7 Best IVR Call Routing Strategies for Your Business
Setting up IVR call routing is a great way to save your business time while providing the best customer service experience possible-- but what are the best ways to do it? In this guide, you’ll learn:
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- How IVR Works
- Top IVR Call Routing Strategies
- How To Set Up IVR
How Does IVR Work?
Interactive Voice Response is a technology that lets inbound callers use pre-recorded messaging and options as well as routing strategies to route calls to a live operator. IVR routing systems often come with related features such as:
IVR technology is great for businesses as they are customer-friendly, increase customer service efficiency, and improve call KPIs. IVRs are not just for enterprises either-- any business that would find an automated menu with routing helpful can use it!
Best IVR Call Routing Strategies
There are many different ways to route calls through IVR, and the best method depends on a business’s individual needs. Let’s take a look at the top IVR call routing strategies that you can use for your business phone system.
1. Direct Routing
Callers accessing the IVR menu can self-select their need and be routed directly to the best person or department to help them.
Example: A customer calling to speak with an agent in sales at a company is presented with an IVR menu: press ‘1’ for general information, press ‘2’ to speak with the front desk, press ‘3’ to speak to sales. The customer presses ‘3’ and is directly routed to an available agent in sales.
2. Self Service Routing
Callers accessing the IVR menu for information that does not require a live agent (business hours, address, etc) can select a corresponding number option to have an automated attendant give them the information they need. This helps the caller as they do not need to wait for an available agent, and saves the company time and money allowing agents to focus on more complex inquiries.
Example: A customer looking for a business’s hours calls the business number and is connected to their IVR that gives an option to learn business hours. The customer is self-serviced without having to be in touch with a live agent.
3. Geographic Routing
Calls input their dial-code or other location ID and are routed to the closest location to them based on their input.
Example: A caller may be prompted by the IVR system to enter their zipcode, which then routes the call to the company’s closest location to that caller.
4. Time-Based Routing
When a customer calls, the IVR system will direct to a certain IVR routing depending on the time and/or day of the call. Learn more about time-of-day routing.
Example: If a customer calls at an hour where the business is closed in their time zone, the call will be routed to another time zone to an available agent.
5. Skill-Based Routing
The caller inputs a need into the IVR system, which then routes the call to an agent whose skill matches that need. Learn more about skills-based routing.
Example: A caller inputs their language preference as Spanish, and the call is routed to a Spanish-speaking agent.
6. Least Used Routing
Callers are connected with the agent who’s been waiting for a call the longest.
Example: If a caller uses IVR to be routed to the Sales department, the agent they are connected with has been waiting the longest for a call.
7. Data-Directed Routing
Uses data to identify the caller and uses the info to route to the correct agent. Other variations include priority-based and value-based, which use data to identify customers and prioritize them.
Example: A customer calling their bank inputs their account number into the IVR system. Their account had recent fraudulent activity, and they are routed directly to a specialized agent to resolve the issue.
How To Set Up IVR
Unless you have a need for extremely advanced routing features, setting up an IVR system is a simple process. There are several business phone providers that include IVR features with their phone numbers or related services, including AVOXI.
Our platform, AVOXI Genius, is a cloud-based contact center software that includes IVR capabilities, as well as features like call queueing, call recording, analytics, live monitoring and several more. Setup takes less than 1 business day, and is usually complete in a matter of hours. If you’re interested in seeing how it works, try out an AVOXI Genius risk-free trial today!
Help Us Improve
IVR systems can be an easy, effective, and affordable way to reduce costs and increase the efficiency of any business, big or small. We encourage you to explore what routing best practices are the best fit for your business, and we hope this article was helpful in your search for the best IVR routing strategies.
If you didn’t find what you were looking for in this article, please let us know! We are always looking for opportunities to update our content so it is as helpful as possible for our readers and customers.
