Dec 13, 2023

How to migrate from traditional to conversational IVR

Migrating from Traditional to Conversational IVR: Modernize Your Goldmine

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have long been a staple in customer service, but rising customer expectations demand a shift toward more advanced solutions. Traditional IVRs often fail to deliver an effortless experience, resulting in customer dissatisfaction. However, the emergence of next-generation IVR systems, called Conversational IVR, can potentially revolutionize the customer experience.

Conversational IVRs should build upon the foundation that traditional IVRs have laid out. IVRs provide rich data about customer habits, needs, and interactions. This data goldmine will be even more powerful when activated with modern technology.

Let’s explore the steps in migrating from traditional IVR to conversational IVR and how businesses can leverage this technology to enhance customer service operations in terms of quality and cost.

Understanding the Difference: Traditional IVR vs. Conversational IVR

Traditional IVR systems require callers to navigate through hierarchical menus using touch-tone inputs. In contrast, Conversational IVR uses natural language processing and understanding (NLU) to enable callers to have less rigid, more human-like conversations with the system. Conversational IVR comprehends the context and substance of conversations, such as entities and intents, allowing for a more intuitive and personalized customer experience. This shift towards conversational interactions eliminates the need for customers to endure complex navigation and improves overall satisfaction.

The Need for Migrating to Conversational IVR

Research has shown that a negative IVR experience can drive away potential customers, with 83% of customers avoiding businesses after such an encounter. To address this issue, companies must invest in conversational platforms that leverage AI and NLU to provide enhanced customer service. By 2025, it is predicted that 30% of major enterprises will adopt a single conversational platform for customer service and employee effectiveness.

The opportunity is here; here is a step-by-step guide.

Steps to Migrate from Traditional to Conversational IVR

1. Conduct an Audit of Current IVR System: Begin by auditing your existing IVR system to identify its strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Hire external experts to review menu structures, call volumes, IVR usage, and promptings. This audit will help uncover issues that frustrate callers, such as convoluted menus, unclear messages, and ineffective speech recognition.

2. Examine IVR and Routing Statistics: Analyze your IVR and routing statistics to gain insights into the customer experience. Look for indicators of misrouting issues, high transfer rates, long waiting times, and repeated calls from customers. Addressing these issues, such as merging low-traffic options and queues or implementing strategies to reduce waiting times, can significantly improve customer satisfaction.

3. Leverage Insights from Contact Center Agents: Contact center agents possess valuable knowledge about your customers' experiences and pain points with the IVR. Engage in conversations with your agents to understand customer needs, challenges, and areas where the IVR falls short. Their insights can inform improvements in the existing IVR system and guide the implementation of the conversational IVR.

4. Seek Customer Feedback: Directly engage with your customers to understand their contact preferences, pain points, and experiences with the IVR. Conversations with customers can help identify common questions and issues, which can be used to train the AI-powered conversational IVR for natural language understanding and automated issue resolution.

5. Conduct Requirements Gathering: Based on the insights gathered, develop a detailed list of requirements for the conversational IVR implementation. Consider business challenges, objectives, functional requirements, and the company's culture. Evaluate options such as migration, replacement, incremental migration, or separate voice and text operations, focusing on the desired business results rather than just technical considerations.

6. Define Key Metrics and Measurement Methods: Clearly define the key metrics that will determine the success of your conversational IVR implementation. Decide on the measurement methods and agree on the expected improvements in customer satisfaction, call containment rate, waiting times, and other relevant factors. Regularly monitor and analyze these metrics to track the effectiveness of your conversational IVR.

7. Minimize Disruption to Customer Operations: Minimize disruption to your customers' operations during migration. Ensure a smooth transition by providing clear communication and support throughout the implementation. Consider implementing a phased approach, gradually introducing new features and functionalities while maintaining a seamless customer experience.

8. Integrate with Other Communication Channels: To provide an omnichannel customer experience, integrate your conversational IVR with other communication channels, such as chatbots, web interfaces, and mobile applications. This integration ensures consistency and allows customers to choose their preferred communication method while enjoying the benefits of conversational interactions.

9. Leverage Customer Data: Take advantage of customer data to offer personalized options and improve the efficiency of the IVR system. Proper management and organization of customer information, such as through a CRM solution, enables the retrieval of customer profiles and the provision of relevant and dynamic options. Utilize caller ID (CLID) to match callers with their profiles and retrieve their information automatically.

10. Track Customer Journeys: Implement mechanisms to track and log customer activities across channels, enabling proactive and personalized interactions. This tracking allows for identifying customer journeys and facilitates the provision of relevant options and follow-ups based on previous interactions. While this may require significant investments, it is crucial for an effective omnichannel strategy.

11. Continuously Improve and Optimize: Embrace a continuous improvement and optimization culture for your conversational IVR system. Regularly analyze customer feedback, monitor key metrics, and leverage AI and machine learning capabilities to refine and enhance the system's performance. Stay updated with advancements in conversational AI technology to ensure your IVR remains at the forefront of customer service.

12. Provide Training and Support: Equip your contact center agents with the necessary training and support to handle interactions with the conversational IVR effectively. Emphasize the importance of leveraging the system's capabilities, understanding customer needs, and providing seamless assistance when required. Continuous training and support will ensure optimal utilization of the conversational IVR and deliver a superior customer experience.

Conclusion

Migrating from traditional IVR to conversational IVR is a strategic imperative for businesses seeking to enhance customer experience and meet rising expectations. By conducting an audit, leveraging customer and agent insights, and implementing a phased approach, organizations can transition seamlessly to a conversational IVR system. Integration with other communication channels, leveraging customer data, and continuous improvement are critical factors in achieving a genuinely personalized and efficient customer service solution. Embrace the power of conversational IVR to exceed customer expectations and drive business success in the era of advanced customer service technology.