BLOG ยป 8 IVR Call Routing Strategies That Enhance Productivity
8 IVR Call Routing Strategies That Enhance Productivity
- IVR technology has become an indispensable tool in today's business landscape, as it offers a myriad of benefits such as improved customer experience, automated call handling, and enhanced productivity.
- By quickly routing incoming calls to the appropriate department or agent, businesses can improve response times and provide better customer service. However, effective call routing involves much more than simply receiving and managing calls.
- With a variety of features available, including customized greetings and intelligent call routing, it's crucial to maximize the potential of your IVR System.
- In this blog, we'll explore eight strategies to help you optimize your IVR and streamline your call handling process, ultimately leading to increased productivity. So, if you're looking to take advantage of IVR technology, keep reading to learn more.
The best strategies for IVR call routing
1. Direct Routing
- Direct routing is the go-to call-routing strategy for many businesses, as it enables customers to directly connect with the agent or department that can cater to their specific needs.
- This method involves the use of a particular phone number that leads customers straight to the relevant person who can assist them with their queries.
- In case the department is busy, the call is automatically transferred to the next available worker within the same department, ensuring customers receive the help they need.
- However, if there are no available agents, customers may be put on hold, and their queries are addressed as soon as someone is free.
- The utilization of direct routing improves the overall customer experience by handling calls automatically and ensuring customer satisfaction.
2. Skill-based Routing
- Skill-based routing is a call routing strategy that can greatly enhance the customer experience by connecting them with the most qualified agent to address their specific needs.
- It uses a range of data-driven techniques, such as speech recognition and AI, to match customers with agents based on factors such as language proficiency, product expertise, and past customer interactions.
- By prioritizing skill over seniority or availability, businesses can reduce wait times and improve first-call resolution rates, leading to higher customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Skill-based routing can also enhance agent performance by allowing them to focus on their areas of expertise, reducing stress and burnout.
3. Time-based Routing
- Time-based routing is a powerful call routing strategy that ensures customers can always reach your business, regardless of the time or location.
- This technique uses various tools and technologies to automatically redirect calls to the appropriate department or agent, based on predefined time slots.
- It can be especially advantageous for large enterprises that operate across multiple locations and time zones. By using automated routing systems, businesses can route calls to different departments or even countries based on their call volume and shift timings.
- This means customers can connect with a live agent at any time, enhancing customer satisfaction. Additionally, by enabling voicemail, customers can leave messages for your business.
4. Value-based Routing
- Utilizing advanced routing tools, such as the Automatic Call Distributor (ACD), can help companies direct calls to the appropriate agents, based on customer needs and preferences.
- For instance, companies can use routing strategies to ensure that high-value customers receive personalized attention from top-tier agents who are knowledgeable about their account history and preferences.
- On the other hand, customers who are dissatisfied or unhappy with the service can be redirected to a retention team that is trained to address their concerns and prevent them from canceling their service.
5. Location Based Call Routing
- This advanced location-based routing system provides multi-location organizations with a powerful tool to optimize their call handling process by accurately identifying a caller's location using their telephone number and routing the call to the most suitable agent or department based on the locality or specific location of the caller.
- By doing so, the system eliminates unnecessary transfers caused by language barriers or other factors, resulting in faster response times, reduced wait times, and improved overall customer satisfaction.
- In addition, the location-based routing system can also help organizations leverage their resources more effectively by directing calls to the nearest available agent with the right skill set and reducing the workload of other agents.
- This results in a more balanced workload across different locations, improved productivity, and better utilization of staff resources.
6. Sticky based Routing
- The stick-based routing strategy is an innovative approach to call routing that can significantly enhance the customer experience.
- This routing method utilizes customer data to remember their previous interactions and route them to the same agent they previously spoke with.
- By doing so, callers do not have to repeat previous conversations or re-explain their queries to a new representative, resulting in faster resolution times, improved accuracy, and higher customer satisfaction.
- This approach to call routing can also promote effective follow-up, as the same agent can follow up on previous interactions, maintain continuity, and build better customer relations.
- This level of personalized service can help build trust and loyalty, leading to increased customer retention and positive word-of-mouth referrals.
7. Intelligent routing
- The implementation of an intelligent call routing strategy offers an effective solution for managing high volumes of incoming calls in an efficient manner.
- By utilizing advanced algorithms and interactive voice response (IVR) technology, simple queries can be resolved automatically without the need to direct the call to an agent, freeing up their time to focus on more complex issues that require their expertise.
- This approach can be particularly advantageous for organizations that receive a large volume of calls, as it enables them to handle a greater number of queries in a shorter period of time.
- By providing callers with the option to receive automated responses to simple queries such as claim numbers, payment due dates, or general information, wait times can be reduced, resulting in a more positive customer experience.
- Furthermore, the intelligent call routing strategy can also help organizations to optimize their resources, by directing calls to the most suitable agent based on their expertise and availability.
- By doing so, agents can focus on resolving more complex issues, resulting in improved efficiency, higher productivity, and increased customer satisfaction.
8. Database Integration Routing
- This advanced Call Routing method that utilizes a customer's previous database can help agents provide better customer support.
- By accessing a customer's previous data, such as their purchase history, preferences, and previous interactions, agents can personalize their approach and provide tailored support, resulting in a more positive customer experience and increased loyalty.
- Furthermore, this approach can also help organizations identify customers at an early stage and provide proactive support.
- For example, if a customer has recently encountered an issue with a product or service, the system can flag this information and direct the call to an agent with the relevant expertise.
- This proactive approach can help prevent potential issues from escalating, resulting in improved customer satisfaction and reduced churn.
Conclusion
- IVR call routing strategies offer a wide range of benefits to organizations, including improved efficiency, increased productivity, and enhanced customer satisfaction. By utilizing advanced algorithms and intelligent routing methods, organizations can optimize their resources, reduce wait times, and provide personalized support to customers.
- The use of IVR call routing strategies can also help to identify customers at an early stage and provide proactive support, preventing potential issues from escalating and resulting in reduced churn.
- At TeleCMI, we offer advanced call routing strategies that are designed to meet the unique needs of your organization. We believe in providing our clients with the best possible support, which is why we offer a free trial of our advanced call routing strategies for 10 days. Contact us today to learn more about how our IVR call routing solutions can help enhance productivity and improve customer satisfaction.