IVR, or interactive voice response, is a technology that provides the possibility of computer communicating to humans. We can see that a high number of businesses introduced it as a part of their customer support and many other processes. However, there is the question of its effectivity. Is it as effective as people generally think? Or, can we use it only for a number of specific information that needs to be shared? Do we need them at all? All of these are questions that requires answers in order to get a full glimpse of what you can expect from introducing an automated interactive voice response.
Well, this is a pretty tough question due to all the elements we need an answer to before we can make the final decision. If you are interested in how you can actually contact live agents in a wide array of different call centers, take a look at numberforliveperson.com. But we can see that many experts have the opinion that IVR will never be as good as a human voice for a wide array of different reasons. This led to a couple of reasons being pointed out.
So, let us present you with key reasons why human voice will never be completely replaced with an automated interactive voice response. Without further ado, let us begin.
1. Personalization
We can see that the highest percentage of customers prefer to have another person over the phone in case of calling customer support. This is important due to a couple of reasons. For example, IVR will not have the answers you need, people need some specific details that are not well explained through IVR, etc.
All these things aside, the human voice is preferred due to being far warmer than a recorded, robotized one. The conversation between a customer and a live agent will surely be much more effective and personal. We can see that many people choose to wait until IVR is finished talking and then wait for a live agent.
This is one of the ultimate reasons why experts believe that IVR will never be as good as a live agent.
2. Voice is like an Instrument
Let’s face it, listening to a human voice is a much more pleasant experience than having a conversation with an automated IVR. Besides caller being far more comfortable with a live agent, the caller will not be able to have the same experience in a situation where the problem is pretty urgent and the solution is needed in a matter of seconds.
The human relation cannot be provided by machines, it is as simple as that. As we’ve mentioned IVR can have a negative effect on the caller in the case where something needs urgent attention. The reason is that automated IVR is simply not designed to relate to people. Instead is provides blunt responses.
Furthermore, according to a survey we’ve been able to stumble across, 80% of callers are ready to give up on a company if the company has a bad automated interactive voice response.
3. The Focus is on the Solution
When you compare IVR and live agents, you will quickly see that live agent have many more skills that can help the caller in a situation. The reason is that robotized conversation can provide some information that is not necessarily as helpful as live agents.
Instead, we can see that you can be provided with information that can be found online and possibly cannot have almost any influence on solving the problem at hand. Thankfully, some companies introduced the approach where IVR can redirect the call to an agent in case the customer is not satisfied with the answers that were provided.
The capacity of answers you will get by IVR is significantly smaller than the ones provided by a real person.
4. Creating a Relationship
Now, we would like to talk about probably the most important thing a caller needs when asking for a conversation with a live agent. We are talking about building trust and a relationship. There is absolutely no reason why your live agents should not be an extension of your business and attract some new customers over time.
They are perfect representatives of your business. The only thing you need to do is to use them in a proper way. We’ve already talked about an approach where a company has both IVR and agents. This is a good approach since you will offer both possibilities to your customers and they will be satisfied to have a couple of solutions to their problem.
5. The Power of Words
We’ve mentioned the capacity of live agents when it comes to solving the issues that are encountered by callers. Since IVR can only provide you with a couple of options, you can expect from a live agent to provide you with a plethora of different things you can do.
Talking with IVR can irritate a customer by providing generical answers that will not provide a proper solution. Therefore, the answers that will be provided by a live agent will have much more complex answers that will help much more than IVR. The mistake many companies make is that they think they will cut the costs by introducing automated IVR.
However, with all the reasons we’ve provided you with, we can see that there are a lot of things that have a negative influence on the business itself. Therefore, this is something that needs to be thought through for a proper amount of time.
6. Business Moves Forward
We’ve already mentioned that you can make live agents a part of your marketing team. They can make perfect things that will provide you with an opportunity to find some more customers by building a relationship with the existing ones.
When a phone is answered by a person with a pleasant voice, you will have many more possibilities to spread out your business much more than you can do with many other channels.
You will be able to reach family, friends, and acquittances of your customers. Therefore, this is something you should think about, without a doubt.
