauge its effectiveness. If companies test

the application before making it live, a number of problems associated with them

will be solved.

How to Lose a Customer



While most companies would want to retain as many customers as possible, a

survey conducted by Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company, threw light on things

that companies can do with their IVRs to make the customer too irritated to

continue with the company. The first thing a company can do to lose a customer

is to keep him on hold for a long time-57% respondents were frustrated for long

waiting time; 91% customers would prefer to receive a call back within 10

minutes than to hold on for a long time, and 58% would like the option to ask

for a call back if the wait time is longer than they would like.

The second thing is to make the customer repeat the information. Problems in

automated menus come next in the list-37% respondents get irritated due to it.

The fourth thing is inconsistent or inaccurate information-33% will get mad over

it. And the fifth way to lose a customer is to have rude and unfriendly

employees-27% would love to hate a company's IVR for this. If all this is not

enough, make a sincere effort to not let a customer talk to a live person-26%

feel cheated because of this.

Innovation is the Key



Interactive voice response systems should be short and sweet. Before you

record your IVR prompts, cut all unwanted words. Every word in the prompt needs

to rationalize its existence, and every sentence should use the shortest

possible phrasing without information loss. Also, it is important to realize

that some prompts need a brief description or mention of the items inside the

menu. Though there is no hard and fast rule, the best way of ascertaining

effectiveness is through user trial and testing.

The IVR system is delivered via audio, and it involves serial presentation;

one thing gets presented after the other. Items at the top of the list are very

prominent, and they become less prominent as you go down the list. The trick

here is to prioritize the prompts according to frequency of use so as to make

sure the experience is short, direct, and hassle free.

When a person reads out a list, they tend to accentuate the items in the list

differently, to give a sense of the beginning, the middle and the end of the

list. IVRs should do the same when reading out menus. The best way to accomplish

this is to get your voiceover artist to record each menu in a single recording

file, rather than recording them separately and then cutting-and-pasting them

together. The cut-and-paste approach tends to give an impersonal touch.

On an IVR, audio is everything. Poor quality recordings, background noise,

and untrained voiceover artists can create a bad impression in the customer's

mind, and give a negative impression about the company's working style. It is

advisable to use a recording studio and hire a voiceover artist who has

experience in recording for IVR systems. Finding the right voiceover artist with

the right qualities for your branding can be difficult since what you think is

right and what your customers think is correct are two entirely different

things.

Callers are a rapt audience and you know a few things about them. This means

it is really tempting for marketing people to want to stick to a promotional

message. However, it should be kept in mind that your IVR could become your

worst customer touch point. Chances are that the caller is going to be feeling

impatient and in a bad mood. Therefore, this may not be the best time to try to

sell them something.

Another problem is that the IVR picks up and starts speaking too soon, before

the connection has genuinely been made. This means the caller does not hear the

beginning of the first word. This isn't a big problem and can be fixed with

little effort-the designer of the IVR needs to add a 'ring-ring' sound at the

beginning of the first audio file so that the only thing that gets truncated is

the ringing, which, anyway, is not important.

Moreover, no one likes to be told that they have done something wrong or

failed in something. It is even more displeasing to be told by an IVR.

Alternative wording is sensible. The bottom line is: be polite to your callers

and use more decent and appropriate words.

Kaun Banega Crorepati, the Indian adoption of Who Wants to be a Millionaire

and one of the most popular TV reality shows of its time in India, required

aspirants to audition using an IVR system. More than 1,000 call center lines

were deployed across four metros to handle huge call volumes and the success of

the show is there for everyone to see. But since the IVR was doing the backstage

work, it did not get the accolades it deserved. Now the challenge is repeating

this success story everywhere like achieving 500 mn mobile subscribers, prompt

medical services, accurate tracking of goods and so on. But the major concern

is: are the guys behind implementing IVR solutions ready to take up the

challenge?

Sandeep Budki



sandeepb@cybermedia.co.in