A Pro’s Ideas for Best IVR Opening Prompt

Interactive voice response units can grab the attention or quickly alienate callers, according to Ahmed Bouzid, who heads the partnerships and strategic alliances program at Angel.com, a McLean, Va.-based provider of on-demand call center and IVR solutions.

Writing recently in CP Wire, a newsletter for contact center professionals, Bouzid said there are 10 ways to develop an engaging opening prompt. Many of the ideas are designed to save time, enabling the IVR to handle a larger volume of calls.

1) Immediately announce your company’s name, don’t start with “Welcome to…”

2) Like “Welcome to…,” “thank you for calling” can be eliminated from the prompt.

3) Utilize an audio icon, which enables a caller to know when he or she is interacting with an IVR.

4) Have the system identify itself as “I,” rather than as an impersonal machine.

5) Don’t include “you can interrupt the recording.” Callers don’t listen to the instruction.

6) Eliminate “for English.” Instead have the system pause for a second after instructions for other languages, and then have the system continue.

7) Let callers know they can use speech if such a feature is included. Speech is much easier to use for many, particularly when they are calling from a cell phone.

8) Don’t mention the Web site in the opening prompt. The caller may have already gone there to find the phone number.

9) Though it’s necessary, don’t mention the call recording disclaimer too early or you’ll fail to grab the caller’s attention.

10) Don’t enable “barge in” for speech-enabled IVRs. Background noise on the caller’s end can trigger this feature if not turned off.

Angel.com is a subsidiary of MicroStrategy (Nasdaq: MSTR). It has provided more than 1,600 clients with telephone solutions.