8 mins read
When you run a business, customer satisfaction is something you can never afford to overlook. After all, that’s what gives your company competitive advantage and empowers it with high retention rates. However, as your business grows in size, so does the number of customers calling you for support queries. According to Zendesk, internal support teams get an average of 492 support tickets every month, which is a pretty big number when you consider the burden it may exert on your team.
When you crunch these numbers, things can appear even more challenging as we’re talking about more than a hundred tickets a day here! And that’s just the average. The actual number may be much higher for your organisation.
While you may consider expanding your customer support team to handle all these tickets, that may not be the most viable approach. Rather, self-service IVR solutions make a better idea.
Typically, interactive voice response (IVR) is a self-service application that makes it possible for customers to access support and issue resolution easily as and when they require. As they can do it on their own, the IVR system reduces the dependence on support representatives. As this amounts to prompt support and customer satisfaction, you can operate with a smaller team and save up on operational expenses.
Let us see how an IVR can take your customer support to the next level.
Better Customer Support with IVR Solutions
It goes without saying—you should do everything possible to resolve customer concerns immediately. Fortunately, IVR technology is a leap in that direction. The solution enables your organisation to deliver better support without burdening the team with excessive workload and lets them focus on more critical tasks. Let us explain these benefits in detail.
Reduce Repeat Calls
Companies that run call centres track key per-call metrics such as call volumes, reasons for calls, agent identity, and more. With these valuable insights, it is possible to get a customer journey perspective and address critical concerns such as how often your customers call back, and why they do it. You may even be able to identify agents whose interactions result in more callbacks.
While you might also get all this data through traditional call listening, it is often based on small samples. However, IVR-based customer journeys are more holistic and enable companies to identify and examine issues closely. This can help you address the bottlenecks with the right solution, which can cut down repeat calls to a considerable extent.
Increase Self-Service Capabilities
IVR solutions empower ticketing systems with self-service capabilities. Based on the information they gather from the caller, IVRs direct them to the right agent who is capable of resolving their queries most effectively. While this will give them better experiences, the agents will be able to deliver enhanced performance with their special capabilities.
Further, the technology also enables customers to complete certain tasks without even needing to speak with a support agent. This can substantially reduce the agent load and streamline the ticket system for your company. Conversely, you may lose precious customers even if you offer great products and prices but fail to offer self-service support options.
Getting Valuable Feedback
When it comes to having a good ticketing solution for your business, it is not just about addressing the immediate issues. The system should also enable you to identify the weak areas and cover them up to deliver top-notch services in the future. An IVR service lets you conduct customer surveys that offer valuable insights directly from your consumers. This can be of great help for targeting the right prospects, acquiring new customers, and retaining the existing ones. Further, feedback can be used for boosting sales efforts and improving revenue strategies.
Customer feedback with IVR gets as simple as asking them to share their thoughts by clicking a button or filling a form after the call. While callers may be adamant to share facts with a live agent, it is easier to do so with an IVR. Businesses can gather a range of information from the callers, from their feedback on products, agent interaction, or issue resolution quality.
Extend Availability and Accessibility
With conventional ticketing systems, customer support is not always on its toes. When people register complaints in real time, they may have to wait a day or more for help. Surely, this isn’t something they would be very happy and impressed with. In fact, there are chances that you would lose customers for good because people expect instant gratification these days.
However, an IVR solution lets you be available anytime and all the time, whenever your customers may need help. With a self-service system, there are no limitations to office hours, holidays, and seasonal breaks. Most of the time, callers are able get their issues resolved instantly, without even having to interact with a live agent. Instant availability and accessibility is something that impresses people and keeps them hooked to your brand.
IVR Benefits Beyond Support Tickets
IVR solutions are also capable of reducing customer abandonment. A calling menu can improve agent handle time as well. Business benefits of IVR include:
- Enables businesses to prioritise calls on the basis of their value
- Allows personalisation of messages and prompts
- Ensures that customers are routed only to the right agent
- Obtains key information from the caller during the wait time
- Improves service standards with call recording and logs
- Predicts the purpose of calls to enhance customer experience
- Handles high call volume efficiently and smoothly
- Reduces overhead costs for business, including staffing
Conclusion
If you run a typical business, your support team may be flooded with a large number of tickets at times. While these can overwhelm you, it isn’t always feasible to expand your team to handle them. Rather, switching to a smart IVR system is a better approach as not only will it streamline the ticketing system but also empower your agents in many other ways. What you really need to do is collaborate with a solution provider you can trust and take your support operations to the next level.
Acefone is a name you can trust because it has helped a large number of clients with diverse needs to elevate their ticketing systems with top-notch IVR solutions.
