What Does IVR Success Sound Like

Consulting offers a wide range of issues and sometimes I get to work on systems I've never dealt with before. Discover is a fun part of the process, as we found here. I worked with a large company suffering from a downturn in sales. This was right after the start of COVID, which had helped their industry, so that wasn't the cause. There was traditionally a downward trend this time of the year, but it didn't account for the full decline.

So, where to start? I dug into all their sales channels and experiences. Obviously, their ecommerce channel had grown significantly since the onset of COVID while in store sales had slumped, but that was just share shifting. In this industry, though, more than 60% of their sales come from inbound phone calls. Here I found a stark year over year difference in sales. I was narrowing in on the problem.

I asked what their IVR experience was... Crickets.

I asked what the customer flow and drop off rates were at each step... Again crickets.

I had already called their IVR and mapped out the sales channel paths, so I knew the answer. It was surprising they did not. Here was the sales experience I consistently received while trying to place an order:

• I imeadiately heard an offer message for a product by another brand owned by the same company
• Then a message that this call may be recorded
• Followed by a prompt to pick 1 for English and 2 for Spanish
• Next I was told to please wait while the call is transferred
• I received another reminder the call may be recorded
• Probably worst of all, next I would get 30 seconds of silence
• After waiting, I was asked to enter my account number (this was a new customer sales call)
• 5 more seconds of silence before telling me to push 1 if I'm not an existing customer
• Next, I am prompted to say what I'm calling about. It didn't recognize "sales" but did work with "new service"
• If it didn't understand me, I'd have to answer a few more questions by number pad:
• Select from multiple options where the new customer option is the fourth listed
• Then again asked to press 1 to add new service
• Just for good measure, I guess, I again select option 2 to say I am a new customer
• Finally, a sales agent answers!

Yes, this is in fact the IVR experience of a company with nearly $10 billion in annual revenue. Honestly, I'm not sure which part disturbs me more: the fact that this is the first impression new customer's get or that no one knew.

To compound the problem, there was no data on the performance of calls. They had dedicated numbers down to the campaign level on marketing tactics, yet only knew the number of calls they were driving. There was no way to tell what specific tactics and campaigns resulted in a sale through the IVR.

Once detailing this findings out, the solution seemed obvious. I suggested IVR monitoring tools with data visualization and reporting. Coupled with a long list of improvements to test in the IVR, they were on the right road back to success. As a side note, I also suggested they remove the 30 seconds of silence ;)

It just goes to show, sometimes you are too close to the problem to see the solution. Interested in having us consult for your business? Contact us here.