Is it possible to make automation sincere?

10/8/2013

A question for Call Centre leaders everywhere: Does any company have a rewarding IVR experience? Seriously, if you think about every automated interaction you've ever had, is there any one worth bragging about? I thought long and hard and in my humble opinion I do not know of one.

For the uneducated, IVR simply means Interactive Voice Response and is the person you hear when greeted by nearly every mid - large size organization on the planet. Whether you are greeted and given options to press or can actually interact with this voice (something we call speech recognition) depends on who you call. In almost all cases, IVR experiences are unnatural and often frustrate us to no end.

Now, I will say this, those organizations that make it at least easy to move through the IVR, provide us with an option to transact (e.g. banking) and most importantly make it easy to speak with a live person deserve some praise. There are several companies, Canadian banks in particular, who do this well.

The issue most of us have, myself included, is that too often I am either given far too many choices and moreover have too hard a time reaching a live person. Also, if I am asked to enter information in the IVR to validate my identity, please do not have me do this all over again if I do speak with a live person - This is a bad to way to start what could already be a frustrating customer experience.

To simplify things I offer this tips to all companies using an IVR:

Use the most natural voice possible - Coming across more like a real person is most important
Consider recording language that you'd use yourself - Avoid sounding like a recording
Do not offer more than 4 options anywhere and try to get to 3 or 2 - Limit sub menus
Make it EASY for customers to speak with somebody live - It may cost more to speak with more live customers but if the result is increased loyalty you will WIN a hundred times over
I have yet to experience a speech software that works well consistently - If you know of one LMK

I know this a hot topic and there are many opinions out there and I welcome your comments below.

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Talk soon!

3 Comments

Colin Taylor link

10/9/2013 12:21:18 am

The allure of self service and IVR' self service in particular has been to provide a more convenient, hopefully, way of doing things. The analogy of ATM's is fair, you can interact with a machine or wait in line for a teller. With an IVR you can do things: route your call or provide self service when the center is closed or queue length may be long. I echo your sentiments regarding the experience, in most instances it is mechanical and un-friendly. Traditional IVR' designers can benefit from your guidance.
It has been demonstrated numerous times that speech recognition takes longer than DTMF (touch tone) entry, it has false positives and can be judged by users as more frustrating. Speech is great when it works well, but as you said it is often fraught with problems.
Artificial Intelligence IVR's may finally represent a comfortable experience, certainly they tend to feel more natural and human and less 'mechanical'. If you are looking to implement or upgrade your IVR you should look at AI driven systems as a possible solution.

Kevin Brown link

10/9/2013 10:48:06 am

The point of successful IVRs is simplicity. Every organization should recognize that voice is the most important channel, and not abuse it. Many (and increasingly in certain industries, most) customers try to self serve through the web and mobile apps.

When customers try to self serve, then have to escalate to a live person for help, there is no reason at all to make them re-authenticate, then restate your service intent. Integration of the voice channel with the web and mobile channels has to happen. Quit trying to force every caller through a maze of self service that they are not calling about.

Keep it simple. Want a good example of this? Pick up the phone any call ANY of the Fortune 500. ANY of them.

And sorry, but I violently disagree with Colin Taylor's post about "AI". First, there is ZERO true AI offered today. It's marketing buzz BS and all it does is complicate, rather than simplify. However, I am in total agreement with him about the abysmal deployment of speech.

Simplicity works in IVR, nothing else does.
I took an automaker from offering 14 self service apps that provided 7% completion rate to offering 4 apps that provided a 84% completion rate, all during the same time that the same apps were offered on the web (pre-mobile days). Simplicity works.

Bryan Socransky

10/14/2013 11:58:44 pm

Let's remember what the reward is that the customer is expecting to get from the IVR experience. It's the ability to get an answer or do something fast. Lots of bad press and negative sentiment about IVRs but without them people would be sitting on hold waiting for a customer service rep for hours.
My tip - reward customers for using self-service. Kevin Brown had the right idea. If the customer has to escalate from self-service don't make it painful.
If I am self-serving on the web or mobile and I am already authenticated the company should know who I am and what I am trying to do. Use that information accordingly and tailor my experience.

Is it possible to make automation sincere?

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