"Interactive Voice Response" is a telephony technology option that provides Call Center connectivity between your phone lines and computer databases. IVR software provides customers with the ability to directly access information without the help of a Call Center agent.

IVR software lets customers use a touch tone telephone to interact directly with a database. This gives customers the ability to acquire information from, or enter data, directly into your database. Interactive Voice Response does not require human interaction over the telephone. You control the customer's interaction with the database based on predetermined settings that instruct the IVR system on which data users will have access to. For example, banks and credit card companies use IVR systems so that their customers can receive up-to-date account information instantly and easily without having to speak directly to a person. Interactive Voice Response is also used to gather information, as in the case of telephone surveys, in which the user is prompted to answer questions by pushing the numbers on a touch tone phone.

Increase the capacity of your Call Center without increasing staff. The more time agents spend looking up information, the more money you lose. If an agent takes 15 seconds to pull up a record and takes 42 calls per hour this station is wasting 10.5 minutes per hour. In a 12 hour day this station loses over 2 hours of productivity. Multiple this scenario for 24 agents and you've lost over 48 hours of valuable time that could have been spent on the phone with customers.

IVR call flow scripting eliminates routine, repetitive agent tasks. Wasted time spent calling up customer records is eliminated when the IVR system pops caller records onto agent screens as they answer each call. For each incoming call a customer can be prompted to enter data such as their account #, PIN #, SSN, or even use voice commands to enter this information. Once these steps are completed the database is queried to find their record. Then both the data record and the customer call are transferred to the appropriate agent.

Interactive Voice Response technology is successfully utilized by many industries. The majority of these tasks can be completed without use of a live agent/ operator. Voice prompts can give users the option of speaking to a "live" person, if needed.

• Public Utility companies use IVR for reporting outages, emergencies and making payments.
• Debt Collections rely on their systems for relaying account status and payment collection information.
• Banks and other Financial Services use IVR for transfers, payments, account status, and activating credit cards.
• The IRS takes advantage of automated tax filing, refund status reports, and assessor status.
• Health Care uses IVR software for scheduling appointments, test results, and providing health information.
• Customer Relations Departments in a variety of businesses perform market research and collect data on customer satisfaction.
• Retail Firms can take product orders, credit card information, catalog request, or order status queries -all using IVR software.

IVR Software Benefits:

• Higher Level of Automation
• Maintain Service Levels
• Increase Call handling Capacity
• Automate Repetitive Requests
• Enhanced Information Services
• Customized Scripting
• ODBC Interface Capabilities

IVR Software Options:

• Voice Mail Systems
• Message Delivery
• Help Desk Hotlines
• Automated Phone Surveys
• Information Lines
• Account Status
• Sales or Product Ordering
• Appointment Scheduling
• Custom Call Flow Scripting
• PIN or Password Sensitive
• Unified Messaging
• Fax on Demand