While self-service is key to helping customers find information quickly, IVR is an essential tool for making it happen. IVR, or interactive voice response, uses touch-tone or speech recognition technology to identify and route callers to the most qualified agents, driving greater efficiency on both sides of the customer experience. Here are five key benefits of IVR that make it so vital to creating seamless self-service experiences.

Providing richer experiences through advanced features

IVR systems provide many rich features that enhance the self-service experience. For example, visual IVR enables customers to tap their way through visual menus and reach agents quickly. The technology also allows customers to get into an agent queue when necessary, while supporting text-to-speech in multiple languages on both the inbound and outbound sides of a call. Customers are therefore given seamless experiences that are tailored to their needs.

Allowing customers to save time

Customers lose patience when they are forced to listen to long menu options. Fortunately, a great benefit of IVR is allowing customers to skip the options they don’t need. In addition, dropped calls occur less frequently when such a system is in place, and customers may be given the option of a callback when their wait time is very long. Lastly, being routed to agents with the appropriate skills ensures that customers get the answers they need every time.

Enhancing mobile customer experiences

As smartphone use continues to grow, it’s imperative for brands to offer mobile-optimized customer service. IVR is therefore ideal for customers on the go, allowing them to reach out for support even when they are in-store. For this reason, IVR plays an important role in boosting sales, as potential customers are more likely to purchase when their questions are answered efficiently.

Empowering agents to perform at their best

The efficiency of IVR technology improves the service experience for both customers and agents alike. When customers are routed to the most qualified agents, productivity increases, allowing agents to resolve cases more quickly and assist more customers as needed. In addition, when agents are matched closely to the roles that fit their skills, they will feel more confident and perform at their best.

Reducing call center costs

Lastly, it should be noted that call centers reduce costs when employing such a system. When an efficient IVR system is in place, customers will make fewer calls—leading agents to spend less time on the expensive voice channel. Visual IVR in particular costs less to deploy than traditional IVR, providing customer information automatically, eliminating the need for additional agent training, and integrating seamlessly into existing IVR systems.