IVR

 

 

An Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solution is easily created using eurovoice objects.  Incoming calls are answered 24h / 7 days a week by the IVR server.  The caller conducts an automated dialogue with the system to either request information or to action a process.

A typical IVR session would:-

  • Greet the caller by a pre-recorded (i.e. high quality) voice prompt playback.
  • Allow the caller to identify themselves by means of DTMF input e.g. by entering an account number, user id or other reference number.  CLI information may be used to assist caller identification.
  • Applications requiring a degree of security would then prompt for some information known only to the caller, such as a passcode or date of birth.
  • The IVR system then performs a check of the user id and passcode to verify whether the caller is genuine or not.  This is usually checked against a business database.
  • Caller specific information is then retrieved from the database or back-end system and spoken to the caller.  Examples of such data include account balance information for a financial system, blood test results for a medical system, or details of an order delivery date for a retail system.
  • Often, the caller is allowed to request some action to be performed, such as make a payment or enter a new delivery date.
  • The caller's request is then actioned by the back-end system and the request confirmed verbally.
  • The caller may be given an option to be transferred to a live agent to conduct a more complex query.
  • Once the call is ended or transferred, statistical information is written to a call log database.  This information may include the caller's details, what actions were performed, which IVR line they used, the call arrival time and duration of the call.

Business benefits:-

  • Callers have access to information and/or services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • Routine information can be delivered without incurring additional staffing costs.
  • Call centre / customer service staff are freed up to concentrate on more complex or valuable enquiries.

eurovoice objects allows IVR systems to integrate with and re-use existing back-end software components & business logic.  This minimises implementation and system maintenance costs.