Good Morning!

IVRs, are they a boon or a bust to your business? At Hamilton, we find that it's more a question of

how you use them. Keep the options simple and allow your customers to connect with a real person at any point and they can be a positive influence on your call flows. Make it complicated and customers may just end up getting frustrated with your company, which is never a good thing.

As you read through this month's newsletter, please remember, if you ever need additional information on this or other topics we present, we would love to hear from you.

Thomas Kell Executive Vice President

People Want To Talk To Humans 

If you Google "Interactive Voice Response" or "IVR" on the Internet, you don't have to look very far before you find articles and blogs about the frustration people have with self service menus. You read about people who call a customer service number wanting to talk to a Customer Service Representative (CSR) and instead end up in an endless IVR tree that may appear to have no way of connecting with a human being.

According to the 2009 Contact Center Satisfaction Index (CCSI), which we mentioned in a previous e-newsletter, overall customer satisfaction with contact centers scored 74 out of 100. Of the three drivers of satisfaction, customers are most satisfied with CSRs (with a score of 80) and least satisfied with IVRs, which scored 58 out of 100. The customer service process scored 75 out of 100.

Also interesting is the fact that those who had to go through an IVR before speaking with a CSR are much less satisfied (69) than those that spoke directly with a CSR (79). Just the fact that a customer has to interact with an IVR means that they are less satisfied with your company.

When asked what most hindered their ability to access the right information through the IVR, 39% indicated that there was not an option that closely met their needs. Twenty-one percent said that they did not even try to use the IVR but skipped to talk to a representative. What this shows us is that 60% of your customers want or need to talk to a human.

In fact, people want to connect to a human so badly that there is actually a website dedicated to it. The site lists the numbers to call and the steps to take to get a live person on the phone at many large companies. What does it say about our industry when a website exists just to tell people how to get through a company's IVR system?

In situations where the caller knows exactly what they want, self-service can be a fast and effective tool. For instance if a customer wants to check the balance of their bank account or credit card, or perform after-hours transactions. However, if the program includes a complex transaction, the customers may be more likely to appreciate human contact.

If your average customer includes a high percentage of elderly or hard of hearing individuals, they may be intimidated by, or have trouble hearing or understanding the flat intonations of a computerized message.

Bottom line is, whatever benefits our customers benefits us, whether that's an IVR or a real person.

If you want to talk to a real person, call 800-972-3737 today and ask for This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . See how Hamilton can help connect your customers to a human and increase your customer satisfaction scores.