Exploring IVR: Benefits of Auto Attendants

The advent of Unified Communications and Voice over IP (VoIP) phone systems along with their myriad of features and offerings have changed the way businesses perform communication activities, both internally and externally. Voice-over IP is becoming the need of the hour for many small and mid-size businesses. Among the many features that VoIP services have to offer, the most common are – Voicemail to Email, Call Forwarding, Audio conferencing, and Calling Queues. However, the most important feature of VoIP is the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system also known as Auto Attendant, which, as you might know, serves a wide variety of uses in business operations.

An IVR is a voice menu that can automatically transfer the caller to the desired person or extension. Thus, eliminating the need to have a dedicated trained receptionist. We all have used it at some point in our life. If you don’t remember, try thinking of the time when you last heard the following statements on a phone call:

• For order-related queries, press 1.
• To place an order, press 2.
• To speak with a customer service agent, press 3.

Yes, these are all IVR functionalities and there are many more to it! Businesses can provide a wide range of services to their clients using an IVR. Following are some benefits that an IVR system has to offer.

1. IVR Full Customization: Tailoring Your Customer Experience

State-of-the-art VoIP service providers (just like us!) offer great IVR customization options to businesses. Businesses can set numerous menus and messages for business hours and for after-hours operations. Businesses also have the ability to customize their own pre-recorded greeting messages which can lead to a better customer experience for the end user. An IVR is not just an answering machine, it is also a fully functional and customizable digital receptionist, which is available 24/7/365.

2. Enhancing Your Brand’s Reputation with IVR Technology

Small and Mid-size businesses can make use of an IVR functionality to make their company look more professional. It provides an impression to the end user that the company has formal operating protocols in place, etc. This can result in increased credibility and reputation. Moreover, this becomes one of the critical factors, which can be a huge factor in connecting with the clients and/or losing them to competitors.

3. Cost Savings Achieved Through Efficient IVR Systems

Having a business VoIP system equipped with an IVR functionality eliminates the need to hire a full-time receptionist. As a result of which, businesses can save some money from all the hiring and training costs. In addition to this, an IVR has the ability to connect the call to the desired extension at a much quicker rate. As a result of which, the overall productivity and efficiency of the business can be increased. By the same token, with an increase in your percentage of customer satisfaction, your business can retain a higher percentage of customers.

4. Flexibility

VoIP service providers (just like us!) provide a myriad of advanced features including an IVR functionality. Employees of the business can seamlessly connect with their colleagues by using their extension, a call can be transferred easily to different groups and voicemails, etc.