Conventional telephony systems can indeed help the business owners, but due to their limitations, they are bound to be inefficacious. This is where the role of cloud-hosted IVR system comes into play. This technology is rapidly gaining recognition and becoming ubiquitous in almost all parts of the world. Most of the businesses these days are using IVR to deliver personalised customer experience.
As per a recent survey, it has been predicted that the IVR market will reach $5.5 billion by 2023. So, the numbers clearly convince that IVR systems play a pivotal role in the growth of a business. Therefore, being a world-class and efficient technology, it cannot be denied that deploying an IVR is imperative for the long-term success of an enterprise.
What is IVR?
IVR expanded as Interactive Voice Response is an automated voice system that allows interaction between callers and a computerised voice system. In past, IVR was limited to telephone calls and numeric keypad responses, whereas, today many IVR systems are integrated with speech recognition system. This system allows callers to communicate by providing voice responses instead of keypad inputs.
The facility of speech recognition is advanced and sophisticated that it can easily comprehend words with different pronunciations. Thus, an IVR system is more efficacious and easy to use in comparison to traditional telephony systems. Also, the procedure is less time consuming and more convenient for the business as well as its customers.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF IVR FOR SMALL BUSINESSES?
In order to grow and succeed quickly, it is necessary for small businesses to combine their business strategies with the best available technology in the market. The reason this solution is gaining popularity among small business owners is the notable benefits it offers. Below are the most prominent advantages of using a cloud-hosted IVR system.
1. Provides Efficacious Personalisation
With Interactive Voice Response (IVR), small businesses can develop and foster healthy and long-term relationships with their customers. This is achieved due to the scope of personalisation IVR offers to your customer communication.
For instance, IVR solutions can be programmed to welcome callers by addressing the call with callers’ name along with a warm greeting message. IVR can also be customised to interact with the callers in their regional language.
2. Enhances Quality of First Contact
Customers are likely to be aggravated if their issues do not get handled in the first interaction. IVR is of great use while handling such customers. IVR connects the customer to the right department in the first attempt which ensures a quick and quality resolution of their issues and concerns. As the routing strategies of IVR are developed to direct the calls to the most suitable agent, the process of query resolution becomes prompt and hassle-free for customers as well as business.
3. Saves Time
The most notable advantage of a hosted IVR system is that it helps small businesses handle a large volume of calls without any difficulty. This saves a lot of customer’s as well as the company’s time. The procedure is simple and speedy as compared to the traditional telephony system which demands a series of attempts in order to connect the customer with the most qualified agent.
Some of the best IVR solutions predetermine the amount of time that is required to connect the customer to an agent. Besides, the decline in the number of dropped calls, the customer experience also gets seamless by advanced processes such as speech recognition.
4. Curtails Chances of Human Error
It is not feasible for small companies to attend to a large volume of calls every day with the resource and budget limitation. Whereas with an IVR system, this process becomes easy and error-free. Businesses can easily handle plenty of calls without being vulnerable to human errors. IVR systems automatically answer every call without any miss. And guides the callers with available solutions with the help of a structured menu.
This process not only eliminates any chances of human error but also ensures that customers do not experience any delay in the process. Whereas, with a human receptionist at work, chances of a delay or incorrect routing can affect the accuracy and efficiency of the whole process.
5. Increased Productivity
Usage of hosted IVR solution in everyday business communication undoubtedly increases the productivity and performance of small companies. With the facility of call routing, a great amount of time is saved as customers are provided with quick solutions at their fingertips and are connected to the right agent in a speedy manner. This enables a business to handle a large volume of calls and as a result, enhance productivity.
6. Cost-effective Solution
IVR is a cost-effective solution as it provides a methodical and systematic way to deal with a high volume of calls. It enables you to get the most out of operational costs while allowing you to focus on other aspects of the business which are more essential and require attention.
Moreover, each moment that a customer spends on the call, it adds up to the expenses of your company. IVR makes sure that customers are instantly provided with effective solutions and less time is consumed in handling the issues. In addition to that, it ensures that human resources are utilised in the best way possible.
7. Uninterrupted Access
The greatest benefit of implementing a hosted IVR system is that it is not only convenient for customers but the company as well as. It provides uninterrupted high-quality service. In case a customer calls in the absence of a live agent, you can set up a pre-recorded message to inform the customer of your absence and possible availability.
8. Decline In Abandonment Rate
A well-developed hosted IVR system is indeed an excellent and efficient tool for reducing abandonment rate. While completing a simple transaction or seeking information, customers are likely to get frustrated if their call gets abandoned without providing an appropriate solution. This problem can be solved by implementing a strong IVR solution as it will prevent aggravated customers from cancelling transactions or hanging up.
Conclusion
In today’s contemporary age of ever-increasing competition, a hosted Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system is a prerequisite and must-have for small businesses to be triumphant in the long run. Furthermore, IVR systems can also be quite beneficial and advantageous for large scale businesses as well. Earlier, setting up an IVR system was only feasible for big businesses since they had the required infrastructure, but now with the remarkable advancements in the field of technology, even small enterprises can avail equal benefits.
With this system, a business will not only save a considerable amount of money but significantly strengthen and solidify its customer base as well. Moreover, it is great for enhancing productivity and producing desired results. Last but not least, hosted IVR system is the need of the hour as they have the potential to help enterprises succeed and reach unimaginable heights within a short time-period.
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