Interactive voice response systems (IVRs) have been around for decades and are now a foundational component of call center software suites. They have evolved significantly over time due to technology advances. For example, the original versions had strict menu options that callers selected by touching the corresponding number on their telephone keypad. These days, depending on the IVR, callers can just verbalize their issue and completely bypass the menu tree. Other advances enable features such as self-service, call backs, customer authentication, and highly intelligent routing.
Despite all these enhanced capabilities, an IVR is only as good as an organization empowers it to be. This is true of just about any system, but perhaps especially true of IVRs. It's easy to neglect IVRs once the flurry of the initial implementation is over. But to get the full benefits of IVRs, they need regular care driven by a well-thought-out IVR strategy. How a business uses their IVR should be grounded in a fundamental understanding of how IVRs impact customer experience (CX) and benefit the business.