This document discusses how to use IVR and self-service strategies effectively to enhance customer experience while reducing costs. It notes that many enterprises implement IVR incorrectly, creating complex menus that frustrate customers. To be successful, IVR should be simple, avoid unnecessary complexity, involve customer-facing employees, and pay attention to details. The document also outlines the business case for IVR and how to ensure self-service options are part of an effective multichannel customer service strategy.

1. Doing More with Less.....
Using IVR to Enhance the Customer Experience
Government Contact Centres
Technology Focus Day
Sydney
2nd December 2009
Steve Mitchinson
Managing Partner
TeamRed Solutions
www.teamredsolutions.com.au

2. Introduction
According to the Gartner report, Predicts 2009:
CRM Customer Service and Support: “Even with budget
constraints tightening, the demand for service is not
decreasing. The power of customer demands is
increasing, as multiple sellers compete for the same
share of budget. Customer service requirements are
heightened and enterprises must streamline the
customer experience and curtail associated costs, while
adding value and efficiency to the service of transaction.”
So why do so many enterprises get
their IVR and self service strategies
so wrong?
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

3. What is the Research really telling us
74 percent of customers would prefer to talk to a business representative over
the phone (versus other channels),
What callers actually hate is badly set-up IVR menus.
Why
•The “solution” often creates a bigger problem than you started with
•Complex menus that achieve nothing – for either party. Callers just hit random
responses because they know in the end it does not make a difference
•The whole point of IVR was to make it simple to collect some basic caller data
and use that to route the call to the most suitable agent to deal with that
customer and their issue.
IVR Horror Stories
•17 options, 12 skill sets – all arriving at one agent
group
•Staff transferring calls back to “correct option” and
then going into ACW so they don’t get the call back
as they in fact have the skill set
•25 calls arriving with a single agent on just one
day were due to failure within IVR or self service
application
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

4. The Purpose of IVR and ASR systems
1. Efficiency - Directing customers to
the most effective answer in the
quickest an most direct manner
2. Cost Reduction - Deflecting routine
calls from live agents to self service
options
3. Convenience - Providing the right
channel for customers to resolve
their inquiries in an automated, easy
to use manner
4. Revenue – Intuitive design increases the
likelihood and propensity of customer
repurchase
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

5. Building an IVR that Customers will use
Know Your Customers
•External perspective – not internal
Avoid (Unnecessary) Complexity
•too many IVR systems are tricky to navigate
and often wind up driving more, not less,
traffic to live agents
Involve Customer-Facing Employees
•They will provide invaluable insight into what
your customers need (because they get asked)
Pay Attention to Every Detail
•Personas, DRP, scripts, standards
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

6. Where does self service fit
Customers need two kinds of responsiveness:
1. Informational responsiveness
2. Emotional responsiveness
Customers require both – but at the right times and
for their right reasons – not yours!
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

7. The Business Case
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or Automated
Speech Recognition (ASR) systems have matured over
the years, with the introduction of:
•Systems Integration
•Speech recognition to further enable self-service
•Advanced linguistics capabilities
•Art and science to guide a customer through an
efficient self-service experience.
Comparative Costs
Phone Support Contact - $33
Email support - $10
Call that zeroes out of IVR - $3 and $7 dollars an
IVR - $0.45
Source - Forrester Research 2009
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

8. Doing more with less
It does not have to be about technology - indeed
it should not be about technology
There is much room for improvement in all of
these areas:
•Routing that is neither smooth or logical
•Navigation that is frustrating to customers
•Scripts that are not effective
•Databases that are not linked or updated
effectively
•Outcomes that deliver a poor experience
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

9. Achieving Intelligent Self-Service
How does your organisation view Intelligent self-service :
• a “nice to have”
or
• a “must have”
1.Leverage Knowledge Trapped in Back-
Office Systems
2.Harness Real-Time Knowledge and
Dynamic Decisioning
3.Embrace Analytics To Predict, Optimize
and Identify Opportunities
4.Move Intelligence “Upstream” in the
Customer Experience Lifecycle
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

10. Self Service Must...
•Be an “option” for the customer.
•Reduce or eliminate “non-value” calls into your centre
• Improve the customer experience
•Add value to the products and services offered
•Be user friendly, easily accessible and reliable.
•Not generate extra traffic into centre.
•Be supported with timely, accurate reporting and
monitoring
•Be a part of your overall service strategy, and integrated
with other channels
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

11. Five Common Self Service Myths
1. Self – service is a fool proof way to reduce costs
BEST PRACTISE : Implement self service right or don’t implement at all
2. Self-Service means eliminating customer interactions
BEST PRACTISE : Should be part of a multichannel service strategy to create more valuable interactions
3. Self-Service is a quick fix
BEST PRACTISE : should be an “outside in” strategy across the business, not siloed in a department
4. One self-service method fits all customers (and their needs)
BEST PRACTISE : Monitor and analyse for customer behaviour: to sell, not just problem solve
5. Deploying self service and contact centre volume will go down
BEST PRACTISE : Some customers prefer self service: Find out who and why – self service volumes
will increase – customer satisfaction will improve, and call volumes will drop
Source: Neil Harrison, Project Manager, IInet
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

12. The 5 Steps to a Successful Business Case
Step 1 – Understand and state the problem or issue you
plan to address
Step 2 – Identify the costs and potential benefits
Step 3 - Define Success - How will you measure the
results?
Step 4 - Have all options been explored?
Step 5 – Answer this question - What is the likelihood
that gains will actually be less than predicted?
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

13. Aligning the People and Technology
Know your client base
•how will it affect take up
Know your contact reasons
•What should you or could you automate
Create meaningful jobs
•What will be impacts on contact centre resourcing
Reward uptake
•How do you encourage and reward customers for
take up
Reward promotion
•How do you get employee buy in
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

14. The Costs of Getting it wrong
The truth is, very few companies actually know if they have it right
Start with this list and add your own specific issues:
1. Failed transactions = lost revenue or slower cash flow
2. Abandonment rates - why and where = higher costs & lost
customers
3. User errors = frustrated, angry customers diverted to live
agents – or your competitors
4. Increased call durations required to complete those
transactions
5. Declining channel traffic volumes = Increased live call volumes
= Increased costs
Putting you and your business in the fast lane

15. Doing More with Less.....
Using IVR to Enhance the Customer Experience
Government Contact Centres
Technology Focus Day
Sydney
2nd December 2009
Steve Mitchinson
Managing Partner
TeamRed Solutions
www.teamredsolutions.com.au
Cartoons courtesy Limebridge Australia