A May 22 article, co-authored by Juergen Tolksdorf and Paul Humphrey, CEO at Call Journey, opened as follows: “In 2018, the majority of successful businesses are past the initial phase of introducing their Customer Experience programs. In fact, a recent study showed that 72% of businesses rank CX in their top three business priorities and a further study showed that by 2020 CX will outrank products and services as the main point of differentiation for businesses.” A recent Gartner survey backs this up, declaring that CX investment remains the toughest — and most important — battlefront of any company’s marketing strategy. [Read more…]
IVR Script Examples: How to Identify and Fix Mistakes
At Forty 7 Ronin, we deal with many complex challenges in the interactive voice response (IVR) industry, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some relatively simple fixes every company can make to improve performance. One of the most effective? Implementing IVR script best practices approach to make your system easier to navigate and more customer-friendly.
Clunky IVR scripts, bad voice direction and overly wordy material can make your IVR system annoying, slow and difficult for caller engagement. And, like we’ve said many times, an IVR system that frustrates customers is bad for business and bad for your overall brand image. Let’s take a look at some common IVR script examples with mistakes and simple ways to fix them.
1. Your IVR’s Scripted Tone Doesn’t Match the Actor or the Application
Have you ever felt chastised or talked down to by a company’s interactive voice response? Irritated at the voice or the cadence? It seems silly to be mad at a machine, right? [Read more…]
Why a Great IVR System is a Key Part of Effective Customer Experience
I just read an interesting LinkedIn article by Shep Hyken titled, Ten Customer Service and CX Predictions for 2018. Since our entire business model is based on helping organizations deliver better (and more profitable) customer service to customers (and would-be customers) naturally I want to follow the latest trends. The entire article is worth reading but I will focus my thoughts on two of Hyken’s predictions: self-service and convenience.
Self-service customer support continues to rise in popularity. Customers expect the companies they do business with to provide support in a way that is easy and convenient. Numerous studies show that customers go to the company’s website first, not to look for a phone number to call, but for an answer to their problem or question. [Read more…]
4 Top Reasons Your Customers Are Hanging Up
Your interactive voice response (IVR) system is only an asset to your company if it’s working properly. That means your customers can call in and be directed to the proper channel or complete their intended task quickly and easily. However, time and again, we see clients with IVR systems that are actually hindering their brand and overall operational performance — the exact opposite of what IVR should do.
One of the biggest indicators that your system isn’t up to snuff is the number of incomplete calls your analytics report show in a week. Hang-ups are bad in every part of the organization, but particularly in sales. Lost calls translates into lost money. We’ve compiled four of the biggest reasons we see our clients’ customers hanging up. See if any of them resonate with your company. [Read more…]
Why an IVR Tune-up Can be Your Best Option
Recently, we published an article titled “Does My IVR Need to be Replaced?”, breaking down the basic questions we ask our clients when they come to us for help with their IVR system. In that article, we spoke a lot about the indicators that point to the need for a full system replacement, but what about your other options?
For many clients, rebuilding is the only option, for example, if the age of the system or the software has rendered any other solution obsolete. If, however, age or other limitations are not factors, what can be done to ensure your system meets your needs – and most important, those of your customers? Often, after conducting a systems review, we find that many systems can benefit greatly from a tune-up or rebuild. [Read more…]
