Over the years, political systems across the globe have witnessed a technological revolution. Specifically speaking, the impact of technology on political elections has been significant. While poll campaigning was initially a completely manual process, political parties have gradually adopted specialized technologies to connect with the voters, gather polling trends and information, and influence the electoral base to be on their sides. One of the technologies that have come to the forefront in this context is Interactive Virtual Receptionist (IVR). Essentially, IVR is an automated cloud telephony system, which interacts directly with the target audience for routing the calls to the specified recipients and gathering useful information through telephonic surveys.
Let us see how it works to empower political campaigns and connect with the voters.
How Does IVR System Empower Election Management?
In the context of elections, IVR technology enables callers to respond to the poll questions by pressing the specific phone keys or by responding with voice answers. The information is thus recorded for later analysis without the need for human intervention at the collection stage. It can serve useful insights for the political parties, which they can use for creating result-oriented strategies. So, an IVR solution definitely becomes a strategic investment for any political party that wants to improve its prospects in the electoral landscape. The utility of IVR is not confined to electoral surveys by political parties. It can also aid the local authorities in confirming the voters’ registration as well.
How IVR can Empower Political Campaigns
Now that much has been said about the role of this technology in political campaigns, it is time to highlight the advantages of embracing it for political campaigns. Here are the key advantages of the automated polls that political parties can derive with an IVR system in place.
- Wider Acceptance As people are pressed for time these days, they are more likely to embrace IVR-based surveys because of the flexibility and convenience they offer. On the other hand, they are less likely to stop in the middle of a busy day and respond to an in-person survey organized by a political party. Another reason why these telephonic surveys make a smart move is that smartphones have become a way of life for people. So, users are more than willing to be a part of telephonic surveys that can respond to with a few clicks and on the go.
- Zero Dependence on Manpower When it comes to campaign-related expenses for political parties, hiring massive manpower just for promoting the campaign is the biggest challenge for parties. Beyond just the onboarding expenses, they also need to incur on training and managing the workforce. This may not be a feasible investment for political parties as they are always pressed for funds. Embracing IVR service, on the other hand, is a smarter alternative because it saves money due to zero dependence on manpower. All that they need to do is collaborate with a reliable IVR service provider to set up the system and they are good to go.
- Wider Coverage Considering the population size in the country, political parties need to target a huge audience base with their campaigns. They often have a long list of contact numbers to target, which is probably not feasible to handle with manual calling. IVR calling irons out this challenge because it eliminates the need for human reps to call each and every single person on the target list. Further, the possibility of missing out on any target user is reduced to the minimum.
- Reliable Feedback IVR service, as a part of the electoral strategy, brings the benefit of the accuracy of the surveys it offers. This is because these calls completely eliminate the possibility of any bias on the part of the survey takers and respondents. All the individuals who are a part of the survey receive the same questions that are presented using a recorded message. This eliminates any questioner’s bias (since there is no human involvement) and allows the respondents to answer questions and share feedback more honestly.
- Accurate Reports The challenge with manual feedback methods is that a lack of understanding or communication may result in inaccurate reporting. Conversely, IVR renders assured accuracy in the survey collection and reporting processes. All the respondents get the same set of multiple-choice questions which they have to answer by pressing on specific buttons. As a result, the system can be completely trusted for generating accurate reports. Accuracy of information is mandatory for getting useful information.
- Time saving When it comes to assessing the value of this technology for poll campaigns, it goes beyond just the aforementioned benefits. Obviously, parties can save a lot by joining hands with an IVR service provider. Besides saving on funds, they can save the precious time of their workers who would otherwise have to spend hours and days for gathering useful insights from the target group. Rather, they can invest this time in action-oriented activities such as campaigning for the party. Additionally, real-time dashboards serve useful data and information, which can be used for faster decision making.
- Measurable and Accountable The results that IVR delivers are measurable and accountable. Every single call can be measured in terms of its length, which makes it possible to know whether the recipient has heard the main message. Further, the information captured through polls (both keyboard and voice) can be organised into a database and shown as easy-to-read reports. As a result, it emerges as a fully accountable outreach investment for political players.
Now that the value of IVR technology for electrical campaigns is clear, the next obvious step for parties is to find a partner they can trust. Acefone is a leading IVR service provider that offers reliable solutions for businesses and political parties. You can trust our solutions for handling your electoral surveys from end to end and delivering valuable insights for your campaigns.
To know more call us.