Testing Your IVR System: The Essential Checklist
IVR systems are a great way to automate processes in your call center. These systems help callers get to the right agent or department through a series of prompts. Use this essential checklist make sure your IVR system is working properly.
Your IVR system is the first thing that callers hear when they contact your business. So, you want to make sure that it’s working as effectively as possible.
In this post, we’ll review the top 6 questions to ask yourself as you’re testing your IVR system. Plus, we’ll share our best tips for troubleshooting problems that you may encounter with your IVR software.
1. How long do callers spend on the IVR system before they reach an agent?
When you call your IVR system and select an option that should take you to a live agent, how long do you wait on hold? If the average hold time is too long, you may want to re-assess your call routing configuration, or even revisit your agent schedule.
2. Does your IVR greeting provide enough company information?
While some customers may contact your business for support, others many simply be looking for company information. You can help these customers by including basic information, including hours of operation and business address, in your IVR system greeting.
3. Are your menu choices clear and concise?
Your callers are busy people; they don’t have time to sit on the line and listen to a lengthy welcome message and endless menu options.
When you are testing your IVR, pay special attention to the menu options, and keep your customers’ top needs in mind. The best IVR menus are short, simple, and to the point.
4. Are incoming calls being routed properly?
If your customers press 1 for sales, and are instead routed to the customer support department, you might have a problem with the routing configuration that supports your IVR system. Luckily, most hosted IVR applications allow you to access and adjust your call routing rules through a web-based user portal. This lets you make changes to your IVR setup quickly and easily.
5. Does your system accept voice recognition or dial pad prompts?
Can callers simply say their answer aloud to your IVR, or do they need to use the dial pad to respond to the IVR menu prompts? Either method is fine, but you need to make sure that your callers know which option to use when you are testing your IVR system.
6. Do customers know if your IVR system is self-service?
Are customers able to access their account information through your IVR system directly? If so, be sure that your customers are aware of this functionality, as it will save the time they would have waited for a customer service representative to become available.
When you’re testing your IVR system, you should work to interact with it as though you were a customer calling in for service or support. As you do so, consider these 6 questions; and remember, if you have trouble navigating your IVR system, your customers certainly will.
Looking for more information on setting up and testing your IVR system? Check out these related articles:
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