Cloudshope Technologies Private Limited

Best PracticesHere are some tips and tricks on how to better use Speech Recognition.
Tip 1 - Know your use case
To use Speech Recognition efficiently, you need to take a few factors into consideration:
 Always make an effort to think about your specific use case and tailor it to your end-users’ needs.
Use the most specific variant of the language that is supported in IVR.
Assume there might be differences in phone and call quality. Have a plan for how to reach end users in certain hard-to-reach areas.
Expect background noise. Anticipate end users might be on their phones while walking in the street, crowded area, during rush hour, etc.
Prepare short and concise questions. What kind of replies do you expect to receive? Don''t use complex terms. Use simple language so your end users can understand you.
Be mindful of the speech recognition duration period. Is it reasonable to expect a reply in 5, 10, or 20 seconds?
Tip 2 - Tweak timeout and maxSilence carefully
One of the most important things - consider the time end users need to reply to your question.
Let''s consider the following use case for example:
JSON{  "capture": "myVar",  "timeout": 10,  "speechOptions": {    "language": "en-US",    "keyPhrases": ["info", "update"]  }}
In this example, IVR option is set to 10 seconds. You expect to capture the following phrases ("info" or "update) in those 10 seconds. Now you test and tweak. Is 10 seconds enough, too long? This depends on multiple factors such as word length, ends-user''s speech pattern, and reaction time.
Obviously, you don''t want end users to have to wait too long to move on to the next action, nor to get upset for not having enough time to say the keyword.
What if you use maxSilence (as shown below)?
JSON{  "capture": "myVar",  "timeout": 10,  "speechOptions": {    "language": "en-US",    "maxSilence": 3,    "keyPhrases": ["info", "update"]  }}
Here, the end user has 10 seconds with a 3 seconds maxSilence option. This means if IVR detects 3 seconds of silence, it stops capturing.
However, if your end user said the keyword within a second, they will have to wait 2 seconds before moving on to the next action in IVR.
What if the end user stops to think and makes a pause longer than 3 seconds? In this case, IVR will not capture user''s input.
Obviously, it is hard to offer general advice that works for everyone but our suggestions are:
When possible, ask simple questions and suggest short and simple answers to your users
Try different variations of timeout and maxSilence and test speech capturing behavior before you offer it to your end users

Tip 3 - Use simple key phrases

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 375839
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Here's where you have to be careful. You can't expect your end users to always say the exact keyphrase. Let's say your end user says 'Yes, give more info' instead of the keyphrase you defined - 'Yes, I want more info'. Since the keyphrase is not matched, the IF expression is not triggered. The longer the keyphrase, the lower the odds the end user matches that specific keyphrase successfully. Example: JSON { "capture": "myVar", "timeout": 5, "speechOptions": { "language": "en-US", "maxSilence": 3, "keyPhrases": ["more info", "exit", "maybe"] } }, { "if": "${myVar == 'more info'}", "then": [ { "say": "Ok. I will send you more details" } ], "else": [] } We've made a few tweaks to the example above. Now, the probability to match the keyphrase is higher. The keyphrase does not limit the end-users's speech. End users can say a lot more than just a keyphrase. However, the keyphrase is the key to correctly match and branch the IVR scenario. For example, if the end user says: "Yes, I want more info" or "Yes, give me more info", in both cases the keyphrase will be matched because myVar is more info. If you are interested in full captured speech you can try using the myVar_Full variable (note that 'myVar' are just our examples, you can name these any way you like). Finally, both examples can be reduced to even shorter phrases: JSON { "capture": "myVar", "timeout": 5, "speechOptions": { "language": "en-US", "maxSilence": 3, "keyPhrases": ["yes", "no", "maybe"] } }, { "if": "${myVar == 'yes'}", "then": [ { "say": "Ok. I will send you more details" } ], "else": [] } Keyphrases are always matched by comparing fully captured speech text and provided keyphrases.

A mixed dialogue approach involves shifting from open-ended to directed dialogue or vice versa within the same interaction, as one type of prompt may be more effective in a given situation. Mixed dialog prompts must also be able to recognize responses that are not relevant to the immediate prompt, for instance in the case of a user deciding to shift to a function different from the current one
Higher level IVR development tools are available to further simplify the application development process. A call flow diagram can be drawn with a GUI tool and the presentation layer (typically VoiceXML) can be automatically generated. In addition, these tools normally provide extension mechanisms for software integration, such as an HTTP interface to a website and a Java interface for connecting to a database.
In telecommunications, an audio response unit (ARU) (often included in IVR systems) is a device that provides synthesized voice responses to DTMF keypresses by processing calls based on (a) the call-originator input, (b) information received from a database, and (c) information in the incoming call, such as the time of day. ARUs increase the number of information calls handled and provide consistent quality in information retrieval.

IVR systems are used to service high call volumes at lower cost. The use of IVR allows callers'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' queries to be resolved without a live agent. If callers do not find the information they need, the calls may be transferred to a live agent. The approach allows live agents to have more time to deal with complex interactions. When an IVR system answers multiple phone numbers, the use of DNIS ensures that the correct application and language is executed. A single large IVR system can handle calls for thousands of applications, each with its own phone numbers and script.
Call centers use IVR systems to identify and segment callers. The ability to identify customers allows services to be tailored according to the customer profile. The caller can be given the option to wait in the queue, choose an automated service, or request a callback. The system may obtain caller line identification (CLI) data from the network to help identify or authenticate the caller. Additional caller authentication data could include account number, personal information, password and biometrics (such as voice print). IVR also enables customer prioritization. In a system wherein individual customers may have a different status, the service will automatically prioritize the individual''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s call and move customers to the front of a specific queue.
IVRs will also log call detail information into its own database for auditing, performance report, and future IVR system enhancements. CTI allows a contact center or organization to gather information about the caller as a means of directing the inquiry to the appropriate agent. CTI can transfer relevant information about the individual customer and the IVR dialog from the IVR to the agent desktop using a screen-pop, making for a more effective and efficient service. Voice-activated dialing (VAD) IVR systems are used to automate routine inquiries to a switchboard or PABX (Private Automatic Branch exchange) operators, and are used in many hospitals and large businesses to reduce the caller waiting time. An additional function is the ability to allow external callers to page staff and transfer the inbound call to the paged person. IVR can be used to provide a more sophisticated voice mail experience to the caller.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 573863
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Usage Banking Banking institutions are reliant on IVR systems for customer engagement and to extend business hours to a 24/7 operation. Telephone banking allows customers to check balances and transaction histories as well as to make payments and transfers. As online channels have emerged, banking customer satisfaction has decreased.[13] Medical IVR systems are used by pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations to conduct clinical trials and manage the large volumes of data generated. The caller will respond to questions in their preferred language and their responses will be logged into a database and possibly recorded at the same time to confirm authenticity. Applications include patient randomization and drug supply management. They are also used in recording patient diaries and questionnaires.[14] IVR systems allow callers to obtain data relatively anonymously. Hospitals and clinics have used IVR systems to allow callers to receive anonymous access to test results. This is information that could easily be handled by a person but the IVR system is used to preserve privacy and avoid potential embarrassment of sensitive information or test results. Users are given a passcode to access their results. Surveying Some of the largest installed IVR platforms are used for televoting on television game shows, such as Pop Idol and Big Brother, which can generate enormous call spikes. The network provider will often deploy call gapping in the PSTN to prevent network overload. IVR may also be used by survey organizations to ask more sensitive questions where the investigators are concerned that a respondent might feel less comfortable providing these answers to a human interlocutor (such as questions about drug use or sexual behavior). In some cases, an IVR system can be used in the same survey in conjunction with a human interviewer.

Applications of interactive voice responseIVR solutions have been utilized across a variety of industries, including banking, healthcare, education, and retail. Below we’ll delve more deeply into these use cases:
Healthcare: IVR technology has a number of practical uses within healthcare, such as pre-treatment questionnaires, patient satisfaction surveys, lab and appointment scheduling, post-discharge follow-up, lab results and patient monitoring. This research (link resides outside of ibm.com) also highlights how it can increase overall patient satisfaction by reminding patients to adhere to their medication schedule.
Education: Research (link resides outside of ibm.com) has shown that educational institutions can implement IVR to assist parents in retrieving a status update on their child''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s performance and attendance in school. Parents can register with the system and then input a username and password to access key information on future calls.
Customer Service: Customer service call centers straddle across multiple industries. These centers are set up to handle a high volume of inbound calls using automated menus and pre-recorded to handle customer queries and complaints.
Finance: IVR can also be leveraged for a variety of tasks within banking and finance. They can provide account information, like account balances and loan application statuses, as well as enable changes to investment portfolios.

What is Interactive Voice Response (IVR)?Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated phone system technology that allows incoming callers to access information via a voice response system of pre recorded messages without having to speak to an agent, as well as to utilize menu options via touch tone keypad selection or speech recognition to have their call routed to specific departments or specialists.
A well designed IVR software system can help increase customer satisfaction and improve contact center operations and KPIs. Particularly during times of high call volume, an effective interactive voice response system can help avoid hold time by helping customers find answers and perform simple tasks themselves. In cases where a customer needs or requests to speak with a person, ivr technology can help route calls quickly and seamlessly to the best call center agent to address their inquiry.
At Cloudshope, we understand how to empower our clients'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' customers by making it easy for them to navigate through a smart scripted IVR system. Our ivr software saves time and makes it possible for brands to serve customers 24/7/365.
Our contact center technology solutions give customers the ability to handle routine transactions (pay bills, track shipping, make reservations, etc.) on the phone without agent-intervention. So, they can get answers faster, and you can keep costs down.

Additional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Resourcesinteractive voice response best practices work sheetTen IVR Best Practices to Improve Customer Experiences: Customer''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s dislike having to enter a seemingly endless series of prompts into an IVR telephony menu system, wondering if they’ll ever be able to have an issue resolved. It’s hardly surprising that the majority of customers are dissatisfied with their IVR phone experiences. However, the problem isn''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''t IVR technology, its IVR design. In this article, learn the ten IVR best practices to ensure your menu design is intuitive and customer friendly.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 758373
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Additional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Resources The Contact Center of the Future: Digital transformation best practices, including real time routing, voice recognition and interactive ivr solutions, and machine learning powered automation optimizations, to achieve the contact center of the future, today. 6 IVR Technology Tips to Prevent Customers From Saying “Agent” on Repeat: What is IVR software good for, if it can't help customers resolve their calls without needing to ask for an agent? In this strategy guide, learn how to leverage next-gen IVR telephony technology to make your call automation software work for customers, not against them, so they do not become frustrated and ask for a live agent (especially during times of high volume customer calls). Contact Center Automation Tools and Trends: The implementation of contact center automation is accelerating, so it is essential for companies to implement best practices, or risk falling behind the competition. Technological advances in routing systems, robotic process automation (RPA), AI, and machine learning (ML) are literally changing the face of customer care. Improve interactive voice response customer service by modernizing Your IVR: An IVR system (IVRS) accepts a combination of voice telephone input and touch-tone keypad selection and provides the appropriate responses in the form of voice, fax, callback, email and other contact methods. In this article, learn more about the definition of ivr, and how to modernize your ivr application to improve call center efficiency and customer satisfaction. Omnichannel Orchestration: Drive business results with our contact center outsourcing and omnichannel solutions that help brands orchestrate a seamless customer experience within and across every touchpoint. Contact Center Software: To create personalized, customer-centric experiences, the right IVR technology and contact center infrastructure is essential.

How Does an IVR System Work?An Interactive Voice Response system is a type of computer-telephony integration (CTI). To integrate IVR technology in your contact center, you need a telephony board and dedicated IVR software that will let you pre-record greetings for callers. You can customize these recordings to a caller’s needs. This way they’ll hear a different message when they’re trying to log into their account than when they’re calling to purchase products from your company.
For the end-user, these interactive systems function in a way that allows them to navigate your contact center and find an appropriate solution quickly. As a customer, when you make a call to the company, the IVR system will respond by giving you a pre-recorded greeting and asking you to choose an option from a set menu. For example: By pressing the “one” on the keypad, you will receive a given service.
For your team, this means customers can route their calls to appropriate parties. Overall, this results in fewer incoming calls, lower operational costs, and increased productivity for your team members.
The Technical BasicsOn a technical level, an Interactive Voice Response system consists of the following:
Telephony equipment
IVR software applications
A database
Support infrastructure

To start, the computer is connected to the company’s telephone line. Then IVR software has to be installed onto a computer. From there, a unique piece of hardware (called a telephony board or telephony card) is needed to run the IVR technology on your calls.
Here are some details illustrating the requirements for a successful IVR:TCP/IP network: the internet network that provides Internet and intranet connectivity
Databases: real-time information that the IVR applications can access
Web/application server: Where the IVR system software is hosted

It’s important to note that IVR systems need a phone system to operate. When you decide to integrate IVR into your contact center operations, you should consider choosing appropriate call center software with an IVR feature.
Mapping Out Your IVRBefore integrating an IVR system with your contact center, you need to map out the IVR script itself and how it interfaces with your customers. An Interactive Voice Response map should have the following:
A pre-recorded welcome message. This can be personalized to mention the customer’s name if the IVR system has access to client information.
If the IVR doesn’t follow a 24/7 always-on system, add a pre-recorded after-hours message so customers know whether they can leave a message or not.
A menu for language options if your contact center caters to a customer base with multiple spoken languages. An example for keypad IVR systems: Press “one” for English, press “two” for Spanish, or press “three” for Chinese.
A menu for services related to purchases and sales or repairs and technical troubleshooting, depending on the department.
Music on hold (MOH), looping announcements, or preset messages to help clients troubleshoot basic problems.
An option for redirecting calls to active agents. Alternatively, an option to leave a voicemail if the service menus did not have their specific concerns listed.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 475638
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Testing Your Interactive Voice Response Now that you’ve set up your IVR system, it’s time to perform pre-launch testing with your internal team. Some areas that you should test include: Verify customer identity With the decrease of in-person support due to digitization, there is an increased need to verify whether your customer support teams are speaking to the real client. Call routing Did your customer select the correct prompts to be redirected to the right department? If your customer has issues regarding a purchase, they should be routed to the sales department, not the IT team. IVR system workflow Is your IVR workflow following the map you designed? Are there any specific areas that need to be improved, such as the number of options in each service menu? For the best customer experience, test your IVR phone system extensively, checking how customers flow from one option or menu to the next. It’s also important to see if the speech recognition system is effective and whether the touch-tone options are easy to navigate. Call Center Features Available With Interactive Voice Response Systems An Interactive Voice Response system creates a more structured experience for your customers when they interact with your contact center. These IVR features can complement your existing call center services: Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) – a telephony device to direct calls to your call center agents Skill-Based Routing – a service that assigns inbound calls to the most suitable agent Business Hours or Time-Based Routing – call centers operate in varying shifts. This can include morning shift (8am–5pm), mid-shift (11am–7pm), evening shift (9pm–6am), and graveyard shift (12pm–8am). You can help customers access short and relevant information by having an IVR system that’s available for 24-hour self-service, seven days a week. Call Routing – a call-management feature for phone systems where inbound calls are queued and then routed to a specific person or department

Java IVR API | Simple Gateway API
callIvrcallStatusSource Code

ObjectiveMake a phone call to the specified number and use the IVr application to interact and control the phone call.
 ParametersphonenoThe phone number to call.appnameThe name of the deployed IVR application.selfdeleteAsk the gateway to automatically delete the call request after the call is made if it is set to ''1'';calleridThe 11 digit caller ID number.detectionThe amount of detection for our system to recognize human answer. 0= balanced, 1= more aggressive, 2= most aggressive, 3= detection off. ReturnsreqIdThe return value is the call request ID.
 Example - callIvrJAVAcallIvr("123-4567", "reminderApp", 1, "12345678911", 1);Call Status Responses Synopsis - callStatuscallStatus(String reqId, HashMap responses)
 Description - callStatus   ObjectiveCheck the call status and responses of the call with reqId. The second parameter is a reference to an array and is used to collect responses. So if you have an element named AttendMeeting, the response can be accessed as responses["AttendMeeting"]. Please note that you can have multiple IVR elements that collect responses.
 ParametersThe reqId.Reference to an array and is used to collect responses.
 Example - callStatusJAVAString status = callStatus("1234035434", responses);                        if (responses.get("AttendMeeting").equals("1")) { ... };


API for IVR IntegrationPosted on May 27, 2009
We are planning to upgrade to the Voicent 4 line Professional Edition, but we have a few queries which we would like to discuss. As per the help files and FAQs published in your website, the features for your Professional edition almost fulfills our requirements. But there are a few points to clarify.
1. As per your website the professional edition provides the developers features. Does it really mean that if we buy a professional edition then you will provide us the API (compatible with C#) to integrate the Voicent IVR system with our application? So far we have found in many sites that you have provided the following methods -
CallText(string phoneno, string text, bool selfdelete)CallAudio(string phoneno, string filename, bool selfdelete)CallTillConfirm(string vcastexe, string vocfile, string wavfile, string ccode)
These methods are sufficient to send voice mails only, but not good enough for the Interactive Voice response system. If we purchase your professional edition will you provide us the necessary methods for IVR?
When you purchase Voicent BroadcastByPhone or other telephony products, the purchase also includes Voicent Gateway. You can integrate with Voicent products at two levels: one is the application level, and the other the gateway level. The gateway level is a lower level API and offers more flexibility.
At the gateway level, your program defines voice interactions in the form of VoiceXML files. When a call, either inbound or outbound, is made, the gateway interprets the application VoiceXML files and interacts with the caller/callee.
At the application level, you use the application to design the voice interaction using the tool’s Graphical User Interface. For BroadcastByPhone, it is the Message Designer. When a call is made, BBP automatically generates the application VoiceXML files and are submitted to the gateway. The Message Designer is a simple GUI tool that supports only one level of interaction.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 152637
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Packaging Details: If you need more user interactions defined, or need to interface to a database, for example, you can use Voicent IVR Studio. With IVR Studio, you can define almost any voice interactions and interface with any third party software by using the tool’s GUI. IVR Studio also automatically generates VoiceXML files and is fully integrated with BroadcastByPhone. If the voice application can be accomplished through the GUI, then it is much easier to interface with Voicent products at the application level. For more details, please see the developer section on Voicent’s website. In any case, when you purchase Voicent BroadcastByPhone program, you will have the application level interface and the gateway level interface. Voicent IVR Studio is a different tool that requires separate purchase. 2. The .VOC file we get back as a result after the IVR calls (by which we get the customer responses), how does that .voc extension support our application, so that we can generate further report from our application. Is there any way so that we can Integrate .Voc file to our application? A prompt reply with these answers will be appreciated. Thank you.

Handle user input with DTMFA code snippet that shows how to handle a user input with DTMF. The user enters an option on the keypad and the selected option is acknowledged via a text-to-speech message.
Example
Node.js
Java
.NET
PHP
Python
RubyPrerequisites
Create an applicationA Vonage application contains the required configuration for your project. You can create an application using the Vonage CLI (see below) or via the dashboard. To learn more about applications see our Vonage concepts guide.
Install the CLInpm install -g nexmo-cliCreate an applicationOnce you have the CLI installed you can use it to create a Vonage application. Run the following command and make a note of the application ID that it returns. This is the value to use in NEXMO_APPLICATION_ID in the example below. It will also create private.key in the current directory which you will need in the Initialize your dependencies step
Vonage needs to connect to your local machine to access your answer_url. We recommend using ngrok to do this. Make sure to change demo.ngrok.io in the examples below to your own ngrok URL.
Run your codeSave this file to your machine and run it:
node dtmf.jsTry it outCall your Vonage Number. When the call is answered you will hear a menu. Press 1 on the keypad followed by the # key. You will then hear a text-to-speech message acknowledging your selected option.

Interactive voice response
ArticleTalkReadEditView historyListen to this articleFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"IVR" redirects here. For other uses, see IVR (disambiguation).Interactive voice response (IVR) is a technology that allows telephone users to interact with a computer-operated telephone system through the use of voice and DTMF tones input with a keypad. In telecommunications, IVR allows customers to interact with a company''s host system via a telephone keypad or by speech recognition, after which services can be inquired about through the IVR dialogue. IVR systems can respond with pre-recorded or dynamically generated audio to further direct users on how to proceed. IVR systems deployed in the network are sized to handle large call volumes and also used for outbound calling as IVR systems are more intelligent than many predictive dialer systems.[1]
IVR systems can be used standing alone to create self-service solutions for mobile purchases, banking payments, services, retail orders, utilities, travel information and weather conditions. In combination with systems such an automated attendant and ACD, call routing can be optimized for a better caller experience and workforce efficiency. IVR systems are often combined with automated attendant functionality. The term voice response unit (VRU) is sometimes used as well.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 938363
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: History Despite the increase in IVR technology during the 1970s, the technology was considered complex and expensive for automating tasks in call centers.[3] Early voice response systems were DSP technology based and limited to small vocabularies. In the early 1980s, Leon Ferber's Perception Technology became the first mainstream market competitor, after hard drive technology (read/write random-access to digitized voice data) had reached a cost-effective price point.[citation needed] At that time, a system could store digitized speech on disk, play the appropriate spoken message, and process the human's DTMF response. As call centers began to migrate to multimedia in the late 1990s, companies started to invest in computer telephony integration (CTI) with IVR systems. IVR became vital for call centers deploying universal queuing and routing solutions and acted as an agent which collected customer data to enable intelligent routing decisions. With improvements in technology, systems could use speaker-independent voice recognition[4] of a limited vocabulary instead of requiring the person to use DTMF signaling. Starting in the 2000s, voice response became more common and cheaper to deploy. This was due to increased CPU power and the migration of speech applications from proprietary code to the VXML standard.

A guide to the best IVR systemYour customers want service fast. And if recent trends are any indication, they’re going to want it faster next year too.
Fortunately, the automation of interactive voice response systems (IVR) helps you keep up with dizzying customer expectations. In fact, when it’s implemented well, IVR telephony can help you get out in front of your customers.
And given customers’ continued preference for using the phone to resolve support issues, an interactive voice response solution is a must-have for any organization with high call volumes.
That said, it’s easy to go wrong with IVR. (If you’ve ever been frustrated by an automated phone system, you know.) So it’s best to take it slow with IVR, do your research, and find the best solution for your needs.
To that end, on this page, you’ll find everything you need to know about IVR, including its benefits and features, what to look out for, how to set it up, and much, much more.
What is an IVR system?What are the benefits of IVR?Top IVR features to considerWhat are different types of IVR systems?How do you set up your IVR?Which is the best IVR system for your business?How to choose the right IVR software?Frequently asked questions on IVRReady to try IVR software?

What is an IVR system?An interactive voice response system (IVR) is a phone software that greets callers with a menu of options and performs actions based on the caller’s answers. Callers interact with IVR systems using their voice or their phone’s touch-tone pad. Depending on the configuration, IVR may gather caller information, route calls based on caller inputs, provide information, and/or collect payments.
What is the purpose of interactive voice response?The purpose of interactive voice response is to enable inbound contact centers and outbound calling centers to automate certain call center functions including:
Answering frequently asked questions.Routing calls based on preset business rules.Processing orders, payments, and providing account information.Collecting, consolidating, and verifying customer information.How does an IVR system work?An IVR system works by taking an input (such as a voice response or touch-tone), processing that input, and performing an action. The action the IVR performs in response to different inputs is determined by the business.
What are the applications of IVR systems?The most common application of an IVR system is in a call center that processes high call volumes. Both inbound and outbound calling centers dedicated to customer service, sales, market research, and surveying may use IVR systems to help streamline call routing. IVR is also often used by financial institutions to enable telephone banking. And in some cases, medical organizations may use an IVR call center to provide anonymous information, such as test results, to patients.

What type of IVR phone system will I need?The type of IVR phone system you need depends on the nature of your business and what you plan to use the system for. Some IVR phone systems are designed for inbound or outbound calling. Some are designed for both. In any event, your IVR phone system type should be capable of handling the kinds of calls your agents will make, whether those are inbound and/or outbound calls.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 364463
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: What are the benefits of IVR? Faster, more efficient call routing for service and sales As the size of an organization goes up, its internal structure tends to get more complicated. Combine that with high call volume and a call center without IVR will quickly find its call queue expanding. This results in longer issue resolution times, the one thing customers want the least according to our 2021 Zendesk Customer Experience Trends Report. By routing and prioritizing inbound calls to service and sales call centers, IVR takes a massive load of work off of your agents’ plates. This enables agents to focus on answering the customer inquiries most relevant to each agent’s skill set. And because IVR is a program, it’s not vulnerable to human error. As a result, incoming calls get to the right agent as quickly as possible, reducing your agent’s workload and streamlining the customer experience. Always-on customer service For most companies, it’s just too costly to hire and retain enough staff to cover the phones 24 hours a day. But it can be very frustrating for customers when they have no recourse, even for simple inquiries. IVR fills that gap and lets customers know that you’re considering their needs. For instance, imagine your credit card is stolen and you need to cancel it. If your credit card company doesn’t have an IVR phone system, you have to wait until they open, which could take days if it’s a weekend or holiday. But with the help of IVR, you can easily cancel your credit card without needing human assistance. Of course, it’s not just credit card companies that benefit from always-on service. Retailers, software companies, service providers, and more can provide 24/7 customer self-service through IVR.

TechnologyDTMF decoding and speech recognition are used to interpret the caller''s response to voice prompts. DTMF tones are entered via the telephone keypad.
Other technologies include using text-to-speech (TTS) to speak complex and dynamic information, such as e-mails, news reports or weather information. IVR technology is also being introduced into automobile systems for hands-free operation. TTS is computer generated synthesized speech that is no longer the robotic voice traditionally associated with computers. Real voices create the speech in fragments that are spliced together (concatenated) and smoothed before being played to the caller.
An IVR can be deployed in several ways:
Equipment installed on the customer premisesEquipment installed in the PSTN (public switched telephone network)Application service provider (ASP) / hosted IVRAn automatic call distributor (ACD) is often the second point of contact when calling many larger businesses. An ACD uses digital storage devices to play greetings or announcements, but typically routes a caller without prompting for input. An IVR can play announcements and request an input from the caller. This information can be used to profile the caller and used by an ACD to route the call to an agent with a particular skill set.
Interactive voice response can be used to front-end a call center operation by identifying the needs of the caller. Information can be obtained from the caller such as an account number. Answers to simple questions such as account balances or pre-recorded information can be provided without operator intervention. Account numbers from the IVR are often compared to caller ID data for security reasons and additional IVR responses are required if the caller ID does not match the account record.[5]
IVR call flows are created in a variety of ways. A traditional IVR depended upon proprietary programming or scripting languages, whereas modern IVR applications are generated in a similar way to Web pages, using standards such as VoiceXML, CCXML, SRGS and SSML. The ability to use XML-driven applications allows a web server to act as the application server, freeing the IVR developer to focus on the call flow.
IVR speech recognition interactions (call flows) are designed using 3 approaches to prompt for and recognize user input: directed, open-ended, and mixed dialogue.
A directed dialogue prompt communicates a set of valid responses to the user (e.g. "How can I help you? ... Say something like, account balance, order status, or more options"). An open-ended prompt does not communicate a set of valid responses (e.g. "How can I help you?"). In both cases, the goal is to glean a valid spoken response from the user. The key difference is that with directed dialogue, the user is more likely to speak an option exactly as was communicated by the prompt (e.g. "account balance"). With an open-ended prompt, however, the user is likely to include extraneous words or phrases (e.g. "I was just looking at my bill and saw that my balance was wrong."). The open-ended prompt requires a greater degree of natural language processing to extract the relevant information from the phrase (i.e. "balance"). Open-ended recognition also requires a larger grammar set, which accounts for a wider array of permutations of a given response (e.g. "balance was wrong", "wrong balance", "balance is high", "high balance"). Despite the greater amount of data and processing required for open-ended prompts, they are more interactively efficient, as the prompts themselves are typically much shorter.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 563829
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Usage IVR systems are used to service high call volumes at lower cost. The use of IVR allows callers' queries to be resolved without a live agent. If callers do not find the information they need, the calls may be transferred to a live agent. The approach allows live agents to have more time to deal with complex interactions. When an IVR system answers multiple phone numbers, the use of DNIS ensures that the correct application and language is executed. A single large IVR system can handle calls for thousands of applications, each with its own phone numbers and script. Call centers use IVR systems to identify and segment callers. The ability to identify customers allows services to be tailored according to the customer profile. The caller can be given the option to wait in the queue, choose an automated service, or request a callback. The system may obtain caller line identification (CLI) data from the network to help identify or authenticate the caller. Additional caller authentication data could include account number, personal information, password and biometrics (such as voice print). IVR also enables customer prioritization. In a system wherein individual customers may have a different status, the service will automatically prioritize the individual's call and move customers to the front of a specific queue. IVRs will also log call detail information into its own database for auditing, performance report, and future IVR system enhancements. CTI allows a contact center or organization to gather information about the caller as a means of directing the inquiry to the appropriate agent. CTI can transfer relevant information about the individual customer and the IVR dialog from the IVR to the agent desktop using a screen-pop, making for a more effective and efficient service.

What is IVR (Interactive Voice Response)?Learn more on how to optimize our contact center platform to serve your business. Contact us and get a quote today.

What is IVR?Interactive voice response or IVR is an automated business phone system feature that interacts with callers and gathers information by giving them choices via a menu. It then performs actions based on the answers of the caller through the telephone keypad or their voice response.
The choices of the caller decide the actions of the IVR —  it can provide information or, if the issue is more complex, route callers to a human agent who can better handle their needs.
If you ever called a business phone number and had been answered by an automated greeting, which proceeded to interact with you via some pre-recorded message, then you know what an IVR is.
Employee taking a call from a customerINTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE TRANSACTIONSWhat is the use of IVR?Normally, IVRs are used by companies or contact centers to route calls based on the choices made by the caller. Through these choices, it can determine if the caller wants to contact the billing department, the technical support team, or simply wants to talk to a human operator.
It’s also used to provide information like promos, updates, or other important information or instructions.One example is to inform callers that the system will record calls and will ask if they want to proceed.
Traditionally, it was only used to organize call queues of call centers. IVR systems, however, have come a long way since they were first developed and are now often used for automation of simple processes to provide self-service options to callers. This is to resolve simple customer needs and queries that are normally handled by call center agents.
Some examples of processes that IVRs can do now include:
Inquire about account balanceAccess account informationSet PIN numbers or change passwordsLook up information (product price, directory, etc.)Fill up lead forms and surveysMake small payments or transfer funds

What is IVR payment?This is an IVR feature that allows customers to make payments for bills, fees, etc over the phone. This is usually achieved by integrating your IVR system with third-party payment gateway applications that have security and compliance measures in place to protect customers. For more information, contact Cloudshope.

How does an IVR work?In the past, IVR technology was a real pain to set up. The requirements are not only expensive, but making them work together used to be pretty complicated. In fact, traditional IVRs needed the following before they could work:
IVR software. This is separate from the main communications platform (on-premise or cloud-based phone system) and needs its own set of hardware to work. It needed a telephone service (PSTN or VoIP phone system), A database (to pull information from) Its own infrastructure to support it including several servers.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 858393
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: The interactive voice response or IVR software hads to be installed in a separate computer and you needed a telephony card, which is special hardware that lets you integrate hardware components to a computer, to get it to work. And to top it all off, it also required a specialist to configure and set it up because it was a complicated piece of technology, usually with its own proprietary programming language. Of course, that’s all in the past. The only ones who think these are still cool are call center software providers stuck in the past. Modern cloud contact center solutions like Cloudshope have IVR or interactive voice response automatically integrated into their system, also described as voice portals. All components you need to make the technology work— like telephony, databases, and servers—are handled by the provider in the cloud. This means there’s no more need for separate software, in-house infrastructure, or specialists whose only job is to maintain and manage the IVR. That should significantly reduce costs compared to traditional IVRs. Since it’s integrated, it also works wonderfully with other essential features like automatic call distribution (ACD). Here’s how a simple IVR works with the other features of your call center: Once a call is received and greeted by the auto-attendant of the ACD, your IVR kicks in and presents the caller with the phone menu. The caller interacts with the IVR phone menu. Callers are presented with a series of options. Most IVR systems use dual-tone multi-frequency tones or DTMF tones to interact with your caller, which is just the technical way of saying that it uses the caller’s telephone touch-tone phone keypad. Newer cloud contact centers have also adopted voice response through speech recognition in their IVR features, which allows callers to interact with the system using their own voice. As the caller navigates the menu, their query or purpose for calling can be resolved through the IVR self-service process.

What is interactive voice response?Learn about interactive voice response, which integrates computer and telephony technology to create an automated system for callers to access information

What is interactive voice response?

Interactive voice response, or IVR, is an automated telephone system that combines pre-recorded messages or text-to-speech technology with a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) interface to engage callers, allowing them to provide and access information without a live agent.  If the IVR system cannot retrieve the information that the caller is looking for, the programmed menu options can provide assistance in routing callers to the appropriate representative for help. By integrating computer and telephony technologies, IVR software can improve call flow and reduce wait times, leading higher overall customer satisfaction.

Moviefone was one of the most famous and successful uses of IVR technology in the 1990s. Since the internet wasn’t as accessible then as it is today, movie-goers would call in and provide their zip code to get a list of available movie theaters near them with their respective movies and show times. While Moviefone is a product of the past, its underlying technology is still leveraged, primarily within call centers, to provide customer support and reduced call volume for customer service representatives.

 

 

Today, IVR software is also evolving. The development of natural language processing technology expands the range of ways that callers can now interact with computers on the phone. Instead of using a touch tone system, more advanced IVR software enables callers to verbalize their needs on the phone. Then, through speech recognition, IVR system can understand and respond to their inquiries in real-time.

IVR systems improve the customer experience by providing a self-service method for customers to access the information that they need without the assistance of customer support. It also reduces the call volume for contact centers, lowering wait times and operational costs for businesses.

How interactive voice response works

Interactive voice response phone system typically consists of the following components:

 

A TCP/IP network to provide internet and intranet connectivity.

Databases to supply IVR applications with relevant data

A web/application server where the IVR software applications will live. This server can host multiple applications, which are all written in VoiceXML. For example, there could be applications for contact centers, outgoing sales calls and speech-to-text transcription.

From here, one of three types of IVR systems is typically constructed.

 

Touch-tone replacement: This system prompts callers to use a touch-tone keypad selection to access information. For example, a pre-recorded message may say, “Press one for store hour information,” and the caller would respond with “one.”

Directed dialogue: This type of IVR provides specific verbal prompts to callers depending on their inquiry. For example, the recording may ask, “Are you looking for store hours or location information?” The caller may respond with “store hours.”

 

Natural language: This advanced IVR system uses speech recognition to better understand user requests. For example, the system prompt may ask, “what information are you looking for today?” and the caller may reply with “I’m looking for store hour information” or other similar phrases.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 573839
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Benefits of interactive voice response IVR technology offers competitive advantages to businesses and advances their automation efforts. Some key benefits include: Efficient call routing: After obtaining relevant information from a given caller, IVR solutions route calls to the appropriate call-center agent, reducing wait times and increasing first contact resolutions. Lower operational costs: IVR systems are incredibly cost-effective. They not only reduce high call volumes for customer service representatives, but they can extend access to information during off-peak hours of the day, such as nights, weekends, and holidays. Error Reduction: When deployed effectively, IVR systems can reduce errors within the customer service process as it does not depend on a human customer service representative to take notes and route incoming calls appropriately. Increased security: Some IVR systems incorporate voice recognition technology to verify the identity of an individual, adding an extra layer of security. This can be helpful for highly sensitive personal information, like social security and phone numbers, checking and savings account information, and lab results from doctor’s appointments. Challenges of interactive voice response While interactive voice response can offer benefits to businesses, the technology still has limitations that it needs to resolve and optimize for. Overcomplex IVR menu options: While IVR technology can streamline the call flow within call centers, it can also frustrate callers if the automated messaging system is too complex. Long pre-recorded messages may require callers to wait unnecessarily to select their intended option, resulting in lower customer satisfaction. Long hold times: Despite the advances in technology, long wait times remain a problem on many IVR systems. Callback functionality can alleviate frustration as callers can continue with other tasks in their day until a customer service representative is able to attend to req.

Interactive voice responseInteractive voice response (IVR) is a technology that allows telephone users to interact with a computer-operated telephone system through the use of voice and DTMF tones input with a keypad. In telecommunications, IVR allows customers to interact with a company''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s host system via a telephone keypad or by speech recognition, after which services can be inquired about through the IVR dialogue. IVR systems can respond with pre-recorded or dynamically generated audio to further direct users on how to proceed. IVR systems deployed in the network are sized to handle large call volumes and also used for outbound calling as IVR systems are more intelligent than many predictive dialer systems.
IVR systems can be used standing alone to create self-service solutions for mobile purchases, banking payments, services, retail orders, utilities, travel information and weather conditions. In combination with systems such an automated attendant and ACD, call routing can be optimized for a better caller experience and workforce efficiency. IVR systems are often combined with automated attendant functionality. The term voice response unit (VRU) is sometimes used as well.

HistoryDespite the increase in IVR technology during the 1970s, the technology was considered complex and expensive for automating tasks in call centers. Early voice response systems were DSP technology based and limited to small vocabularies. In the early 1980s, Leon Ferber''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s Perception Technology became the first mainstream market competitor, after hard drive technology (read/write random-access to digitized voice data) had reached a cost-effective price point.[citation needed] At that time, a system could store digitized speech on disk, play the appropriate spoken message, and process the human''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s DTMF response.
As call centers began to migrate to multimedia in the late 1990s, companies started to invest in computer telephony integration (CTI) with IVR systems. IVR became vital for call centers deploying universal queuing and routing solutions and acted as an agent which collected customer data to enable intelligent routing decisions. With improvements in technology, systems could use speaker-independent voice recognition of a limited vocabulary instead of requiring the person to use DTMF signaling.
Starting in the 2000s, voice response became more common and cheaper to deploy. This was due to increased CPU power and the migration of speech applications from proprietary code to the VXML standard.

TechnologyDTMF decoding and speech recognition are used to interpret the caller''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s response to voice prompts. DTMF tones are entered via the telephone keypad.
Other technologies include using text-to-speech (TTS) to speak complex and dynamic information, such as e-mails, news reports or weather information. IVR technology is also being introduced into automobile systems for hands-free operation. TTS is computer generated synthesized speech that is no longer the robotic voice traditionally associated with computers. Real voices create the speech in fragments that are spliced together (concatenated) and smoothed before being played to the caller.
An IVR can be deployed in several ways:
Equipment installed on the customer premisesEquipment installed in the PSTN (public switched telephone network)Application service provider (ASP) / hosted IVR

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 932836
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: An automatic call distributor (ACD) is often the second point of contact when calling many larger businesses. An ACD uses digital storage devices to play greetings or announcements, but typically routes a caller without prompting for input. An IVR can play announcements and request an input from the caller. This information can be used to profile the caller and used by an ACD to route the call to an agent with a particular skill set. Interactive voice response can be used to front-end a call center operation by identifying the needs of the caller. Information can be obtained from the caller such as an account number. Answers to simple questions such as account balances or pre-recorded information can be provided without operator intervention. Account numbers from the IVR are often compared to caller ID data for security reasons and additional IVR responses are required if the caller ID does not match the account record. IVR call flows are created in a variety of ways. A traditional IVR depended upon proprietary programming or scripting languages, whereas modern IVR applications are generated in a similar way to Web pages, using standards such as VoiceXML, CCXML, SRGS and SSML. The ability to use XML-driven applications allows a web server to act as the application server, freeing the IVR developer to focus on the call flow. IVR speech recognition interactions (call flows) are designed using 3 approaches to prompt for and recognize user input: directed, open-ended, and mixed dialogue A directed dialogue prompt communicates a set of valid responses to the user (e.g. "How can I help you? ... Say something like, account balance, order status, or more options").

What Type of IVR Phone System Will I Need?There are several use cases for IVR systems. Here are a few things you should consider:
Smart Call RoutingIVR technology can help with smart call routing. This means IVR is the first level of interaction customers have before they can speak with the right agent. Whether they need assistance from sales or if they want to return or exchange an item, an IVR helps mediate and redirect calls appropriately.
SalesAnother way Interactive Voice Response systems can help call centers is when it comes to improving sales and conducting feedback surveys. Since an IVR system needs pre-recorded messages to communicate with callers, these messages can contain either promotions or survey questions. It can also collect customer feedback and insight. If you have a more sophisticated IVR, it can directly send the data to your systems.
While small businesses with IVR systems are rare, research offers valuable insights into how it is used in the age of personalized customer services. With customer experience and service becoming one area of competition among companies, having an effective IVR system will be essential for companies who want to stay ahead of the game.
Interactive Voice Response BenefitsBelow is a list of the advantages you get when adopting IVR capabilities in your call center workflows:
Better Customer ServiceNo business can thrive without customers. Therefore, having a good customer experience is imperative. Several studies report that 48% of customers prefer using the phone to resolve their issues.
Interactive Voice Response systems also make clients feel like they’re better attended to. IVR systems ensure that any usual question a customer might have already has a quick response readily available. A good IVR flow provides informative and time-efficient responses, guiding customers through an intuitive menu right to the department that can best resolve their needs.
Ultimately, this means answering a call on the first ring, thereby reducing customer wait time and cutting call volume, and saving time for both the client and company. And because they’re talking to the person who can solve their problems, there’s a much better chance of fixing the problem on the first call.

Unlimited Customer AccessWhile office hours, holidays, and breaks dictate and limit employee availability, IVR systems are always at the customer’s disposal. They can call your contact center and interact with your IVR systems at any time, even outside your business hours.
This means a customer can receive customer service whenever they need it. While the option of having a live representative is still essential for more complex support requests, an IVR system gives unlimited access to a basic level of customer service.

Each IVR system can be modified and programmed with personalized greetings for known callers. This is possible if caller ID information is available or if the IVR is a part of a larger cloud phone system with CRM integration. Besides addressing a caller by their name, the system can also identify and share any additional information specific to them.
In addition to programming caller information, IVR systems come with several language options tailored to specific clients or callers. This is essential for businesses that operate in several countries or intend to expand globally.
Also, you can record any personalized greeting you want and include the appropriate prompts when you need to transfer callers to the corresponding department.
Create a Better Company ImageIf you’re a smaller company, you may not necessarily have the call volume that requires IVR technology, but it can still be a beneficial tool to have. An IVR creates the idea that your company is huge, as one receptionist couldn’t possibly manage your call volume.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 473638
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: More Profits to the Company A large portion of business deals and transactions take place over the telephone. Many companies still use the traditional way—using human agents who respond directly to incoming customer calls. IVR provides the option of a virtual receptionist and operator, saving on labor costs and freeing up your service team’s time. This promotes a better way of using your resources while still serving your clients’ needs. Additionally, since the IVR system will continue to perform even with high call volumes, you’ll be able to continuously address customer needs and provide customer satisfaction, which will improve retention rates (and therefore profits). Wider Personalization IVR systems allow for tremendous personalization, creating a better relationship with customers. By using technology in a more natural way, you can create a more humanized customer experience for your customers. Download one of our latest ebooks to see how you can create a more humanized customer experience for your audience. Increased Productivity Routing callers to the specific departments or staff members to address their specific needs means less time spent conferring with colleagues to find the right answer or transferring the caller until they get what they need. Time spent on hold or being routed from department to department is a major driver in customer dissatisfaction, and you want to avoid this as much as possible. Call routing also enables contact center agents to prioritize the most urgent calls, increasing overall efficiency and first-call resolution rates. With an IVR system, your company will be able to attend to a high volume of calls without long call wait times or stressed receptionists.

Why an Integrated IVR Improves Your Customer ExperienceIVR systems can significantly improve your customer experience by improving various metrics that traditionally have been annoyances for customer service callers.
Benefits of an IVR for Your CustomersCustomer experience is the client’s perception of your organization.
Customer service interactions have a big impact on the customer experience. According to our data, customers will wait 12 minutes to reach a customer service agent over the phone. And that’s already considered a long waiting time. 49% of customers say long waiting times are the most frustrating part of calling customer service.

Improving First-Call Resolution With Call Center IVRThrough IVR systems, call centers can improve first-call resolution, which is the biggest factor of good customer experience.
These are four major ways IVR tools improve the call center customer experience.
Efficient Call RoutingWith IVR technology, a phone system starts a call by gathering caller information. This information is then used to route customers to the right person the first time so they don’t need to call back after a failed customer service interaction.
As a result, a well-designed Interactive Voice Response system can greatly reduce the average hold time for a customer. It can also improve the rate at which the problem is solved with just one call.
Automated Self-ServiceCustomers may also be routed to self-service steps, allowing them to easily resolve their problems without any interaction with a human agent. This means less time spent on hold listening to music or pre-recorded announcements. In addition, self-service is possible at any time of the day, meaning a customer can make inquiries at their own convenience.
Advanced Speech RecognitionInteractive Voice Response recognizes more than just single words. The caller can use voice prompts to make selections or provide complex information. This reduces friction for customers and provides more robust and fully featured self-service tools.
Personalized Caller InformationA well-designed IVR system works similarly to a well-trained call center rep. By gathering personal information about a customer, or even integrating with a CRM database, the system can provide personalized special offers or inform them about relevant upcoming sales.

How Your Customer Experience Team Can Optimize Your IVRCustomer experience team leaders can experience various benefits by using IVR.
Lowered customer service costsChat and SMS interactions account for one-tenth the cost of IVR. On the other hand, they also amount to one-hundredth the cost of live agent phone calls. If the managers provide their customers with options to meet their specific needs, automation rates and self-service adoption will increase.
As a result, the number of customers who seek agent assistance will go down. Again, proactive outbound messaging offers an efficient alternative to prevent spikes in the inbound call volume.
Streamlined business processesA call center with many departments can be difficult to manage, especially with a large volume of customers calling in. With Interactive Voice Response, a large portion of the management effort is relegated to IVR systems, which do a lot of routing and task management by themselves. Teams can then focus on serving customer requests.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 375828
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Interactive Voice Response Examples Below are some samples of how you might want to design an IVR conversation between different call centers. US support line calling different teams simultaneously What a map of an IVR system for a UK-based contact center would look like UK support line calling various teams speaking different languages Sample image of a multilingual IVR system for a global community Multilingual IVR Tree Sample map of an IVR system for a US-based call center with an option for Spanish speakers What do all of these sample IVR maps have in common? They clearly show how calls will be routed when a customer chooses an option. You can redesign these IVR maps to redirect a call to an available agent or voicemail, depending on the sequence of options keyed in or dictated by the caller. 1. Research your audience to find IVR platform optimizations When developing your business personas, determine which customers are most likely to use the automation features. This will allow you to design them in a way that effectively meets their self-service needs. 2. Availability on and off business hours Ideally, your main IVR menu should always be open, even outside business hours. An automated assistant through your IVR can handle inbound calls to further improve your customer experience. Your IVR workflows should be able to answer simple inquiries such as store hours, locations, account balances, and shipping information. However, it’s essential to establish an endpoint for each menu so customers won’t keep calling or waiting for an answer that won’t come that day.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
12345Derek FromeDerek FromeInteractive voice response (IVR), also known as a phone tree, provides an automated telephony system for callers using voice and touch-tones (DTMF).
Customers don’t like to wait in an age of lightning-fast connectivity. Incoming calls flood today''''''''''''''''s organizations with customers who want their questions answered pronto.
Interactive voice response (IVR) is an automated telephony system that helps companies handle inbound calls efficiently. In its basic form, IVR—also known as an interactive voice recording or interactive voice recorder—uses voice recognition and touch-tone keypad selections to steer callers through menu options and information.
Also called a phone tree, IVR works with automatic call distribution (ACD) to route inbound calls to the best departments and agents for customer inquiries. IVR also gives callers information and helps them complete tasks without ever speaking to a human representative. This frees agents to handle more complex customer concerns, shortens hold times, and eliminates extra hiring.
Learn how to build a self-service IVR system that wows your customers. Contact Cloudshope for support.
How does an IVR work?IVR saves companies time and money by speeding up calls and requiring fewer agents to handle customer inquiries. The main features that allow IVR to process requests include dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signaling and voice recognition.
DTMF signaling occurs when callers select menu options using their keypad. They “press 1 to make an appointment, 2 for billing,” and so on. In other words, this technology routes callers to the departments and specialists most likely to address their needs—reducing hold times. But some callers get impatient with inefficiently designed menu options.
That’s why more advanced IVR incorporates increasingly sophisticated voice recognition technology to help customers handle tasks on their own. The most cutting-edge technology is natural language processing (NLP), which can understand full sentences instead of mere key presses or simple commands. When done well, NLP resolves customers’ questions quickly and makes calls more enjoyable, improving their impression of the business.
How do callers interact with an IVR system?From a caller’s perspective, IVR is a common phone menu that prompts them to press touch-tone keys that emit DTMF tones or say words that speech recognition detects.
Here’s a breakdown of the process:
The customer calls and IVR presents a phone menu of options.The caller listens to the options and responds by pressing a key that emits a DTMF tone to select an option or speaking to built-in speech recognition software.The caller navigates the menu, responding to questions or prompts that resolve their call.The caller is sorted by IVR with skill-based routing when self-service can’t resolve their need.The caller finds agents to address their needs through the IVR system’s ACD technology.
What are the parts of an IVR system?Once upon a time, IVR relied on many expensive components to function:
Interactive voice recording softwareAgent hardwareTraditional telephone equipmentIn-house infrastructureMultiple serversReferential databasesProgramming specialistsToday, cloud contact center solutions like Cloudshope’s Programmable Voice API come integrated with IVR, combining decoded DTMF tones and web application logic to help you build your call center’s menu in a snap.
Our Voice API builds custom IVR systems without specialized hardware. For example, you can integrate custom data sources and business processes into your IVR using flexible API tools, helping you weave context into every customer interaction and deliver a tailored, transformative experience to each customer.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 592742
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: How interactive voice response benefits your organization IVR systems can scale contact centers without requiring agents to answer calls. The technology enables intelligent, segmented call routing for a richer context and a faster resolution, which 90% of consumers rate as important or very important when it comes to handling a customer support issue. Moreover, IVR systems also supply general and account-specific information to callers, freeing representatives to handle more complex inquiries—automated IVR systems are especially beneficial for organizations with high call volume. Plus, customers can find quick answers to simple questions and perform basic tasks themselves, such as paying bills, making reservations, and tracking orders. Helping customers help themselves can reduce transfers and prevent delays, paving the way to customer satisfaction. When your IVR software is up to date and runs smoothly, customers are less likely to get frustrated and demand to speak to an agent. In other words, better experiences benefit your call center as a whole and increase profitability. Manage call flow and elevate service with Twilio IVR Contrary to popular belief, IVR is no longer reserved for large corporations or enterprises with big call centers. Small and medium-sized businesses benefit greatly from the lower costs, decreased staff workload, and improved customer service.

What is Interactive Voice Response (IVR)?Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated phone system technology that allows incoming callers to access information via a voice response system of pre recorded messages without having to speak to an agent, as well as to utilize menu options via touch tone keypad selection or speech recognition to have their call routed to specific departments or specialists.
A well designed IVR software system can help increase customer satisfaction and improve contact center operations and KPIs. Particularly during times of high call volume, an effective interactive voice response system can help avoid hold time by helping customers find answers and perform simple tasks themselves. In cases where a customer needs or requests to speak with a person, ivr technology can help route calls quickly and seamlessly to the best call center agent to address their inquiry.
At Cloudshope, we understand how to empower our clients' customers by making it easy for them to navigate through a smart scripted IVR system. Our ivr software saves time and makes it possible for brands to serve customers 24/7/365.
Our contact center technology solutions give customers the ability to handle routine transactions (pay bills, track shipping, make reservations, etc.) on the phone without agent-intervention. So, they can get answers faster, and you can keep costs down.
Additional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Resourcesinteractive voice response best practices work sheetTen IVR Best Practices to Improve Customer Experiences: Customer's dislike having to enter a seemingly endless series of prompts into an IVR telephony menu system, wondering if they’ll ever be able to have an issue resolved. It’s hardly surprising that the majority of customers are dissatisfied with their IVR phone experiences. However, the problem isn't IVR technology, its IVR design. In this article, learn the ten IVR best practices to ensure your menu design is intuitive and customer friendly. The Contact Center of the Future: Digital transformation best practices, including real time routing, voice recognition and interactive ivr solutions, and machine learning powered automation optimizations, to achieve the contact center of the future, today.6 IVR Technology Tips to Prevent Customers From Saying “Agent” on Repeat: What is IVR software good for, if it can't help customers resolve their calls without needing to ask for an agent? In this strategy guide, learn how to leverage next-gen IVR telephony technology to make your call automation software work for customers, not against them, so they do not become frustrated and ask for a live agent (especially during times of high volume customer calls). Contact Center Automation Tools and Trends: The implementation of contact center automation is accelerating, so it is essential for companies to implement best practices, or risk falling behind the competition. Technological advances in routing systems, robotic process automation (RPA), AI, and machine learning (ML) are literally changing the face of customer care.Improve interactive voice response customer service by modernizing Your IVR: An IVR system (IVRS) accepts a combination of voice telephone input and touch-tone keypad selection and provides the appropriate responses in the form of voice, fax, callback, email and other contact methods. In this article, learn more about the definition of ivr, and how to modernize your ivr application to improve call center efficiency and customer satisfaction.Omnichannel Orchestration: Drive business results with our contact center outsourcing and omnichannel solutions that help brands orchestrate a seamless customer experience within and across every touchpoint.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 573952
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Contact Center Software: To create personalized, customer-centric experiences, the right IVR technology and contact center infrastructure is essential. Our contact center software and Humanify® Technology Platforms deliver enterprise-class solutions for omnichannel interactions. Conversational IVR and Natural Language IVR: Poorly designed and outdated interactive voice response systems can be frustrating because customers feel that the IVR menu design does not match what they need. In this article, learn how advances in conversational and natural language IVR technologies are helping to modernize voice customer service and improve customer experiences. What is Interactive Voice Response? Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is an automated telephony system with call routing capabilities. An IVR system can answer incoming calls, provide callers with a set of menu options, and then based on caller inputs, route the calls to an appropriate recipient. As soon as calls connect to an interactive voice response system, callers are greeted by a prerecorded voice menu. The callers can interact with the menu in order to be connected with the right department or representative. Interactive voice response is so common, it is highly likely you have interacted with one before. Any business can benefit from a cloud IVR system. It helps collect caller information and transfers calls to the right departments, enabling outstanding customer service, while reducing operating costs.

How Does IVR work?An IVR system gathers information from callers and then routes those calls to another phone number or extension. Basic IVR systems work by collecting user input through touch-tone selections. More advanced systems can gather user inputs in the form of spoken responses using voice recognition.


IVR is an automated approach to customer service that reduces customer hold times and boosts worker efficiency. Even the most basic interactive voice response system can save time and resources. Organizations now have a more efficient way to manage incoming calls.

Cloud IVR SystemsA hosted or cloud IVR system works over the cloud. You can get an IVR system from your phone service provider who hosts the service. This means that you do not have to worry about developing the service or maintaining it. Your provider takes care of this. Your business simply needs to create a phone tree to route calls as you need. You can go in and change these routing settings whenever required.
IVR Systems for the End-UserInteractive voice response enables callers to easily navigate a contact center and find the right solution for themselves. The end-user can interact with an IVR system using the touch-tone keypad on a phone, or in more advanced cases, through spoken words.
For example, the end-user will dial a phone number with IVR and be connected to a voice menu. The end-user is then asked to choose from a set of menu options, which he or she can respond to by pressing or saying “1, 2, 3, etc.” in order to get connected to the right department.

Basic IVR Versus Advanced IVRIVR has two primary components that enable callers to interact with the system: DTMF and voice technology. DMTF, which stands for Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency, is a means of signaling to an IVR system using a telephone keypad. A basic IVR system enables callers to interact with a voice menu using DMTF.
More advanced systems use voice technology like natural language processing, to understand callers’ requests. Natural language processing is a type of conversational AI that enables computers to answer complex open-ended queries.
A more advanced cloud IVR software with voice technology will certainly impress callers, but even the most basic IVR can drastically improve customer experience by reducing callers’ common frustrations with a complex multi-level menu.
ivr software
The Technology Behind IVR SoftwareAt a technical level, interactive voice response software uses the following technologies: telephony equipment, a database, and supporting infrastructure. The software needs to be enabled and then configured in order to work. These are the most relevant technologies:
TCP/IP: A set of communications protocols that enables computers to interact over a network.Databases: IVR software needs access to a database in order to serve relevant information in real-time.Web/Application Server: The server performs various key functions and is the core of an IVR software.While the underlying technology is less relevant to end-users, it is still important to have an idea of how interactive voice response technology works.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 569273
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: IVR vs ACD Oftentimes, the terms IVR and ACD are used interchangeably even though they are essentially different systems. Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) routes calls to the right department or agent based on rules set by the business. IVR is a part of an ACD system and helps route calls to the right location as determined by the account manager. You can try different routing strategies to ensure calls are answered by the right agent and callers are assisted quickly. More on call routing strategies below. Common Hosted IVR Applications With incredible flexibility, interactive voice response systems have many potential applications for businesses of all sizes. These are the most common use cases that we have seen in over twenty years of experience: Set up a custom voice menu and touch-tone prompts Greet callers with a pre-recorded message Collect information about callers Route callers to the right department or agent Manage high call volumes Prioritize calls based on certain criteria Automate customer support 1. More Efficient Customer Service Customers are impatient when they want service. They want timely answers to their questions and they want all their problems to be solved quickly! IVR can help callers feel like they are being better attended to by increasing first contact resolution. FCR is the percentage of contacts that are resolved on the first interaction and it is a great measure of customer service performance. On average, businesses that use interactive voice response have much higher first contact resolution compared to businesses that do not. Efficient call routing will lead to better customer service. By automatically routing calls to the right departments, all your customers’ requests can be quickly dealt with appropriately.

What Is Interactive Voice Response: IVR Definition BenefitsYou’ve been on your phone for what feels like hours, but it’s actually just been five minutes. Finally, a robotic voice greets you. After choosing from a list of options, you manage to troubleshoot your concerns with the help of that robotic voice. This is just one feature of Interactive Voice Response. Also known as IVR, it’s a technology that allows callers to interact with the company without being connected to an operator.
In this article, we’ll take a look at Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and what it is. We will also discuss the benefits of IVR tools to help you decide if they’re right for your company.


What is Interactive Voice Response (IVR)?
Why Would a Business Use an IVR System?
How Does an IVR System Work?
The Technical Basics
Mapping Out Your IVR
Testing Your Interactive Voice Response
Verify customer identity
Call routing
IVR system workflow
Call Center Features Available With Interactive Voice Response Systems
Evaluating the Phone System Needs of Your Contact Center
Do I Need an Interactive Voice Response System?
What Type of IVR Phone System Will I Need?
Smart Call Routing
Sales
Interactive Voice Response Benefits
Better Customer Service
Unlimited Customer Access
Wider Personalization
Create a Better Company Image
More Profits to the Company
Increased Productivity
Error-Free
Why an Integrated IVR Improves Your Customer Experience
Benefits of an IVR for Your Customers
Improving First-Call Resolution With Call Center IVR
Efficient Call Routing
Automated Self-Service
Advanced Speech Recognition
Personalized Caller Information
How Your Customer Experience Team Can Optimize Your IVR
Lowered customer service costs
Streamlined business processes
Interactive Voice Response Examples
7 Tips and Best Practices to Improve Your IVR
1. Research your audience to find IVR platform optimizations
2. Availability on and off business hours
3. Use a survey to improve customer IVR experience
4. Keep a simple IVR menu above all else
5. Lead your customers to the right people
6. Natural language speech recognition for your voice response system
7. Listen to what your customers have to say
Seamless Integration

What is Interactive Voice Response (IVR)?Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is a phone system feature that allows customers or business employees to interact with a computer system through voice or touch-tone dialing.
With Interactive Voice Response, your automated telephony system can have basic interactions with your callers without having to go through a human operator, consuming both their and your agent’s time.
An IVR system is an efficient way of routing calls to their appropriate recipient. The IVR can prompt customers through a series of menus and options that will lead them to the right department. That way, when they finally do speak to a human voice, it’s someone who is equipped to handle their concerns.
IVR system responses are played back after user input. These responses can be pre-recorded audio files or digitally generated voices, and they can assist, direct, and route calls automatically based on user responses.
Within these interactions, clients can communicate by using either the touch-tone keypad selection or voice telephone input. The responses take the form of voice, callback, or any other related media (like sending an email or text alert).
All these features can be used without the assistance of a live operator. This reduces the number of people needed to address customer concerns and limits the amount of time skilled agents have to spend on more menial tasks, like call routing.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 559236
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Why Would a Business Use an IVR System? Traditionally, customers seek assistance from customer service specialists in person (like when visiting Apple’s Genius Bar) or over the phone by calling a dedicated customer support number. But with the advent of new technologies like Interactive Voice Response systems and the increasing prevalence of online support resources, such as FAQs or live chat options on a company website, customers can rely less on these personal interactions and more on self-service. This is a huge benefit for customers. A study by Zendesk found that: 69% of respondents said that they wanted to resolve issues themselves without needing human intervention. 63% would start by searching for solutions within a business’s digital channels before deciding to call its customer support hotline. This survey highlights two important trends worth considering when designing your call center: Customers want self-service. You can achieve that through an interactive system like Voice Over IP (VoIP) that integrates Interactive Voice Response systems. The shift toward using digital sources first instead of traditional call centers means that companies should prioritize digital transformation initiatives to stay relevant. So what does this mean for your company? When your company deals with a lot of inbound calls, the flow and timeliness of service are important for your customers. That’s exactly what Interactive Voice Response (IVR) can bring to the table. Call centers can operate more smoothly with IVR, as customer support agents reduce the time they spend routing calls and can instead focus on solving customer issues. Simply put: An IVR helps agents triage customer needs. They’re able to prioritize calls based on clients whose concerns are urgent or can be solved quickly. This makes resolution times faster and improves the customer experience.

Inbound IVR VS Outbound IVR: What Are The Differences?Planning to implement IVR technology into your business but don’t know the difference between inbound IVR and outbound IVR? Continue reading as we clear your doubts!

Many businesses turn to Interactive Voiced Technology (IVR) systems to better manage and route incoming calls to the right departments. 
IVR systems allow automated interactions by providing an interactive menu system to help callers navigate different functions or be connected to a person within your business. 
If you’re planning to incorporate IVR systems into your business, you’ve probably come across inbound and outbound IVR. 
But what exactly are they? How does each type of IVR work? Which is better for your business?
To help you answer these burning questions you have, we dive deeper into each type of IVR system and help you come to a decision!

What is inbound IVR?Inbound IVR attempts to anticipate your caller’s needs and provides them with options to access the information they need when they call. 
Inbound IVR is what most people encounter when they call a business — you get a self-service menu that allows you to reach different functions or departments by attributing a different voice command or touch-tone digit. 
Inbound IVRs are typically used for customer support, answering FAQs, and inbound sales.
What is outbound IVR?Outbound IVR allows businesses to automatically engage customers through multiple communication channels such as voice calls, SMSes, and emails. 
This technology has been much welcomed by companies who depend on a lot of outbound sales campaigns because it can complement other call features like autodialers.
For example, businesses can use outbound IVR to automatically alert customers about upcoming appointments, payments, or promotions.

Inbound IVR vs Outbound IVRWhile both inbound IVR and outbound IVR technologies seem to be the same, they are actually very different. 
Let’s take a look at the following factors to show how the two compare. 
FunctionalityWhile both inbound and outbound IVR serve to engage with your customers, each type serves a unique purpose.
The obvious difference is that inbound IVR processes inbound calls (calls initiated by the caller), whereas outbound IVR processes outbound calls (calls initiated by the company).
Of course, outbound IVR systems are more beneficial for a business since it initiates the call and is tailored more for marketing purposes. 
In contrast, inbound IVR focuses more on providing customer satisfaction. The caller initiates the call because they’re searching for answers or need support, and the IVR menus put in place help to attend to these calls.
Customer satisfaction77% of customers believe that a phone call is the most effective way to get an answer quickly. 
This means that callers would be happy to interact with a system that can provide assistance faster when they call a business.
On the contrary, since outbound IVR is similar to outbound calls, recipients might not be interested in engaging with a robotic system that alerts them to marketing messages.
Although some outbound IVR systems are initiated by user actions like customer verification, others are mostly promotional and do not serve the customer’s best interest. 

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 758372
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Scalability How much can an IVR system let you grow? How can it let you offer more services and more value to your users? While the answer to the first question is easier as it has been proven time and again that it helps businesses to scale, the second answer is more of, it depends. It largely depends on the type of IVR system that you are using. The debate of inbound IVR vs outbound IVR is therefore much viable for this factor. Both can help you scale, but because of outbound IVR’s nature, you proactively seek customer engagement opportunities over waiting passively for them to call. Integrations Because the main purpose of IVR systems is to add more automation to business operations, there have been improvements to offer more automation to these systems. Nowadays, IVR systems are connected to technologies powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. For example, if a caller has to end an inbound call, AI may have recorded the user’s interactions and scheduled a callback with the caller. Tools like autodialers may be integrated so that they can initiate the dropped call for the outbound IVR system to take over. Both systems also may be integrated with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools to pull out customer data to make outbound calls. Outbound IVR systems may be connected with other phone system features like SMS to alert the users of the incoming calls. Which is better: Inbound IVR or Outbound IVR? IVR phone system capabilities are undoubtedly the best features that can help your company to automate and streamline your business operations. So, choosing the best between the two types, inbound IVR and outbound IVR, is a matter of your business goals. Outbound IVR systems are great for marketers who want to take the power of outbound call automation features of their phone systems like autodialers to reach more customers.

What is interactive voice response?Interactive voice response, or IVR, is an automated telephone system that combines pre-recorded messages or text-to-speech technology with a dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) interface to engage callers, allowing them to provide and access information without a live agent.  If the IVR system cannot retrieve the information that the caller is looking for, the programmed menu options can provide assistance in routing callers to the appropriate representative for help. By integrating computer and telephony technologies, IVR software can improve call flow and reduce wait times, leading higher overall customer satisfaction.
Moviefone was one of the most famous and successful uses of IVR technology in the 1990s. Since the internet wasn’t as accessible then as it is today, movie-goers would call in and provide their zip code to get a list of available movie theaters near them with their respective movies and show times. While Moviefone is a product of the past, its underlying technology is still leveraged, primarily within call centers, to provide customer support and reduced call volume for customer service representatives.
Today, IVR software is also evolving. The development of natural language processing technology expands the range of ways that callers can now interact with computers on the phone. Instead of using a touch tone system, more advanced IVR software enables callers to verbalize their needs on the phone. Then, through speech recognition, IVR system can understand and respond to their inquiries in real-time.
IVR systems improve the customer experience by providing a self-service method for customers to access the information that they need without the assistance of customer support. It also reduces the call volume for contact centers, lowering wait times and operational costs for businesses.

How interactive voice response worksInteractive voice response phone system typically consists of the following components:
A TCP/IP network to provide internet and intranet connectivity.Databases to supply IVR applications with relevant dataA web/application server where the IVR software applications will live. This server can host multiple applications, which are all written in VoiceXML. For example, there could be applications for contact centers, outgoing sales calls and speech-to-text transcription.From here, one of three types of IVR systems is typically constructed.
Touch-tone replacement: This system prompts callers to use a touch-tone keypad selection to access information. For example, a pre-recorded message may say, “Press one for store hour information,” and the caller would respond with “one.”Directed dialogue: This type of IVR provides specific verbal prompts to callers depending on their inquiry. For example, the recording may ask, “Are you looking for store hours or location information?” The caller may respond with “store hours.”Natural language: This advanced IVR system uses speech recognition to better understand user requests. For example, the system prompt may ask, “what information are you looking for today?” and the caller may reply with “I’m looking for store hour information” or other similar phrases.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 467382
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Benefits of interactive voice response IVR technology offers competitive advantages to businesses and advances their automation efforts. Some key benefits include: Efficient call routing: After obtaining relevant information from a given caller, IVR solutions route calls to the appropriate call-center agent, reducing wait times and increasing first contact resolutions. Lower operational costs: IVR systems are incredibly cost-effective. They not only reduce high call volumes for customer service representatives, but they can extend access to information during off-peak hours of the day, such as nights, weekends, and holidays. Error Reduction: When deployed effectively, IVR systems can reduce errors within the customer service process as it does not depend on a human customer service representative to take notes and route incoming calls appropriately. Increased security: Some IVR systems incorporate voice recognition technology to verify the identity of an individual, adding an extra layer of security. This can be helpful for highly sensitive personal information, like social security and phone numbers, checking and savings account information, and lab results from doctor’s appointments. Challenges of interactive voice response While interactive voice response can offer benefits to businesses, the technology still has limitations that it needs to resolve and optimize for. Overcomplex IVR menu options: While IVR technology can streamline the call flow within call centers, it can also frustrate callers if the automated messaging system is too complex. Long pre-recorded messages may require callers to wait unnecessarily to select their intended option, resulting in lower customer satisfaction.

Applications of interactive voice responseIVR solutions have been utilized across a variety of industries, including banking, healthcare, education, and retail. Below we’ll delve more deeply into these use cases:
Healthcare: IVR technology has a number of practical uses within healthcare, such as pre-treatment questionnaires, patient satisfaction surveys, lab and appointment scheduling, post-discharge follow-up, lab results and patient monitoring. This research (link resides outside of ibm.com) also highlights how it can increase overall patient satisfaction by reminding patients to adhere to their medication schedule.
Education: Research (link resides outside of ibm.com) has shown that educational institutions can implement IVR to assist parents in retrieving a status update on their child''''''''''''''''s performance and attendance in school. Parents can register with the system and then input a username and password to access key information on future calls.
Customer Service: Customer service call centers straddle across multiple industries. These centers are set up to handle a high volume of inbound calls using automated menus and pre-recorded to handle customer queries and complaints.
Finance: IVR can also be leveraged for a variety of tasks within banking and finance. They can provide account information, like account balances and loan application statuses, as well as enable changes to investment portfolios.

Related solutionsIntelligent virtual agentIBM Watson Assistant provides customers with fast, consistent and accurate answers across any application, device or channel.


Conversational AI securityWatson Assistant provides large, complex and data-sensitive organizations with the security and scalability capabilities you need to safeguard against misuse of customer data and support your virtual agent during peak times.


Interactive voice responseInteractive voice response (IVR) is a technology that allows telephone users to interact with a computer-operated telephone system through the use of voice and DTMF tones input with a keypad. In telecommunications, IVR allows customers to interact with a company''''''''''''''''s host system via a telephone keypad or by speech recognition, after which services can be inquired about through the IVR dialogue. IVR systems can respond with pre-recorded or dynamically generated audio to further direct users on how to proceed. IVR systems deployed in the network are sized to handle large call volumes and also used for outbound calling as IVR systems are more intelligent than many predictive dialer systems.
IVR systems can be used standing alone to create self-service solutions for mobile purchases, banking payments, services, retail orders, utilities, travel information and weather conditions. In combination with systems such an automated attendant and ACD, call routing can be optimized for a better caller experience and workforce efficiency. IVR systems are often combined with automated attendant functionality. The term voice response unit (VRU) is sometimes used as well.

HistoryDespite the increase in IVR technology during the 1970s, the technology was considered complex and expensive for automating tasks in call centers.[3] Early voice response systems were DSP technology based and limited to small vocabularies. In the early 1980s, Leon Ferber''''''''''''''''s Perception Technology became the first mainstream market competitor, after hard drive technology (read/write random-access to digitized voice data) had reached a cost-effective price point.[citation needed] At that time, a system could store digitized speech on disk, play the appropriate spoken message, and process the human''''''''''''''''s DTMF response.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 857363
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: As call centers began to migrate to multimedia in the late 1990s, companies started to invest in computer telephony integration (CTI) with IVR systems. IVR became vital for call centers deploying universal queuing and routing solutions and acted as an agent which collected customer data to enable intelligent routing decisions. With improvements in technology, systems could use speaker-independent voice recognition[4] of a limited vocabulary instead of requiring the person to use DTMF signaling. Starting in the 2000s, voice response became more common and cheaper to deploy. This was due to increased CPU power and the migration of speech applications from proprietary code to the VXML standard. Technology DTMF decoding and speech recognition are used to interpret the caller's response to voice prompts. DTMF tones are entered via the telephone keypad. Other technologies include using text-to-speech (TTS) to speak complex and dynamic information, such as e-mails, news reports or weather information. IVR technology is also being introduced into automobile systems for hands-free operation. TTS is computer generated synthesized speech that is no longer the robotic voice traditionally associated with computers. Real voices create the speech in fragments that are spliced together (concatenated) and smoothed before being played to the caller. An IVR can be deployed in several ways: Equipment installed on the customer premises Equipment installed in the PSTN (public switched telephone network) Application service provider (ASP) / hosted IVR An automatic call distributor (ACD) is often the second point of contact when calling many larger businesses. An ACD uses digital storage devices to play greetings or announcements, but typically routes a caller without prompting for input. An IVR can play announcements and request an input from the caller. This information can be used to profile the caller and used by an ACD to route the call to an agent with a particular skill set.

A directed dialogue prompt communicates a set of valid responses to the user (e.g. "How can I help you? ... Say something like, account balance, order status, or more options"). An open-ended prompt does not communicate a set of valid responses (e.g. "How can I help you?"). In both cases, the goal is to glean a valid spoken response from the user. The key difference is that with directed dialogue, the user is more likely to speak an option exactly as was communicated by the prompt (e.g. "account balance"). With an open-ended prompt, however, the user is likely to include extraneous words or phrases (e.g. "I was just looking at my bill and saw that my balance was wrong."). The open-ended prompt requires a greater degree of natural language processing to extract the relevant information from the phrase (i.e. "balance"). Open-ended recognition also requires a larger grammar set, which accounts for a wider array of permutations of a given response (e.g. "balance was wrong", "wrong balance", "balance is high", "high balance"). Despite the greater amount of data and processing required for open-ended prompts, they are more interactively efficient, as the prompts themselves are typically much shorter.[10]
A mixed dialogue approach involves shifting from open-ended to directed dialogue or vice versa within the same interaction, as one type of prompt may be more effective in a given situation. Mixed dialog prompts must also be able to recognize responses that are not relevant to the immediate prompt, for instance in the case of a user deciding to shift to a function different from the current one.[12][11]
Higher level IVR development tools are available to further simplify the application development process. A call flow diagram can be drawn with a GUI tool and the presentation layer (typically VoiceXML) can be automatically generated. In addition, these tools normally provide extension mechanisms for software integration, such as an HTTP interface to a website and a Java interface for connecting to a database.
In telecommunications, an audio response unit (ARU) (often included in IVR systems) is a device that provides synthesized voice responses to DTMF keypresses by processing calls based on (a) the call-originator input, (b) information received from a database, and (c) information in the incoming call, such as the time of day. ARUs increase the number of information calls handled and provide consistent quality in information retrieval.

UsageIVR systems are used to service high call volumes at lower cost. The use of IVR allows callers'''''''''''''''' queries to be resolved without a live agent. If callers do not find the information they need, the calls may be transferred to a live agent. The approach allows live agents to have more time to deal with complex interactions. When an IVR system answers multiple phone numbers, the use of DNIS ensures that the correct application and language is executed. A single large IVR system can handle calls for thousands of applications, each with its own phone numbers and script.
Call centers use IVR systems to identify and segment callers. The ability to identify customers allows services to be tailored according to the customer profile. The caller can be given the option to wait in the queue, choose an automated service, or request a callback. The system may obtain caller line identification (CLI) data from the network to help identify or authenticate the caller. Additional caller authentication data could include account number, personal information, password and biometrics (such as voice print). IVR also enables customer prioritization. In a system wherein individual customers may have a different status, the service will automatically prioritize the individual''''''''''''''''s call and move customers to the front of a specific queue.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 375638
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: UsageBanking Banking institutions are reliant on IVR systems for customer engagement and to extend business hours to a 24/7 operation. Telephone banking allows customers to check balances and transaction histories as well as to make payments and transfers. As online channels have emerged, banking customer satisfaction has decreased.[13] Medical IVR systems are used by pharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations to conduct clinical trials and manage the large volumes of data generated. The caller will respond to questions in their preferred language and their responses will be logged into a database and possibly recorded at the same time to confirm authenticity. Applications include patient randomization and drug supply management. They are also used in recording patient diaries and questionnaires.[14] IVR systems allow callers to obtain data relatively anonymously. Hospitals and clinics have used IVR systems to allow callers to receive anonymous access to test results. This is information that could easily be handled by a person but the IVR system is used to preserve privacy and avoid potential embarrassment of sensitive information or test results. Users are given a passcode to access their results. Surveying Some of the largest installed IVR platforms are used for televoting on television game shows, such as Pop Idol and Big Brother, which can generate enormous call spikes. The network provider will often deploy call gapping in the PSTN to prevent network overload. IVR may also be used by survey organizations to ask more sensitive questions where the investigators are concerned that a respondent might feel less comfortable providing these answers to a human interlocutor (such as questions about drug use or sexual behavior). In some cases, an IVR system can be used in the same survey in conjunction with a human interviewer.

What is IVR (Interactive Voice Response)?What is IVR?Interactive voice response or IVR is an automated business phone system feature that interacts with callers and gathers information by giving them choices via a menu. It then performs actions based on the answers of the caller through the telephone keypad or their voice response.
The choices of the caller decide the actions of the IVR —  it can provide information or, if the issue is more complex, route callers to a human agent who can better handle their needs.
If you ever called a business phone number and had been answered by an automated greeting, which proceeded to interact with you via some pre-recorded message, then you know what an IVR is.
Employee taking a call from a customerINTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE TRANSACTIONSWhat is the use of IVR?Normally, IVRs are used by companies or contact centers to route calls based on the choices made by the caller. Through these choices, it can determine if the caller wants to contact the billing department, the technical support team, or simply wants to talk to a human operator.
It’s also used to provide information like promos, updates, or other important information or instructions.One example is to inform callers that the system will record calls and will ask if they want to proceed.

Traditionally, it was only used to organize call queues of call centers. IVR systems, however, have come a long way since they were first developed and are now often used for automation of simple processes to provide self-service options to callers. This is to resolve simple customer needs and queries that are normally handled by call center agents.
Some examples of processes that IVRs can do now include:
Inquire about account balanceAccess account informationSet PIN numbers or change passwordsLook up information (product price, directory, etc.)Fill up lead forms and surveysMake small payments or transfer funds

What is IVR payment?This is an IVR feature that allows customers to make payments for bills, fees, etc over the phone. This is usually achieved by integrating your IVR system with third-party payment gateway applications that have security and compliance measures in place to protect customers. For more information, contact RingCentral.

How does an IVR work?In the past, IVR technology was a real pain to set up. The requirements are not only expensive, but making them work together used to be pretty complicated. In fact, traditional IVRs needed the following before they could work:
IVR software. This is separate from the main communications platform (on-premise or cloud-based phone system) and needs its own set of hardware to work. It needed a telephone service (PSTN or VoIP phone system), A database (to pull information from) Its own infrastructure to support it including several servers.

The interactive voice response or IVR software hads to be installed in a separate computer and you needed a telephony card, which is special hardware that lets you integrate hardware components to a computer, to get it to work.
And to top it all off, it also required a specialist to configure and set it up because it was a complicated piece of technology, usually with its own proprietary programming language.
Of course, that’s all in the past. The only ones who think these are still cool are call center software providers stuck in the past.
Modern cloud contact center solutions like RingCentral have IVR or interactive voice response automatically integrated into their system, also described as voice portals. All components you need to make the technology work— like telephony, databases, and servers—are handled by the provider in the cloud.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 582657
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Here’s how a simple IVR works with the other features of your call center: Once a call is received and greeted by the auto-attendant of the ACD, your IVR kicks in and presents the caller with the phone menu. The caller interacts with the IVR phone menu. Callers are presented with a series of options. Most IVR systems use dual-tone multi-frequency tones or DTMF tones to interact with your caller, which is just the technical way of saying that it uses the caller’s telephone touch-tone phone keypad. Newer cloud contact centers have also adopted voice response through speech recognition in their IVR features, which allows callers to interact with the system using their own voice. As the caller navigates the menu, their query or purpose for calling can be resolved through the IVR self-service process. If not, the call will be sorted into a category by the IVR. THis is the qualification phase, which will then trigger the skills-based routing feature. IVR allows the system to identify the agents that have the skills to handle the caller’s needs. The ACD then routes the call to an available qualified live agent. What is IVR menu? The IVR menu is the response system that helps customers navigate the IVR experience. It can be used by the caller by pressing the touch-tone dialpad or via their voice, whichever one is programmed into the IVR. You’ve probably encountered it a million times. Think “press 1 for customer service or press 2 for technical help.” if you know those lines, then you’re familiar with what a basic IVR menu is. It’s also called a phone tree because it can have many levels (or branches, if you will). One option can lead to 2 or 3 more options, depending on how deep you program your IVR. Of course, the recommendation is to keep the IVR menu or phone tree as simple as possible. But it still depends on the needs of your organization.

DEFINITIONinteractive voice response (IVR)What is interactive voice response (IVR)?Interactive voice response (IVR) is an automated telephony system that interacts with callers, gathers information and routes calls to the appropriate recipients. An IVR system accepts a combination of voice input and touch-tone keypad selection and provides the appropriate responses in the form of voice, fax, callback, email and other contact methods.
IVR systems can consist of telephony equipment, software applications, a database and a supporting infrastructure. An organization can run an IVRS in house by purchasing the software and hardware required, or it can opt to go through an IVR hosting service that charges a monthly fee.
How interactive voice response worksAn IVR application provides prerecorded voice responses for appropriate situations, keypad signal logic, access to relevant data and, potentially, the ability to record voice input for later use. Using computer telephony integration (CTI), IVR systems can hand off a call to a human being who can view data related to the caller on a display.
IVR systems also use dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) signals as a line of communication between a phone and a computer. The computer uses a telephony board or card to understand DTMF signals.
IVR software enables an organization to use prerecorded greetings or menu options that a customer can access through a phone keypad. Advanced IVR systems may include speech recognition software to enable a customer to communicate with a computer.
IVR systems are based on the programming language Voice Extensible Markup Language (VoiceXML). VoiceXML consists of several components, including a telephone network, TCP/IP network, a VoiceXML telephony server, a web server and databases that all work together to provide the best possible customer service.

Uses of interactive voice responseThere are many uses for IVR systems. The most common use is to automate inbound and outbound calls and to route calls.
The IVR system in the latter case eliminates the need for a switchboard operator to answer incoming calls. This instance often presents a caller with a menu of options and can attempt to answer frequently asked questions.

A good example of this is when a customer calls a movie theater to inquire about movie times. The IVR system uses an updated database to present the caller with a list of the latest available movie times, helping to eliminate call wait times and leading to greater customer satisfaction.
Organizations can also use IVR systems in the following ways:
bank and stock account balances and transfers;office call routing;call center forwarding;simple order entry transactions; andselective information lookup.IVR systems can also be used in more complicated ways to simplify processes in other departments.

Benefits of interactive voice responseIVR technology can benefit both large and small businesses in the following ways:
Saves time and money. IVR technology can replace humans to answer frequently asked questions or to provide commonly requested information -- such as directions, hours of operation, etc. -- that doesn't require critical thinking skills.Greater customer satisfaction. IVR technology eliminates wait times by responding to a caller immediately.24/7 service. IVR technology can operate without any interruptions and is available to provide information to callers whenever they need it.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 592655
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Benefits of interactive voice response IVR technology can benefit both large and small businesses in the following ways: Saves time and money. IVR technology can replace humans to answer frequently asked questions or to provide commonly requested information -- such as directions, hours of operation, etc. -- that doesn't require critical thinking skills. Greater customer satisfaction. IVR technology eliminates wait times by responding to a caller immediately. 24/7 service. IVR technology can operate without any interruptions and is available to provide information to callers whenever they need it. Disadvantages of interactive voice response It is important to note that there are disadvantages to call automation. IVR systems have been criticized for being too impersonal, for acting as a barrier between customers and live agents, and for taking jobs away from call center agents. These systems are also limited to the type of questions they can provide answers to and can leave callers frustrated and confused when IVR menus are too long. However, as with all technology, IVR continues to evolve and improve with time to address these limitations. Many companies have augmented or replaced IVR systems with automated speech recognition technologies that enable callers to speak their requests instead of punching numbers into their phones. These voice recognition systems can frustrate callers if the system doesn't recognize a caller's questions.

What Is Interactive Voice Response (IVR) & How Do Businesses Use It?

What is Interactive Voice Response (IVR)?IVR is an automated phone system that allows callers to interact with a computer-operated telephone system through Dialtone input from a keypad or through voice response. It can route calls or even provide self-service options.
IVR phone systems have become so widely used that you’ve probably found yourself listening to a pre-recorded message or communicating with a virtual assistant over the phone more times than you can count.

IVRs manage inbound phone calls by collecting information about the customer inquiry before automatically transferring the call to the right department. They can tailor the conversation even based on the virtual phone number the person dialed.
Typically, customers are presented with a pre-recorded message explaining the options in a menu. After navigating the menu either verbally or manually (using the phone keypad), the customer is automatically connected to an agent who can help.
Picture a line of people waiting to check in to an event. An IVR might split the line, so people with last names of A-L go one way, and M-Z go another. This tactic increases the speed and load placed upon your staff. That’s the most fundamental goal of an IVR. Not only does this keep everything running more efficiently, but it also boosts the productivity of the call center staff.

An IVR system can also integrate—or may be bundled—with other call center software, like automatic call distribution (ACD) or customer relationship management (CRM) platforms.
We’ll cover some other significant advantages of IVRs in a moment. First, let’s go through a brief overview of how IVR works with automation.

Examples of automation with IVRIVR can integrate with your internal systems to help customers resolve simple requests on their own. IVR automation is a win-win—you save time by freeing up your support staff, and customers resolve their issues faster.
Here are some examples of how IVR can help you automate common tasks:
Check account balance. IVR shares the current balance of a customer’s accounts.Check the order status. Customers provide details of an order for its current status.Product lookup. Callers request information about products.Bill payment. IVR applications can pull account information and accept credit card data without needing a call center agent.Set or change PINs. Customers can set up or change their account or card PIN.Answer surveys. Modern IVR can let customers give feedback at the end of a call.

How does IVR work?Even the most basic IVR solution saves time and money by trimming hold times and requiring less workforce. That said, more advanced systems deliver an even better experience for the customer.
Basic IVR systemsIVR phone systems route calls to individuals or departments.There are two primary components of IVRs that enable the computer to understand and process the caller’s requests. One is voice recognition technology, and the other is called Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency signaling (or DTMF).DTMF signaling occurs between the phone and the computer when callers use the keypad on their phone to select menu options. This touch-tone technology allows intelligent call routing to take place without a human operator.IVR platforms with voice recognition capabilities enable what’s called Directed Dialogue, which means callers can give verbal responses instead of using the keypad to navigate the menu. For example, an IVR menu might say, “For billing, press three or say ‘billing.’”

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 364382
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Advanced IVR systems As IVR technology develops, advanced systems make the customer’s IVR interactions increasingly more natural, faster, and more enjoyable. Among the most customer-friendly advancements is in Natural Language Processing software (or NLP), which is a form of conversational AI. Thanks to this sophisticated voice recognition technology, the computer can understand and process full sentences rather than limiting the caller’s word choice by recognizing only particular commands. An IVR with built-in NLP can answer open-ended questions such as “what can we help you with today?” As you can imagine, callers appreciate this conversational approach to customer service because it gives them more freedom. It’s also a much faster way to navigate the IVR because callers can get to the point right away. Related: 9 Powerful Ways to Use NLP to Improve Customer Service Let’s explore some of the reasons why an IVR is a game-changer for your business. How do IVR menus work? Typically, IVR menus include a top-level menu for incoming calls, plus additional submenus as necessary. Callers can select from the menu options to direct their call. All IVR systems let users choose by selecting a number from their phone’s touch-tone keypad, but this has limitations. With only nine options (the number zero is usually reserved to speak with an agent), an IVR system that needs to route hundreds of types of requests can be limited. A more modern component of the IVR system is to accept spoken input. This allows users to speak any issue and be routed correctly, while also having a more comfortable and conversational feel.

Inbound IVR VS Outbound IVR: What Are The Differences?Many businesses turn to Interactive Voiced Technology (IVR) systems to better manage and route incoming calls to the right departments. 
IVR systems allow automated interactions by providing an interactive menu system to help callers navigate different functions or be connected to a person within your business. 
If you’re planning to incorporate IVR systems into your business, you’ve probably come across inbound and outbound IVR. 
But what exactly are they? How does each type of IVR work? Which is better for your business?
To help you answer these burning questions you have, we dive deeper into each type of IVR system and help you come to a decision!

What is inbound IVR?Inbound IVR attempts to anticipate your caller’s needs and provides them with options to access the information they need when they call. 
Inbound IVR is what most people encounter when they call a business — you get a self-service menu that allows you to reach different functions or departments by attributing a different voice command or touch-tone digit. 
Inbound IVRs are typically used for customer support, answering FAQs, and inbound sales.


What is outbound IVR?Outbound IVR allows businesses to automatically engage customers through multiple communication channels such as voice calls, SMSes, and emails. 
This technology has been much welcomed by companies who depend on a lot of outbound sales campaigns because it can complement other call features like autodialers.
For example, businesses can use outbound IVR to automatically alert customers about upcoming appointments, payments, or promotions.

Inbound IVR vs Outbound IVRWhile both inbound IVR and outbound IVR technologies seem to be the same, they are actually very different. 
Let’s take a look at the following factors to show how the two compare. 
FunctionalityWhile both inbound and outbound IVR serve to engage with your customers, each type serves a unique purpose.
The obvious difference is that inbound IVR processes inbound calls (calls initiated by the caller), whereas outbound IVR processes outbound calls (calls initiated by the company).
Of course, outbound IVR systems are more beneficial for a business since it initiates the call and is tailored more for marketing purposes. 
In contrast, inbound IVR focuses more on providing customer satisfaction. The caller initiates the call because they’re searching for answers or need support, and the IVR menus put in place help to attend to these calls.
Customer satisfaction77% of customers believe that a phone call is the most effective way to get an answer quickly. 
This means that callers would be happy to interact with a system that can provide assistance faster when they call a business.
On the contrary, since outbound IVR is similar to outbound calls, recipients might not be interested in engaging with a robotic system that alerts them to marketing messages.
Although some outbound IVR systems are initiated by user actions like customer verification, others are mostly promotional and do not serve the customer’s best interest. 

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 573829
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Scalability How much can an IVR system let you grow? How can it let you offer more services and more value to your users? While the answer to the first question is easier as it has been proven time and again that it helps businesses to scale, the second answer is more of, it depends. It largely depends on the type of IVR system that you are using. The debate of inbound IVR vs outbound IVR is therefore much viable for this factor. Both can help you scale, but because of outbound IVR’s nature, you proactively seek customer engagement opportunities over waiting passively for them to call. Integrations Because the main purpose of IVR systems is to add more automation to business operations, there have been improvements to offer more automation to these systems. Nowadays, IVR systems are connected to technologies powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. For example, if a caller has to end an inbound call, AI may have recorded the user’s interactions and scheduled a callback with the caller. Tools like autodialers may be integrated so that they can initiate the dropped call for the outbound IVR system to take over. Both systems also may be integrated with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools to pull out customer data to make outbound calls. Outbound IVR systems may be connected with other phone system features like SMS to alert the users of the incoming calls. Ease of use Ease of use is the ultimate factor that can determine the success of your IVR systems. If your IVR menus are confusing the understand, the caller will likely end the call. The technical aspect of IVR systems depends on the level of functionality of your system. The more complex it is, the harder it is to set up, use and configure the system. Because outbound IVR messages may often require more integrations and strategy to make it effective, it can get quite complicated. More so, more businesses will invest heavily on outbound IVR than they would for inbound IVR

Which is better: Inbound IVR or Outbound IVR?IVR phone system capabilities are undoubtedly the best features that can help your company to automate and streamline your business operations. So, choosing the best between the two types, inbound IVR and outbound IVR, is a matter of your business goals.
Outbound IVR systems are great for marketers who want to take the power of outbound call automation features of their phone systems like autodialers to reach more customers. 
Other companies may opt to use outbound IVR systems to automate complex processes like payment notifications, giving them a simple and instant process to do it over the call if they want.
If your company doesn’t focus on proactively reaching out to users, and you mainly receive incoming calls daily, you should pick an inbound IVR system. This is because there are endless possibilities you can try out to answer your user’s queries without hiring more agents to do the same.
We hope that this article has helped you understand the differences between the two types of IVR systems and which is better for your business. For more on such tips and advice, check out our blog!


Inbound vs Outbound IVR: Which One Does Your Call Center Need?
“Thank you for calling Cloudshope’s customer support team. First, Press 1 to know our products. Then, press 2 to request a callback from our experts.”


By this stage of technological advancements on the scale of time, most consumers have come across such responses when dealing with different types of products and brands. When the volume of calls increases on the seller side, it becomes vital to delivering a personal touch to the responses shared.
If you have a growing call center business, you would want a practical solution to accommodate the expanding consumer base. To help you with sustaining a high volume of calls, there is an Interactive Voice Response, popularly known as IVR.
According to a recent report, the global IVR systems market is expected to reach $6.7 billion by 2026. (Source: ResearchAndMarkets)
IVR is a standard component of most business phone systems. At its core, it is a technology that allows callers to interact with a self-service system to get the required support or interact with the right business department.
For example, an IVR system asks callers a series of questions to direct them to press specific buttons for each response. Besides providing technical support, you can also provide promotional information and product updates to your customers.
Most call centers or contact centers turn to IVR systems to route and better manage customer calls. If you are also planning to incorporate IVR into your business, you might have heard about inbound and outbound IVR. However, before we cover the inbound vs. outbound system comparison, it is crucial to get an idea of the working of an IVR system.
How Does IVR Work?IVR technology works by combining physical phone system setups with VoIP technology to form a call routing system. IVR software supports this, which helps build automated menus to direct calls to different departments, agents, or databases.
In the early days, the end customers used Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) dial pads to allow callers to input information and answer questions for call routing.
Over time, the advancements in this technology have led to inbound call services and IVR containment metrics. With the modern IVR features, you can further improve customer satisfaction to allow your team to perform various calling tasks more efficiently. If you wish to dive deep, here’s an ultimate guide to IVR.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 927598
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: What is an Inbound IVR? As the name suggests, Inbound IVR refers to the IVR type used to address customers’ needs and queries when they call. Using this system, you can anticipate a caller’s needs and give them access to the necessary information or support. In simple terms, inbound IVR is what your customers will encounter when they call for support. They get a self-service menu allowing them to reach different departments via a specific touch-tone digit or voice command. Customer support, FAQ delivery, and inbound sales are some of the most common use cases of inbound IVR systems. What is an Outbound IVR? Unlike an inbound IVR, an outbound IVR system allows businesses like yours to engage with the target customers automatically through various communication channels, including SMS, voice call, or email. You can use these systems to connect with your customers or send communications proactively. For example, businesses can use outbound IVR technology to automatically alert or notify their customers about upcoming payments, promotions, or appointments through their preferred channel. It is highly welcomed in B2C and B2B industries, where outbound campaigns are used for sales and support. Besides this, an outbound IVR system uses CRM integration and differs from robocalls and predictive dialers. Inbound Vs. Outbound IVR Comparison While both the inbound and outbound IVR systems look similar, there are several differences between the two. Let’s consider the following factors to compare the two IVR types. #1. Functionality While the primary purpose of using IVR systems is to connect with the customers for different reasons, the origin of call differentiates these two types of IVR systems. The basic functionality of an inbound IVR is to process inbound calls, i.e., the calls initiated at the user’s side but handled at your end via your team of call center agents.

Customer Satisfaction
As per a survey, nearly nine in ten people prefer speaking to a live agent over a phone menu, which indicates the power of personalized responses. (Source: Clutch)
Furthermore, another research supporting the customer service side says that 89% of consumers are most likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience. Combine these two aspects, and you will realize the importance of customer satisfaction which businesses can deliver with the right IVR system.
It also means that the callers or customers will be happy to interact with a system that can provide faster assistance and lead them to a support agent with the least steps in between. This is possible with both inbound and outbound IVR. In some cases, recipients of outbound IVR might not be interested in interacting with a robotic system that pushes marketing messages.
Scalability
The next big question you might have in mind about the IVR system deployment is –
‘How much growth can you expect by using an IVR system? How can it allow you to offer more value to your customers?’
The answer is that IVRs help businesses scale their operations with enhanced delivery of customer support and sales calls. But to offer more services to your callers/customers, you must select the right IVR system type. This is where the inbound vs. outbound IVR comparison makes sense.
Both these types of IVR can help you scale the business further. The noteworthy point here is that the intrinsic nature of outbound IVR allows businesses to seek and benefit from customer engagement opportunities instead of waiting for them to call you (the inbound alternative).
#4. Integrations
Most IVR systems add more automation to call center operations. With continued improvements in this technology, these systems can be further empowered with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) integrations.
For example, if a caller tries to end an inbound call after sharing his query, the AI-powered system can ask to schedule a callback based on recorded interactions. Similarly, businesses can integrate tools like autodialers to initiate dropped calls for an outbound IVR to take over.
At large, both inbound and outbound IVR systems can be integrated with add-on CRMs to pull out customer data to streamline customer communications. The final selection depends on your business-specific needs.
How to Use Inbound IVR?Inbound IVR allows the callers to seek solutions to their queries by navigating through a series of given options. It understands their needs with the help of DTMF tones or voice recognition and then routes their calls accordingly. This basic functionality makes it suitable for the following use cases:
1. Automated Customer Support (Assistance)
If your team handles a large number of calls every day with traditional phone systems, you know how difficult it can be to provide the best-in-class assistance for every caller. In addition, handling back-to-back calls can be quite stressful for the agents, particularly during rush hours. Despite all these complications, you can take a step ahead in enhancing the support quality by using inbound IVR.
When deployed correctly, inbound IVR can help your team attend calls in bulk simultaneously. Callers will be prompted to select the right option from the given list of options using their preferred device. Some of the processes that inbound IVR can handle include payments, shipment updates, and delivery tracking, to name a few.
2. Inbound Sales
As a business owner, no one would be happier than you or your clients if you receive an organic lead and a customer wants to connect with a sales agent to buy from you. 

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 827592
• Production Capacity: unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: How to Use Outbound IVR? Like traditional IVR, outbound IVR systems are designed to add a layer of automation to business practices. For example, an outbound contact center can have a dedicated staff to call customers about their appointments. This type of reminders can be automated and managed by an outbound IVR. Given below are some applications of this type of IVR system that you can benefit from: 1. Customer Alert Automation about Promotions To increase the efficiency of your call center, an outbound IVR can use a recording or AI software to send promotional alerts to customers without involving any live agent. This kind of alert does not take much time to get the message delivered while also freeing the agent’s time to deal with complex queries. Depending on the software you select, you can also perform customer segmentation for such promotional alerts with outbound IVR. 2. Payment Reminders Earlier, a team of live agents handled the task of reminding customers about their payment dates and invoices to ask for payments. This can also be automated using an outbound IVR which can perform the task of delivering payment reminders. The IVR system, once deployed correctly, will quickly remind the customers about the due payment dates without involving any agent. 3. Lead Conversion Many potential leads do not take the required action when you ask them to. If they express interest but take time to get converted, follow-up is essential to increase the probability of a sale. This is where an outbound IVR can be used to give them an extra push. When potential customers express an interest but forget to create a sale, the IVR system can notify them about the promotional offers or simply remind them about completing their checkout. Outbound IVR systems act as a reliable way to convert such leads and place them into your sales funnel. Once the customer picks up the line and shows interest, he/she can be asked to use a DTMF pad or voice to input information.

What is Outbound IVR and How Does it Work?SHARE
   Interactive voice response is a technology that allows callers to interact with an automated self-service system that will help them get to the right department in the business. IVR started as a simple system that would ask callers a series of questions and direct the customer to press a specific button for each response.
Today’s IVR software uses voice recognition and artificial intelligence to determine why your customers are calling. When prompted to answer a question, customers will be able to speak the response, and the system will direct the call to the right agent or agent grouping. Buttons are still an option if the voice recognition system does not understand what the customer is saying, but overall, IVR directs inbound and outbound calls without having to utilize a live operator during the process.

How Does IVR Work?IVR has advanced dramatically since its inception. Originally, customers would use dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) dial pads to answer questions and input information to route calls correctly. Today, there are inbound call services and IVR containment efforts to help customers who dial your phone number for a specific need, but there are also outbound systems that call customers to give them information or help them through processes.
Modern IVR features improve customer satisfaction while allowing your team to perform several essential tasks.
 
Inbound vs Outbound IVRInbound IVR phone systems route phone calls through your system and attempt to anticipate customer expectations.
On the other hand, outbound IVR technology works by alerting existing clients about an appointment or gives them a critical emergency notification. For marketing companies, an outbound campaign using IVR allows them to automate calls to reach out to the customers using an auto dialer which can route responders to live on-premise agents.



   Interactive voice response is a technology that allows callers to interact with an automated self-service system that will help them get to the right department in the business. IVR started as a simple system that would ask callers a series of questions and direct the customer to press a specific button for each response.
Today’s IVR software uses voice recognition and artificial intelligence to determine why your customers are calling. When prompted to answer a question, customers will be able to speak the response, and the system will direct the call to the right agent or agent grouping. Buttons are still an option if the voice recognition system does not understand what the customer is saying, but overall, IVR directs inbound and outbound calls without having to utilize a live operator during the process.
 
How Does IVR Work?How Does Outbound IVR Increase Engagement?How to Use Outbound IVROutbound IVR Automates Customer Outreach
 
How Does IVR Work?IVR has advanced dramatically since its inception. Originally, customers would use dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) dial pads to answer questions and input information to route calls correctly. Today, there are inbound call services and IVR containment efforts to help customers who dial your phone number for a specific need, but there are also outbound systems that call customers to give them information or help them through processes.
Modern IVR features improve customer satisfaction while allowing your team to perform several essential tasks.
 
Inbound vs Outbound IVRInbound IVR phone systems route phone calls through your system and attempt to anticipate customer expectations.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 573292
• Production Capacity: unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: How Does Outbound IVR Increase Engagement? outbound dialer When most business owners think of IVR, they consider it to be a valuable tool that provided self-service options or a system that will effectively be routing callers to agents. Seldom do they consider the fact that IVR has outbound applications to improve customer service and expand the power of their VoIP phone service. Increases Brand Awareness and Profit Through reaching out to existing customers and leads, outbound IVR sends automated texts or makes calls with updates. Moreover, while it takes talented marketing staff to put together a campaign, IVR allows for an outbound campaign to be automated. You can promote products or send notifications about new releases with outbound IVR. Improves Customer Experience and Provides Business Intelligence For those products that customers use every day, there’s a lot of potential feedback to give and receive. Outbound IVR gives them a chance to have their voice heard and get in touch without an effort, improving their experience. Moreover, outbound IVR gives you the chance to test out the effectiveness of marketing efforts. You’ll find out which groups respond best to a given outreach effort and which sentiment your customers prefer, offering you feedback via engagement rate data. Outbound marketing efforts offer business intelligence to help you identify new opportunities. How to Use Outbound IVR outbound dialer service Outbound IVR, like traditional IVR, is designed to help add automation to business practices for the sake of efficiency. For example, outbound contact centers may have dedicated calling staff to alert customers about appointments, but this is a type of reminder that can be managed by an entirely automated outbound IVR. Here are some specific applications of the system that your business should be using.

Outbound IVRAn Outbound IVR is a call centre solution used to proactively distribute communications to customers. Outbound IVR technology can be personalised, and sent through a variety of channels. Personalised notifications can be sent as:
SMS messagesEmailsSocial media postsAutomated voice callsIs an outbound IVR the same as predictive diallers or robo-calls?Outbound IVR systems used in call centres are different from predictive diallers and robo-calls. That’s because good outbound IVR systems use CRM integration to deliver personalised customer experiences. In comparison, robo-calls deliver the same message to a large number of recipients (for example during an election campaign). Predictive diallers are used by telemarketing companies to contact as many end users as possible.
What makes an outbound IVR system effective?For an outbound IVR system to be effective, it needs to deliver personalised communications to customers through their preferred channel. Cloudshope’s outbound IVR makes personalisation possible by integrating with your CRM system. We can also seamlessly integrate with your inbound IVR by using the Cloudshope Customer Experience Platform to deliver a positive customer experience.

How Inbound and Outbound IVR Advantages For Your Contact Center

Call center world and persons familiar with the soft voice press-1 for sale. But the thing is that many of leader and business persons don’t understand the importance.
Which is secure software? It brings to its industry. Further, you will see the IVR tool is and how it may advantage your call center customer experience.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)An automate telephonic system which communicates with callers. It assembles the information and route calls to the efficient recipient. IVR system accepts an integration of voice telephone input and touch-tone keypad.
Else, also offering selection and providing them enough in the form of voice. Including, Fax, email, callback, and all other contact ideas.
By the end of using all these interactive systems functions in a way which allows them to navigate. Whereas your call center and get an appropriate solution rapidly.
They were only using their phone’s keypad. This is how your team and customer themselves route calls to dynamic groups and parties.
Generally, the result in fewer inbound calls with lower operational costs. It enhances productivity for your team member.
With technical standard where the IVR system is consists. Whereas the telephony equipment software application and information structure. Else, the computer is engaged in the industry’s telephone lines.
Interactive voice response is installed onto the computer system. It is an individual piece of hardware and called a telephony board, or card is essential.
If a customer, make a call to the company software will response. Likewise, it will give you a pre-recorded greeting. After asking you to choose an option from the menu.
Reach More People – Quickly & More Ways Using IvrLead RoutingInteractive voice response systems are rapidly becoming a precise new channel. Also, it can support your lead’s operations. It accelerates the lead conversion struggle. Several businesses are augmenting or even replacing outbound telemarketing activities by using pre-qualifying sales.
For inbound sales and marketers must find IVR technology. Besides, the best ideal for lead scoring like qualifying question on web forms.
As well as you can quickly measure interest by using an IVR. Usually, the lead scores with massive enough and IVR can direct calls to sales reps. This is very close to the deal in IVR.
Marketing PromotionsEventually, your customers’ IVR experience is no different than any communications with your brand. Along with proactive marketers knows inbound calls occur.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 453782
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Payment Processing One of the more critical and convenient uses of IVR is to let customer conduct easy. Whereas, the simple transaction like paying bills and updating account information. The methods of IVR in the case of enhancing convenience by allowing the customer to make payments. By using IVR, it touches tone or voice-activated technology. Besides, with smartly designed phone menu and IVR allow you easily tailor call flows. More efficiently and security funnel with the caller. This is for the business and use of this self-help. Thus, it makes collecting payments easy, and the customer will prefer it. Appointment Reminders By scheduling a customer appointment and make sure to ask your customers. This is for all their phone numbers, and you can send a reminder to use IVR. Usually an automated reminder of some reservation. As well as some pending appointments are enhanced and become the average. More than factor alone makes it a no brainer for a customer to share their phones numbers. It will come to decreasing to IVRs which have created massive savings. Especially companies if you consider which missed appointments. Surveys Usually, surveys a fantastic way to save immediate outcomes and make informed. Whereas, the business decisions based on customer input. Several customer touch points in which a survey is enough. The most unusual of that is following recent transactions or communicate with customer services. These interactive voice responses enable usually limited to just a few queries. All these fundamental questions positioned in a call to accommodate customer drop-off. Eventually, IVR may capture the voice of the customer in another best practice is to ask open-ended questions. Meanwhile, implemented in IVR surveys are an ideal approach method for collected real-time feedback. Thus, your business may adapt to your customer which ever-changing needs.

Inbound-Outbound IVR: The Best Combination to Get More Customers!
Customer Engagement for Flawless CXWith over 214 million businesses worldwide, customers have the power to buy from anywhere, anytime. The only way you can stand out from the crowd is by offering flawless customer service.
In fact, a study by Forbes states that 84% of the people surveyed believe AI can help them gain a competitive advantage and sustain better.
All buyers can be broadly categorised into four types: prospective customers, current customers, customers who have been loyal and former customers. To design an inclusive and holistic customer service model, strengthening customer experience is necessary.
Turning prospects and current customers into loyal buyers needs time, effort and attention. Your vision can come to life with technological solutions like Interactive Voice Response (IVR).
Inbound and outbound IVR calling comes with features that let companies engage with all four kinds of buyers.
How do IVR services help?Customers today demand instant solutions to all their concerns, and if you fail to do so, they quickly move to the next company they find on the Internet.
This is where IVR comes to your rescue.
An Interactive Voice Response system integrated with the call centre not only acts as a virtual receptionist but also offers quick solutions to all kinds of customer queries.
Put simply, IVR number helps you answer inbound calls and automate outbound calls that consist of pre-recorded messages to convey important information to consumers.
These services help businesses and buyers save time and energy.
Not to forget, they help you offer round-the-clock assistance from anywhere around the world.
Outbound and inbound IVR: definitions and benefitsTraditionally, IVR services mainly catered to inbound calling.
But with time and the evolution of technology, IVR now comes in handy for outbound calling as well. So, instead of waiting for your buyers to reach out to you, you can simply take the first step towards them.
A balanced inbound and outbound IVR service helps serve numerous purposes in the call centre. Here’s how:
Inbound IVRInbound IVR lets callers seek solutions by navigating them through a series of options. It understands their issues through DTMF tones or voice recognition and routes them to the agents that best suit their needs.

1. Automated customer assistance Handling multiple calls at once, especially during rush hours, can be stressful for your agents. However, Inbound IVR calling can help them attend bulk calls simultaneously.
Callers are prompted to choose the most relevant option from a list of possible solutions using their mobile devices. And based on how the call continues, it intelligently routes them to suitable agents.
Some of the concerns that IVR can handle include shipment updates, payments, track delivery, custom offers, etc.
Businesses with devoted contact centres for customer support can hugely benefit from inbound and multi-level IVR systems.
2. Facilitating inbound sales When information about offers and deals are conveyed to consumers via emails and SMSes, businesses can add their virtual numbers for the ease of customers.
The IVR system can analyse incoming caller details to determine if it passes as a pre-qualified lead. If a lead attains considerable scores on essential metrics, the call can be routed over to a relevant agent.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 738328
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Benefits of inbound IVR 1. Intelligent call routing: Interactive Voice Response (IVR) facilitates extremely effective call routing within the contact centre of the organisation. With self-service tools for customers, agents can focus on calls that require enhanced attention and understanding. This reduces their workload and keeps them from burning out from repetitive tasks like answering FAQs. This also helps build a better customer experience by shrinking waiting time and reducing difficulties for first-time callers. 2. Useful metrics and cost-effectiveness: Inbound IVR calling is also equipped to record incoming calls and track other metrics like call duration, wait times, first call resolutions, etc. By evaluating these metrics, your business can focus on adding value to its customer experience model, enabling you to convert more buyers into loyal customers. With the added advantage of automation, the burden for recruiting more agents and costs incurred by infrastructural expenditure also gets drastically reduced. Outbound IVR The push and pull model is the most common strategy for customer acquisition. Push marketing is when a business makes proactive efforts for customers to buy its products. On the other hand, when customers seek a brand’s products because they make a positive difference in their lives, it is pull marketing. Using outbound IVR service for pull marketing can help automate engagement activities via various sources like calls, email, social media etc. Scenarios where outbound IVR proves to be very useful for business include: 1. Sending out surveys Collecting customer feedback regularly is conducive to a business’s growth and automating calls using outbound IVR helps reduce dependence on support agents. Outbound IVR automatically reaches out to consumers who have recently purchased from a business to collect input. Collecting feedback using IVR surveys is an effective way to keep in touch with consumer emotions and expectations.

Inbound Interactive Voice Response SolutionsInbound IVRInbound IVR (Interactive Voice Response) processes calls placed by a user into a phone system. These calls are typically 800 numbers (or equivalents), although they could also be regular local or long distance calls.
IVR is a technology that allows users to obtain information from a phone system without the assistance of an operator. IVRs can accept input from callers, usually in the form of pressed phone keys, and can accept voice input and in some cases translate that into actions.
Cloudshope provides IVR technology including both call answering phone systems and IVR outsourcing services. cloudshopealso provides outbound IVR calling systems and services.
From simple to complex phone answering applications, Cloudshope's experienced IVR development staff can design, develop, test and install your inbound IVR application quickly and with minimum expense to your organization.

Inbound IVR Featuresivr softwareDatabase Access and UpdateText To Speech Software (TTS)Mix Messages and TextProgramming Wizard for Fast DevelopmentDNIS ControlledMultiple IVR ScriptsPlay Message and PromptInteractive Voice Response Phone Key InputPlay Music On HoldCall Outside Line and Transfer CallCall Outside Line and Prompt for InputConnect Caller to Outside partyRecord Caller Message and StoreUser Navigation and SelectionIVR Voice MailRoute Caller to Selected IVR Agent GroupsResponse Logging and ReportsClient/Server ArchitectureC or C++ libraryVisual Basic interfaceExtensive IVR software library of routines

How Outbound IVR-Inbound IVR Combination Helps You Get More Customers?

What are IVR systems?Every business knows that customers value their time the most today. They want answers to queries as fast as possible. This is where IVR systems have proved to be a game changer. An IVR is an interactive voice response that has replaced phone receptionists and attendants. IVR systems save costs, work in non-working hours, and provide prompt service to callers. Cloudshope IVR can handle large call volumes and also make automated calls. 

Outbound IVR and Inbound IVR Until a few years ago, IVR systems mainly handled inbound calls. But with time, IVR solutions have evolved. You can now connect with customers instead of waiting for them to connect with you.Let’s see how.
Inbound IVRMost of us know how inbound IVR work.The IVR offers callers prompts and they respond using DTMF tones. The IVR takes action accordingly.An inbound IVR is effective in the following scenarios:
Customer SupportThis is where IVR systems work best. An inbound IVR can handle a large number of calls and provide callers with options. Based on them, it routes the call to relevant departments. Such an IVR system can also carry out basic troubleshooting. It can answer common Do-It-Yourself queries, process payments, and inform customers about the status of their shipment.
Inbound IVR for customer support is useful for businesses which have a dedicated contact centre or various departments which callers might want to engage with.

Inbound Sales Inbound IVR is useful tools for sales and lead generation also.Customers can call an IVR phone number (virtual number) listed on in an email or a marketing promotion in print or social media. The automated system can capture important details and also pre-qualify a lead. If the lead gets a high score on relevant metrics, he gets routed to a qualified sales person.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 959287
• Production Capacity: unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: How does this help? It saves cost for a business which doesn’t need to employ many agents to attend prospect calls. It also means less hold time for first-time callers. And salespeople waste less time on unqualified leads and spend more time trying to convert qualified leads. All this increases the return on investment for a business by a distinct margin. Inbound IVR also records calls, handling time, wait time and other measures that will help you improve customer experience. The more value you add to customers, the faster you can turn them into loyal customers. The Synapse IVR provides you with everything you need to take your customer experience to the next level. Let’s now dive deeper into the use and benefits of outbound IVR. Outbound IVR Marketing is of two types – push and pull. ‘Push marketing’ is when a brand ‘pushes’ people to buy what it sells. ‘Pull marketing’ is when customers seek out a product because it improves their lives in some way. Both inbound and outbound IVR can help in push and pull marketing. However, most people associate outbound IVR with push marketing. This might be true to some extent. But using outbound IVR as a strategy for pull marketing pays richer dividends for your business in the long run. Outbound IVR engage with prospects and customers automatically. This includes multiple channels like automated voice calls, email and SMS campaigns, social media messages (including WhatsApp) and so on.

Outbound IVR Marketing is of two types – push and pull. ‘Push marketing’ is when a brand ‘pushes’ people to buy what it sells. ‘Pull marketing’ is when customers seek out a product because it improves their lives in some way.
Both inbound and outbound IVR can help in push and pull marketing. However, most people associate outbound IVR with push marketing. This might be true to some extent. But using outbound IVR as a strategy for pull marketing pays richer dividends for your business in the long run.
Outbound IVR engage with prospects and customers automatically. This includes multiple channels like automated voice calls, email and SMS campaigns, social media messages (including WhatsApp) and so on.
It’s most effective in the below scenarios:Promotional Messages using Outbound IVRMany brands now inform prospects about promotions through automated phone calls, emails, and instant messaging. An automated voice message plays a pre-recorded message and ends in a call-to-action, often directing the prospect to a number where an inbound IVR is ready for them. This is a form of push marketing. It’s like door-to-door sales, only quicker and more cost-effective.
RemindersOutbound IVR systems can send out reminders to customers or almost-converted leadsThey can remind customers about payment dates, subscription renewals, and updating account information.Not just that, they can let customers complete these actions through the IVR itself. This self-help tool saves plenty of resources for businesses and their customers. By increasing customer convenience, outbound IVR help in pull marketingSuch IVR systems can also send reminders to leads who engaged with the brand but didn’t take action. It can inform them about ending dates of promotions, remind them that their registration is incomplete, and so on. It can send automated value-add messages to themAll this without human intervention.Conducting surveys Customer feedback is integral for a business to grow. And outbound systems can collect this feedback efficiently.Automated calls reduce dependency on human beings. They place calls to customers within a specified time after a recent transaction and record the feedback.IVR Surveys are ideal to collect real-time feedback. The Indian Railway is an example of a service that uses outbound IVR for surveys.By applying this feedback, you further increase customer convenience and engage in pull marketing.
Outbound and Inbound IVRs can make your business improve its efficiency in push and pull marketing.
Summing UpYour customer’s IVR experience is no different from any interaction with your business. Make sure it matches (if not exceeds) customer expectations. The more loyal customers you get, the stronger your business becomes.

What is an Outbound IVR?IVR stands for interactive voice response and is technology commonly used in contact centers. Most people are familiar with inbound IVRs - they play a recorded greeting when you call customer support and then provide a series of menu options. Outbound IVRs are lesser known but still play a vital role in many contact centers by sending proactive, personalized messages to customers via phone, text or email. In that respect, outbound IVRs are related to predictive dialers because they can operate in multiple channels and process requests without human intervention.
As an example, a cable company can use an outbound IVR to automatically call new customers to remind them about their upcoming installation appointments. The system may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to customize the message with the date and time of the appointment and other relevant information. Some outbound IVRs will let customers interact with them using automatic speech recognition (ASR). In this example, the customer could reschedule their appointment through the IVR - no agent needed. 

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 592384
• Production Capacity: unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Businesses are turning to interactive voice technologies (IVR) as they can better manage and route the calls. This option aids callers in navigating various operations or connecting with a representative within your company. IVR Inbound attempts to anticipate the callers' needs for customer support, answering the frequently asked questions and inbound sales. On the other hand, IVR Outbound allows the business to engage the customers through multiple communication about upcoming appointments, payments or promotions. While both the processes look pretty similar, their functions, scalability and integration are very different. Let’s see how: The callers initiate the inbound calls, whereas the company creates the outbound calls. Both the processes can help you skill, but in outbound IVR, you can look for customer engagement opportunities in a better way. IVR Outbound can be more effective because war involves more integrations and strategies than IVR Inbound. It has been noticed that IVR is generally an excellent choice for marketers who want more customers with a simple and instant process. The top communications solutions provider in India for IVR service providers is Mtalkz, which specialises in intelligent IVR technology and is supported by business-class platforms that encourage high levels of scalability and throughput. They also provide consistent, user-friendly dashboards that make administering, reporting, and monitoring marketing campaigns easier.

Outbound IVRThe Outbound IVR is an automatic dialing mode that is used to establish connections between customers and Cloudshope Live’s system without involving an agent. If a call is answered, the system then automatically transfers it to a specific inbound process.
As a project that utilizes the Outbound IVR dialing mode requires no agent input, the Outbound IVR dialer can be considered a fully automatic dialing mode, but it can also be configured to allow your customers to quickly reach agents in just a few steps. This mode can include playing voice recordings to clients, reading the client’s balance and payment due date, redirecting clients to an available agent or answering machine feature, and more.
In this tutorial, you will learn:
What the characteristics of Outbound IVR dialer mode areWhen to choose this dialing modeWhich the available settings are and what they meanHow to create an Outbound IVR projectHow to prioritize your dialing listHow to monitor the efficiency of outgoing campaigns using Outbound IVRSome Outbound IVR usage examples1. The Characteristics of Outbound IVRIn a nutshell, Outbound IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is a set of predefined, automated messages that work as an interactive system, allowing clients to navigate through the menu of various messages and options.
Let’s take a look at the main features and characteristics of Outbound IVR:
No agent is needed for the project: The Outbound IVR dialer mode operates without agents, therefore it can perform outbound calls in a greater quantity. You can set up projects for Mass Callings (also known as Robo Calls) to run campaigns, telemarketing, urgent messages, sending reminders or any other kind of messages necessary for your business.
Reactive automation: The Outbound IVR system dials through the contacts in the database and performs predefined actions when a call is successfully established.
Full IVR solutions integration: It is possible to use all CloudshopeLive’s inbound IVR actions and processes in Outbound IVR projects. If you want to provide real-time assistance within your Outbound IVR project, you can create queues as well, so clients will still be able to contact specific agents.
Customizing calls: You can personalize your outbound calls by incorporating client data from your project’s database. Information to create these customized calls can be acquired from the client’s CRM system too, using real-time HTTP requests.
Defined timeframe: You can determine the running time of your Outbound IVR project, as well as the maximum number of dialing attempts that can be made to reach your clients.
Multichannel workflow: Besides phone calls, you can expand your Outbound IVR with other means of communication too. For example, you can integrate your email or text-messaging solutions in your Outbound IVR project to reach your clients more efficiently.

When Should You Choose Outbound IVR?In VCC Live, there are 3 main dialer modes (Manual, Power and Predictive dialers), and with Outbound IVR you have a fourth method of managing your outgoing calls. But how should you know when to use each one? Below you can find some useful information and benefits of using Outbound IVR, so you can see whether it is the best choice for you.
When no agent is needed: If your project does not need to have real agents when contacting clients, then Outbound IVR is probably the best option for you. It is capable of performing a Mass Calling service, which can be used for educational, information and political campaigns.
When agent assistance is only needed occasionally: Even during automated processes, there are instances where a client needs to contact an agent, or vice versa. In such projects, Outbound IVR works very well.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 675788
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Other common cases where Outbound IVR can be used include: First level of debt collection campaigns: where the amount due or the extent of a missed deadline is not significant, and does not yet require agent interaction. Completing surveys: clients can press their phone keypads in order to provide answers as values when participating in a survey. Cross- and up-selling campaigns: you can reach your existing clients and propose new products, special bundles or exclusive opportunities to them. Customer notifications: if you have a quick and important announcement for your clients regarding your business, you can send your voice message right away. New frontiers: Outbound IVR, with its unique features can be used for many more activities. It’s up to your imagination to explore the possibilities. How to Create an Outbound IVR project Let’s create a project in which we set up an Outbound IVR project. The steps below show the main steps you need to take when creating your project. In our example, the Outbound IVR project sends reminders to customers who are late with their most recent month’s payment. Step 1 - Start with creating a new project and set up the Outbound pane. Set up a new project with dialing mode set to Outbound IVR, but do not activate the project just yet. Name the project ‘Password Reminder’. Select the project, then navigate to Project > Channels > Voice > Outbound. Enter a value in ‘Simultaneous calls’ to specify the number of calls that can be initiated or be in progress at the same time. Set the Dialing time (sec). The system dials the customer for the time duration specified here. Call answered - disposition : select which Finished type disposition should be set by the system when a call is answered. Running timeframe: select timeframes within which the project should dial your customers. Step 2 - Create your IVR menu in the Inbound pane.

When to Use Inbound IVR and Outbound IVR for Payments
IVR is far from a new solution, but it is a dependable one. It’s one of the staples of most call centers, providing an easy way to collect payments and handle repetitive customer service requests such as account balances or due date inquiries.
IVR payments technology offers customers more control over the payment experience while decreasing service costs, which is why more businesses in auto finance, property management, lending, and other industries continue to rely on this technology. In the five-year period from 2017 to 2021, the predicted compound annual growth rate for the IVR market is 12.63 percent—a healthy growth rate for a mature technology.
If your business is looking at implementing a new or upgraded interactive voice response (IVR), you may be wondering which type of system to implement: outbound IVR, inbound IVR, or a solution that leverages both.
Why Use Inbound IVR?With an inbound service, your business can field calls and accept payments 24/7. When an incoming caller contacts the billing department or customer service, IVR triggers an automated response. As a result, callers are given options immediately, including the ability to make a card payment or ACH transfer over the phone.
Inbound IVR is particularly useful for lenders and financial institutions, where customers make regular payments over the phone. This service offers important benefits, making it easier to deliver a better customer experience.
For businesses with high call volumes, an IVR payments service can lessen the burden on call center agents.Your customers won’t have to wait on hold to make a payment over the phone, which can improve on-time payment rates.Inbound IVR allows lenders to stay PCI-compliant by routing card payments through the response system rather than having an agent take and input a customer’s personal information.An inbound IVR that works directly with your payment processing platform is ideal, ensuring a consistent customer experience every time.
Why Use Outbound IVR?Outbound IVR technology also plays a pivotal role in improving the payment experience for many businesses. With this service, your business can place automated payment reminder calls. The technology also simplifies payment management by tracking when a call is answered, when a voice message is heard, payment fulfillment rates, and optimal outbound call times.
This type of IVR technology is useful for businesses that rely on recurring payments. Benefits include:
Enabling automatic payment reminders is a proven solution for reducing payment delinquenciesBy handling payment reminders and collection calls, call center agents have more time to handle more complex customer calls.Not all merchants are comfortable with outbound IVR technology, especially when they want to enable more control over outbound messaging and collections activities. Some prefer using live agents to perform call duty, while relying on text messages and emails to send payment reminders.

Combining Outbound and Inbound TechnologyA complete IVR service can increase efficiencies and help to build stronger customer relationships. Consumers want the freedom to choose how and when to make payments, including being able to securely pay by phone at any time. You can offer this flexibility with inbound IVR.
Your customers also expect you to anticipate their needs. Going the extra mile to streamline their experience with features such as automatic reminders can make their lives so much easier. This simple step may help them manage bills and stay on top of their financial well-being. With outbound IVR, automated voice calls and tracking is easy.
An advanced IVR payment solution will also allow your business to collect information, track call and payment metrics, and better anticipate customer needs.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 476283
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Outbound IVR System Automate manual dialing and send important messages to bulk contacts using custom voice scripts, voice broadcast solutions, and AI-powered outbound IVR software. Features Voice Features Improve your Customer support with our advanced call center features. Toll-Free Number Get an international or domestic toll-free number based on your business location. Virtual Number Reserve a mobile number or landline virtual numbers for global and local business. International Number Select and activate international number for your business in more than 70+ countries. Indian Number Assign an indian number for your business with an instant cloud telephony setup. User Extensions Create 3-digit extinctions for all the users and the use the extension for transferring calls to any users any time. Voicemail Record customer queries through an audio message during non-working hours. Personalized Greetings & Music Welcome your customers with a customized greeting message and increase your branding. Call Conferencing Users can add merge another user from your team to a conference call by having customer in the same call. Call Masking Protect customer numbers to agents or delivery vendors with a plain virtual number. Virtual Call Center Setup a call center virtually with all the features, without worrying about infrastructure. Call Forwarding Forward incoming customer calls to multiple user's numbers to make available your team ready to receive customer calls anytime. Business Hours Configure business working hours to receive calls and to intimate the closing time.. Customer Caller ID Custom caller ID allows customers to receive a call from your agents, delivery persons through a customized business number. Internal Calls(App to App Calling) Connect with your team members through the Cloudshope softphone application for wide internal communication.

Inbound-Outbound IVR: The Best Combination to Get More Customers!

Customer Engagement for Flawless CXWith over 214 million businesses worldwide, customers have the power to buy from anywhere, anytime. The only way you can stand out from the crowd is by offering flawless customer service.
In fact, a study by Forbes states that 84% of the people surveyed believe AI can help them gain a competitive advantage and sustain better.
All buyers can be broadly categorised into four types: prospective customers, current customers, customers who have been loyal and former customers. To design an inclusive and holistic customer service model, strengthening customer experience is necessary.
Turning prospects and current customers into loyal buyers needs time, effort and attention. Your vision can come to life with technological solutions like Interactive Voice Response (IVR).
Inbound and outbound IVR calling comes with features that let companies engage with all four kinds of buyers.
How do IVR services help?Customers today demand instant solutions to all their concerns, and if you fail to do so, they quickly move to the next company they find on the Internet.
This is where IVR comes to your rescue.
An Interactive Voice Response system integrated with the call centre not only acts as a virtual receptionist but also offers quick solutions to all kinds of customer queries.
Put simply, IVR number helps you answer inbound calls and automate outbound calls that consist of pre-recorded messages to convey important information to consumers.
These services help businesses and buyers save time and energy.
Not to forget, they help you offer round-the-clock assistance from anywhere around the world.
Outbound and inbound IVR: definitions and benefitsTraditionally, IVR services mainly catered to inbound calling.
But with time and the evolution of technology, IVR now comes in handy for outbound calling as well. So, instead of waiting for your buyers to reach out to you, you can simply take the first step towards them.

Inbound IVRInbound IVR lets callers seek solutions by navigating them through a series of options. It understands their issues through DTMF tones or voice recognition and routes them to the agents that best suit their needs.
Scenarios where inbound IVR proves to be very useful for business include:
1. Automated customer assistance Handling multiple calls at once, especially during rush hours, can be stressful for your agents. However, Inbound IVR calling can help them attend bulk calls simultaneously.
Callers are prompted to choose the most relevant option from a list of possible solutions using their mobile devices. And based on how the call continues, it intelligently routes them to suitable agents.
Some of the concerns that IVR can handle include shipment updates, payments, track delivery, custom offers, etc.
Businesses with devoted contact centres for customer support can hugely benefit from inbound and multi-level IVR systems.
2. Facilitating inbound sales When information about offers and deals are conveyed to consumers via emails and SMSes, businesses can add their virtual numbers for the ease of customers.
The IVR system can analyse incoming caller details to determine if it passes as a pre-qualified lead. If a lead attains considerable scores on essential metrics, the call can be routed over to a relevant agent.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 563728
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Benefits of inbound IVR 1. Intelligent call routing: Interactive Voice Response (IVR) facilitates extremely effective call routing within the contact centre of the organisation. With self-service tools for customers, agents can focus on calls that require enhanced attention and understanding. This reduces their workload and keeps them from burning out from repetitive tasks like answering FAQs. This also helps build a better customer experience by shrinking waiting time and reducing difficulties for first-time callers. 2. Useful metrics and cost-effectiveness: Inbound IVR calling is also equipped to record incoming calls and track other metrics like call duration, wait times, first call resolutions, etc. By evaluating these metrics, your business can focus on adding value to its customer experience model, enabling you to convert more buyers into loyal customers. With the added advantage of automation, the burden for recruiting more agents and costs incurred by infrastructural expenditure also gets drastically reduced. Outbound IVR The push and pull model is the most common strategy for customer acquisition. Push marketing is when a business makes proactive efforts for customers to buy its products. On the other hand, when customers seek a brand’s products because they make a positive difference in their lives, it is pull marketing. Using outbound IVR service for pull marketing can help automate engagement activities via various sources like calls, email, social media etc. Scenarios where outbound IVR proves to be very useful for business include: 1. Sending out surveys Collecting customer feedback regularly is conducive to a business’s growth and automating calls using outbound IVR helps reduce dependence on support agents. Outbound IVR automatically reaches out to consumers who have recently purchased from a business to collect input. Collecting feedback using IVR surveys is an effective way to keep in touch with consumer emotions and expectations.

Inbound IVR VS Outbound IVR: What Are The Differences?

Many businesses turn to Interactive Voiced Technology (IVR) systems to better manage and route incoming calls to the right departments. 
IVR systems allow automated interactions by providing an interactive menu system to help callers navigate different functions or be connected to a person within your business. 
If you’re planning to incorporate IVR systems into your business, you’ve probably come across inbound and outbound IVR. 
But what exactly are they? How does each type of IVR work? Which is better for your business?
To help you answer these burning questions you have, we dive deeper into each type of IVR system and help you come to a decision!

What is inbound IVR?Inbound IVR attempts to anticipate your caller’s needs and provides them with options to access the information they need when they call. 
Inbound IVR is what most people encounter when they call a business — you get a self-service menu that allows you to reach different functions or departments by attributing a different voice command or touch-tone digit. 
Inbound IVRs are typically used for customer support, answering FAQs, and inbound sales.

What is outbound IVR?Outbound IVR allows businesses to automatically engage customers through multiple communication channels such as voice calls, SMSes, and emails. 
This technology has been much welcomed by companies who depend on a lot of outbound sales campaigns because it can complement other call features like autodialers.
For example, businesses can use outbound IVR to automatically alert customers about upcoming appointments, payments, or promotions.

Inbound IVR vs Outbound IVRWhile both inbound IVR and outbound IVR technologies seem to be the same, they are actually very different. 
Let’s take a look at the following factors to show how the two compare. 

FunctionalityWhile both inbound and outbound IVR serve to engage with your customers, each type serves a unique purpose.
The obvious difference is that inbound IVR processes inbound calls (calls initiated by the caller), whereas outbound IVR processes outbound calls (calls initiated by the company).
Of course, outbound IVR systems are more beneficial for a business since it initiates the call and is tailored more for marketing purposes. 
In contrast, inbound IVR focuses more on providing customer satisfaction. The caller initiates the call because they’re searching for answers or need support, and the IVR menus put in place help to attend to these calls.

Customer satisfaction77% of customers believe that a phone call is the most effective way to get an answer quickly. 
This means that callers would be happy to interact with a system that can provide assistance faster when they call a business.
On the contrary, since outbound IVR is similar to outbound calls, recipients might not be interested in engaging with a robotic system that alerts them to marketing messages.
Although some outbound IVR systems are initiated by user actions like customer verification, others are mostly promotional and do not serve the customer’s best interest. 

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 869343
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Scalability How much can an IVR system let you grow? How can it let you offer more services and more value to your users? While the answer to the first question is easier as it has been proven time and again that it helps businesses to scale, the second answer is more of, it depends. It largely depends on the type of IVR system that you are using. The debate of inbound IVR vs outbound IVR is therefore much viable for this factor. Both can help you scale, but because of outbound IVR’s nature, you proactively seek customer engagement opportunities over waiting passively for them to call. Integrations Because the main purpose of IVR systems is to add more automation to business operations, there have been improvements to offer more automation to these systems. Nowadays, IVR systems are connected to technologies powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning. For example, if a caller has to end an inbound call, AI may have recorded the user’s interactions and scheduled a callback with the caller. Tools like autodialers may be integrated so that they can initiate the dropped call for the outbound IVR system to take over. Both systems also may be integrated with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools to pull out customer data to make outbound calls. Outbound IVR systems may be connected with other phone system features like SMS to alert the users of the incoming calls.

Benefits of outbound IVRSince outbound IVR service can do all of the above without requiring continuous human presence, it helps companies save up on large amounts of time and money. A robust IVR system also adds value to the brand image given how many modern-day consumers expect instant gratification and a satisfying overall experience.
In a nutshell The strength and repertoire of a business largely depend on its ability to retain loyal customers in the long run. According to Microsoft’s State of Global Service Report, 56% of global participants have withdrawn themselves from a brand after a poor customer service experience.
Investing in the right kind of IVR services and installing a careful mix of both—inbound and outbound—will go a long way in deciding your organisation’s growth and progress.
The pros of IVR services are innumerable, regardless of the size and operation of a business. Even if your organisation is highly scalable with plans to expand in the near future, solutions like multi-level IVR can come to your rescue.
In a fast economy where customers are bombarded with a myriad of options to choose from, using an IVR to improve efficiency and provide an enhanced customer experience can have the right impact on your business’ growth.


What is Outbound IVR and How Does it Work?

Interactive voice response is a technology that allows callers to interact with an automated self-service system that will help them get to the right department in the business. IVR started as a simple system that would ask callers a series of questions and direct the customer to press a specific button for each response.
Today’s IVR software uses voice recognition and artificial intelligence to determine why your customers are calling. When prompted to answer a question, customers will be able to speak the response, and the system will direct the call to the right agent or agent grouping. Buttons are still an option if the voice recognition system does not understand what the customer is saying, but overall, IVR directs inbound and outbound calls without having to utilize a live operator during the process.

How Does IVR Work?IVR has advanced dramatically since its inception. Originally, customers would use dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) dial pads to answer questions and input information to route calls correctly. Today, there are inbound call services and IVR containment efforts to help customers who dial your phone number for a specific need, but there are also outbound systems that call customers to give them information or help them through processes.
Modern IVR features improve customer satisfaction while allowing your team to perform several essential tasks.

Inbound vs Outbound IVRInbound IVR phone systems route phone calls through your system and attempt to anticipate customer expectations.
On the other hand, outbound IVR technology works by alerting existing clients about an appointment or gives them a critical emergency notification. For marketing companies, an outbound campaign using IVR allows them to automate calls to reach out to the customers using an auto dialer which can route responders to live on-premise agents.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 298563
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Inbound vs Outbound IVR Inbound IVR phone systems route phone calls through your system and attempt to anticipate customer expectations. On the other hand, outbound IVR technology works by alerting existing clients about an appointment or gives them a critical emergency notification. For marketing companies, an outbound campaign using IVR allows them to automate calls to reach out to the customers using an auto dialer which can route responders to live on-premise agents. Machine Learning Machine learning and conversational AI ensures that a customer will not need to repeat things that they have already explained after a dropped call or being transferred to another representative. This technology may start on a website where information is collected before an agent contacts the customer, or it could be information that the IVR collects specifically so that the agent has a means of reconnection with the customer. Sentiment and Intention Prediction Sentiment prediction uses the recent activity of the customer to determine the possible reasons for the call. Machine learning also may review customer data in CRM databases. The system may ask if the call is in regards to a recent purchase, their current bill, or outages in the area. If it is not one of these things, the main menu options will be provided, but the IVR will be able to narrow it down to the most likely reason for the call. Customer Adaptation Every customer has a different level of experience when it comes to IVR calling, so they may need to be guided through the steps more thoroughly, or they may prefer a faster pace that skips some of the non-essential steps. A good IVR should be able to detect the customer’s level of experience based upon their status with the company’s loyalty program and the pace that they are taking while navigating through the interaction. These systems offer menu options specific to the customer so that they get through the IVR quicker.

How Does Outbound IVR Increase Engagement? 
outbound dialer
When most business owners think of IVR, they consider it to be a valuable tool that provided self-service options or a system that will effectively be routing callers to agents. Seldom do they consider the fact that IVR has outbound applications to improve customer service and expand the power of their VoIP phone service.
 
Increases Brand Awareness and ProfitThrough reaching out to existing customers and leads, outbound IVR sends automated texts or makes calls with updates.
Moreover, while it takes talented marketing staff to put together a campaign, IVR allows for an outbound campaign to be automated. You can promote products or send notifications about new releases with outbound IVR.
 
Improves Customer Experience and Provides Business IntelligenceFor those products that customers use every day, there’s a lot of potential feedback to give and receive. Outbound IVR gives them a chance to have their voice heard and get in touch without an effort, improving their experience.
Moreover, outbound IVR gives you the chance to test out the effectiveness of marketing efforts. You’ll find out which groups respond best to a given outreach effort and which sentiment your customers prefer, offering you feedback via engagement rate data. Outbound marketing efforts offer business intelligence to help you identify new opportunities.

 
How to Use Outbound IVR 
outbound dialer service
Outbound IVR, like traditional IVR, is designed to help add automation to business practices for the sake of efficiency. For example, outbound contact centers may have dedicated calling staff to alert customers about appointments, but this is a type of reminder that can be managed by an entirely automated outbound IVR.
Here are some specific applications of the system that your business should be using.
 
Alert Customers About PromotionsContact centers need to be as efficient as possible, and outbound IVR helps create this kind of efficiency through heightened automation. When new promotions are pending, rather than having agents reach out to customers, an outbound IVR system uses a recording or AI software to alert customers. Rarely will an agent need to be involved, and customers quickly are alerted without using up much of their time.
The software even has functions that will allow you to reach out to specific groups of your customers to alert them about promotions that affect them.
 
Remind Customers About PaymentsCollection practices of the past have used live agents to help bring customer accounts current, but IVR also serves as an efficient method. Outbound IVR can help customers that are behind by delivering payment reminders and alerting them about payment options.
Outbound IVR will quickly remind customers about due bill dates without the need to utilize an agent’s time. Calls are made using the payment system, and multichannel options are also available for those that prefer alerts on different devices and platforms. Quick SMS texts are made with payment information and links. When a customer feels that this is in error, outbound IVRs will present the caller with the option to speak with a specialist.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 258763
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Improve IVR Containment One of the goals of IVR systems is to provide a quick and easy self-service option for your customers, but unfortunately, this isn’t the way it always works out. IVR needs to be engaging so that your customers won’t simply press “0” or ask for a representative. Unfortunately, this is where IVR tends to falter. Customers tend to opt-out of the system if it is confusing or difficult to get through. Outbound IVR is designed to increase containment thanks to automatic messaging. Your business can use this IVR to alert customers about promotions, bill payments, and as a means to qualify leads before an agent reaches out to them. Since outbound IVR is a much more focused style of IVR, the rates of call containment will be much higher. Your agents will be rarely needed with outbound IVR, but the option to speak with one will be available for customers. Capture Customers and Convert Leads Leads don’t always take action when you want them to. When they express interest but don’t follow up, outbound IVR is a tool that gives them that extra push. Sometimes, potential customers express interest but forget to follow up. An outbound IVR system alerts these leads about promotion end dates or simply reminds them to complete their registration. Outbound systems present a reliable means of converting those leads that haven’t qualified and placing them into the company’s sales funnel. When the customer picks up the line, the system will automatically identify the brand and present them with promotions and reasons to consider the company. The customer will then have the option to opt-in and can use their DTMF pad or voice to input information for billing and records. The system will even text them info for a visual IVR system, which will allow them to complete the IVR journey via a smartphone or PC.

Inbound vs Outbound IVR: Which One Does Your Call Center Need?

“Thank you for calling Cloudshope’s customer support team. First, Press 1 to know our products. Then, press 2 to request a callback from our experts.”
By this stage of technological advancements on the scale of time, most consumers have come across such responses when dealing with different types of products and brands. When the volume of calls increases on the seller side, it becomes vital to delivering a personal touch to the responses shared.
If you have a growing call center business, you would want a practical solution to accommodate the expanding consumer base. To help you with sustaining a high volume of calls, there is an Interactive Voice Response, popularly known as IVR.
According to a recent report, the global IVR systems market is expected to reach $6.7 billion by 2026. (Source: ResearchAndMarkets)
IVR is a standard component of most business phone systems. At its core, it is a technology that allows callers to interact with a self-service system to get the required support or interact with the right business department.
For example, an IVR system asks callers a series of questions to direct them to press specific buttons for each response. Besides providing technical support, you can also provide promotional information and product updates to your customers.
Most call centers or contact centers turn to IVR systems to route and better manage customer calls. If you are also planning to incorporate IVR into your business, you might have heard about inbound and outbound IVR. However, before we cover the inbound vs. outbound system comparison, it is crucial to get an idea of the working of an IVR system.
 
How Does IVR Work?IVR technology works by combining physical phone system setups with VoIP technology to form a call routing system. IVR software supports this, which helps build automated menus to direct calls to different departments, agents, or databases.
In the early days, the end customers used Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) dial pads to allow callers to input information and answer questions for call routing.
Over time, the advancements in this technology have led to inbound call services and IVR containment metrics. With the modern IVR features, you can further improve customer satisfaction to allow your team to perform various calling tasks more efficiently. If you wish to dive deep, here’s an ultimate guide to IVR.
Let’s get to the targeted subject in detail now.
 
What is an Inbound IVR?As the name suggests, Inbound IVR refers to the IVR type used to address customers’ needs and queries when they call. Using this system, you can anticipate a caller’s needs and give them access to the necessary information or support.
In simple terms, inbound IVR is what your customers will encounter when they call for support. They get a self-service menu allowing them to reach different departments via a specific touch-tone digit or voice command.
Customer support, FAQ delivery, and inbound sales are some of the most common use cases of inbound IVR systems.

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 232228
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: What is an Outbound IVR? Unlike an inbound IVR, an outbound IVR system allows businesses like yours to engage with the target customers automatically through various communication channels, including SMS, voice call, or email. You can use these systems to connect with your customers or send communications proactively. For example, businesses can use outbound IVR technology to automatically alert or notify their customers about upcoming payments, promotions, or appointments through their preferred channel. It is highly welcomed in B2C and B2B industries, where outbound campaigns are used for sales and support. Besides this, an outbound IVR system uses CRM integration and differs from robocalls and predictive dialers. Inbound Vs. Outbound IVR Comparison While both the inbound and outbound IVR systems look similar, there are several differences between the two. Let’s consider the following factors to compare the two IVR types. #1. Functionality While the primary purpose of using IVR systems is to connect with the customers for different reasons, the origin of call differentiates these two types of IVR systems. The basic functionality of an inbound IVR is to process inbound calls, i.e., the calls initiated at the user’s side but handled at your end via your team of call center agents. The purpose of having this type of IVR system in place is to provide an avenue for the end customers to reach you/your clients. On the other hand, the outbound IVR is meant to process outbound calls, i.e., the calls initiated at your (business/call center) side. It is particularly meant to support marketing needs and can be tailored to boost sales or enhance the level of customer support. Take a look at how Reliance Nippon Life uses Cloudshope to boost its service quality. #2. Customer Satisfaction As per a survey, nearly nine in ten people prefer speaking to a live agent over a phone menu, which indicates the power of personalized responses.

What is Interactive Voice Response (IVR)?IVR is an automated phone system that allows callers to interact with a computer-operated telephone system through Dialtone input from a keypad or through voice response. It can route calls or even provide self-service options.
IVR phone systems have become so widely used that you’ve probably found yourself listening to a pre-recorded message or communicating with a virtual assistant over the phone more times than you can count.

IVRs manage inbound phone calls by collecting information about the customer inquiry before automatically transferring the call to the right department. They can tailor the conversation even based on the virtual phone number the person dialed.
Typically, customers are presented with a pre-recorded message explaining the options in a menu. After navigating the menu either verbally or manually (using the phone keypad), the customer is automatically connected to an agent who can help.
Picture a line of people waiting to check in to an event. An IVR might split the line, so people with last names of A-L go one way, and M-Z go another. This tactic increases the speed and load placed upon your staff. That’s the most fundamental goal of an IVR. Not only does this keep everything running more efficiently, but it also boosts the productivity of the call center staff.

An IVR system can also integrate—or may be bundled—with other call center software, like automatic call distribution (ACD) or customer relationship management (CRM) platforms.
We’ll cover some other significant advantages of IVRs in a moment. First, let’s go through a brief overview of how IVR works with automation.

Examples of automation with IVRIVR can integrate with your internal systems to help customers resolve simple requests on their own. IVR automation is a win-win—you save time by freeing up your support staff, and customers resolve their issues faster.
Here are some examples of how IVR can help you automate common tasks:
Check account balance. IVR shares the current balance of a customer’s accounts.Check the order status. Customers provide details of an order for its current status.Product lookup. Callers request information about products.Bill payment. IVR applications can pull account information and accept credit card data without needing a call center agent.Set or change PINs. Customers can set up or change their account or card PIN.Answer surveys. Modern IVR can let customers give feedback at the end of a call.
How does IVR work?Even the most basic IVR solution saves time and money by trimming hold times and requiring less workforce. That said, more advanced systems deliver an even better experience for the customer.
Basic IVR systemsIVR phone systems route calls to individuals or departments.There are two primary components of IVRs that enable the computer to understand and process the caller’s requests. One is voice recognition technology, and the other is called Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency signaling (or DTMF).DTMF signaling occurs between the phone and the computer when callers use the keypad on their phone to select menu options. This touch-tone technology allows intelligent call routing to take place without a human operator.IVR platforms with voice recognition capabilities enable what’s called Directed Dialogue, which means callers can give verbal responses instead of using the keypad to navigate the menu. For example, an IVR menu might say, “For billing, press three or say ‘billing.’”

Additional Information:

• Item Code: 589262
• Production Capacity: Unlimited
• Delivery Time: Instant
• Packaging Details: Advanced IVR systems As IVR technology develops, advanced systems make the customer’s IVR interactions increasingly more natural, faster, and more enjoyable. Among the most customer-friendly advancements is in Natural Language Processing software (or NLP), which is a form of conversational AI. Thanks to this sophisticated voice recognition technology, the computer can understand and process full sentences rather than limiting the caller’s word choice by recognizing only particular commands. An IVR with built-in NLP can answer open-ended questions such as “what can we help you with today?” As you can imagine, callers appreciate this conversational approach to customer service because it gives them more freedom. It’s also a much faster way to navigate the IVR because callers can get to the point right away. Related: 9 Powerful Ways to Use NLP to Improve Customer Service Let’s explore some of the reasons why an IVR is a game-changer for your business. How do IVR menus work? Typically, IVR menus include a top-level menu for incoming calls, plus additional submenus as necessary. Callers can select from the menu options to direct their call. All IVR systems let users choose by selecting a number from their phone’s touch-tone keypad, but this has limitations. With only nine options (the number zero is usually reserved to speak with an agent), an IVR system that needs to route hundreds of types of requests can be limited. A more modern component of the IVR system is to accept spoken input. This allows users to speak any issue and be routed correctly, while also having a more comfortable and conversational feel.