Advanced IVR phone systems entirely reformed the modern-day contact centers, making them more efficient with a lesser required workforce. The proper implementation of the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) tech helps organizations grow rapidly without hiring more people. This blog talks about the various aspects of implementing IVR technology for a growing business.
Impact of Using IVR Phone Systems in Finance
Before we jump into the details of an IVR system, let’s quickly discuss how they impact organizations at scale. To get a more comprehensive idea of the benefits, check out our blog on 10 Benefits of Using IVR Call Centers.
Better Customer Service
A well-implemented IVR system helps organizations offer better customer service by reducing inbound call wait times. It also keeps the customer entertained with pre-recorded messages while waiting for a support executive to handle their queries.
Automatic Segregation of Customer Queries
The most advanced IVR systems now have speech recognition technology that picks specific keywords from the customer’s conversation. These systems then forward the query to the correct department within an organization for an effective query resolution. A Forrester study shows that 79% of customers prefer a self-service module over a human-assisted support channel.
Reduce the Overall Turnaround Time
Companies now design their IVR menu to segregate support, sales, and administrative queries. They then use the tech to reduce wait times by allocating the case automatically to the next available live agent. By splitting the workload effectively across all available human resources, these systems help reduce the overall turnaround time for query resolution.
Designing an IVR Pathway
A well-designed IVR menu takes up a significant portion of the administrative tasks to lighten the workload of a call center executive. Before going live, organizations should spend ample time refining and testing their workflows to handle higher call volumes. An efficient IVR pathway helps organizations start on the right foot.
Multi-Lingual Support
Organizations that deal with an international audience often need to offer support in multiple languages. IVR systems automatically perform call routing based on the customer’s preferred language choice. With active multi-lingual support, IVR systems redirect customer queries to the right customer support executive every time. Ideally, the merchants that offer multi-lingual support should first segregate all their customer queries based on language before providing further options.
Handling Different Types of Queries
Companies don’t use the Interactive Voice Response System only to handle support queries. Instead, they also effectively route sales and administrative queries with such advanced systems. Larger organizations also use the IVR menu internally to route calls to the proper internal departments. These systems eliminate the need for an active live agent to route calls manually.
Immediate Vs. Callback-Based Query Resolution
Companies now pre-program responses to the most commonly asked questions to resolve queries actively without the need for a live agent. So, companies can create a repository of FAQs on their IVR phone systems to handle queries 24×7. They can also make a room to collect customer contact information for a callback if the IVR does not answer their questions. The live agent can then address the customer queries by giving them a callback later.
Collecting Payments via IVR Tech
The next-gen IVR systems are no longer just an accessory to the team of live agents. Instead, these systems can single-handedly complete end-to-end tasks. Leave the collections functions up to the IVR systems with iCheckGateway.com.
Completing PCI Secure Payment Transactions
Modern-day IVR systems also help merchants collect payments directly without needing an additional live agent. Merchants design custom IVR pathways with pre-recorded messages to handle inbound calls. Using the keypad on their phones, the customers easily select their preferred payment methods. We support collecting payments via both credit cards and online ACH.
Merchants who want to implement such technology to collect payments should choose a PCI-compliant payment processor. Such payment processors ensure that no sensitive customer data stays on your system after completing a transaction. A well-established PCI-compliant system keeps merchants out of trouble during their auditing phase.
Sending Notifications and Reminders
The IVR system also proactively sends notifications and reminders to the customers logging in to their accounts to make payments. They remind customers of the latest payment date, past-due payments, and upcoming payments. Some advanced systems also identify the customer’s phone number and prepare a custom greeting message. Also, they also identify repeat callers and prioritize them over the other inbound calls for better customer satisfaction.
The most advanced payment processors seamlessly connect with the merchant’s back-office account software to fetch this data accurately. Using advanced developer plugins, The top IVR system providers connect with QuickBooks and similar back-office accounting systems to track payments and collections.
Improving Profit Margins
The use of the latest IVR technology improves customer satisfaction and increases profit margins. Such systems are especially beneficial for larger organizations that deal with thousands of inbound calls every day. These organizations effectively work with a leaner customer support team by automatically routing the incoming calls using IVR systems. They reduce their workforce while maintaining operational excellence with an advanced IVR setup.
Complementary IVR Payment Systems
Some customers are not comfortable paying their bills over IVR phone systems, and they prefer other payment methods that give them more control. The merchants must adopt other popular payment technologies for such customers. Some of the popular complementary payment technologies that iCheckGateway.com offers include:
SMS Payments
With the SMS payments technology, merchants automatically send payment reminders and notifications to their customers over an SMS text. Moreover, they also send a payment link through which a customer logs in and pay via credit cards or online ACH. This payment method is extremely popular with merchants that deal with many late payments and need a personalized way to send reminders. It is also popular with customers that are uncomfortable logging on to the merchant’s devices and wish to pay through their own device.
Email Invoicing
Email invoicing gains popularity as a preferred collection method for merchants. Large energy and utility companies save tons on postage and printing fees by sending invoices via emails. Additionally, payment collection through emails helps these companies save time on follow-up efforts with automatic payment reminders.
The best email invoicing software automatically generates invoices by collecting the data from back-end accounting software like QuickBooks. With suitable payment processors, merchants send a payment link directly with the email invoice for the customers to pay with a few clicks. Bonus: These payment processors allow merchants to customize the email invoices with branding information and logos for distinction.
Hosted Payment Solutions
Large organizations also adopt hosted payment portal solutions as an alternative payment method. These solutions allow customers to pay through a PCI-compliant online portal securely. Advanced hosted payment solutions easily mimic the customer’s website to offer a seamless customer experience. With a custom-designed portal, the customer quickly pays on the merchant’s website without experiencing an interface change.
IVR Phone Systems Empower Consumers to Pay Easily
Before choosing a payment processor, merchants need to evaluate them based on their tech stack and security compliance. They must also look at the processor’s overall support system to ensure effective and fast resolution to critical problems. Merchants that deal with a high transaction volume can quickly lose a large amount of potential business if they compromise their payment solutions.
Want to partner with a one-stop payment processor that can help you adopt multiple next-gen payment technologies? Schedule a quick 15-minute call with our technology experts to know more!
Date originally published: March 18, 2022