IVR Deconstructed

Just like most businesses, Plum tracks leads and gathers information about how prospective customers found our web site in order to determine which ads and marketing efforts are most effective, and which products generate the most interest.  When a prospective customer fills out a web form, Google Analytics makes tracking conversion paths easy. However, tracking conversion info from a lead that calls an 800# can be difficult.  So, in order to fully understand how our ad campaigns were performing, several years ago, we developed an IVR application that integrates with Google, Bing and Yahoo to track search terms, referring URLs as well as information about our ad words campaigns that correlate with the prospective customer’s phone call.  We also integrated this application with an instant messenger client and salesforce so our sales team has information about what our leads are interested in before they answer the call.  By using IVR to collect this data, we are able to more thoroughly assess our marketing and advertising efforts by analyzing data from every lead that contacts Plum.

Companies are increasingly looking to gather customer feedback from every touch-point whether the customer contact happens at a point-of-sales (POS) during a purchase or through a customer service call to a contact center.  In both cases, IVR is used by many enterprises as well as SMBs to collect valuable feedback through automated call scripts.

In the contact center, one use for IVR surveys is to poll customers on their experience with a call center representative.  Data collected from feedback surveys is used to improve how call representatives communicate with customers and solve problems.  Likewise, surveys conducted in a post call scenario can be used to gather general customer opinions about a company’s products and services.  In this case, call center surveys are used to collect data for broader market research projects.
IVR is also used to survey customers after they’ve made a purchase at a retail location or restaurant.  Once a purchase is made, a customer will receive a receipt that includes an 800 number and an incentive to call a survey to offer their opinion on their buying experience.  Once a customer calls the survey, data can be collected and correlated with information in the POS system in order to match the respondent’s answers with customer or product information.
Plum offers an IVR survey platform that allows both technical and non-technical personal to create IVR surveys in minutes.  The survey authoring tool is web based so questionnaires can be developed using a web browser.  For more information about Plum Surveys, please visit http://www.plumvoice.com/plumsurvey

I am an avid blogger.  I love both reading and writing blog entries on anything and everything.   In recent years, the Internet has experienced a surge in blog postings, on everything from international affairs and technological discoveries, to personal blogs on life musings.  For many, blogging is a daily activity that occurs both in personal and professional life.  Bloggers and blogs readers spend an overwhelming amount of time trying to construct and peruse blog postings.  What if there was an easier way to do this on the go?  This is where an IVR system could come in handy.  For all the blog authors out there, an IVR system could be put in place that would allow users to call in, enter their blog URL and login information, and then begin verbally recording their blog post.  The program could then use transcription services to write out the spoken post and save it in an accessible word processing document.  Users on the go would be able to record blog posts from anywhere, and once they reached a computer, would be able to edit and formulate recorded texts.  Avid blog readers could also use IVR on the go to hear their favorite blog posts.  Readers could call in, enter the URL of their favorite blogs, and relax as their favorite posts were read to them telephonically.  In a world that moves at the speed of light, interactive voice response systems could offer huge help to users trying stay on top of goings on in the blogosphere!

I was taking a look at TMCnet.com, and stumbled upon an article expounding upon the differences between hosted and onsite IVR systems.  Plum Voice offers both hosted and onsite systems for customers interested in integrating IVR solutions; both types of systems come with an array of benefits.  There are also some key differences in between the solutions.  The Plum IVR Hosting Suite is a hosted and managed service maintained in Plum’s hosted IVR infrastructure.  Plum operates world-class data centers throughout the US and Europe, guaranteeing redundancy, scalability and reliability.  Hosting an account with Plum guarantees subscribers rapid disaster recovery, unlimited port capacity, and fault tolerance.  Customers hosting IVR applications with Plum Voice can rest assured that their data has been stored with the staunchest security protocols in place.  For those who prefer to manage their own equipment, Plum Voice offers IVR systems as an integrated hardware and software package.  On-site systems by Plum include all the necessary software and hardware to enable the swift deployment of customer’s IVR applications.  Plum engineers build IVR systems on reliable, carrier-grade servers, enabling limitless scalability, from four ports to thousands.

Hosted solutions allow customers to get up and running quickly, and at a lower price point, but onsite systems allow for PBX integration, and are sometimes more cost-effective in the long run.  Hosted systems are managed and monitored by Plum, ensuring solid service that is backed by fault-tolerant infrastructures.  Onsite systems are also constructed by Plum and sent along to providers for onsite deployment.  Turnkey systems include all hardware and software, and are built and integrated to the customer’s specifications.  The decision between a hosted and onsite system has a lot to do with tech savviness of a company’s IT team.  Many people start off with a hosted system, letting Plum take care of the details, and allowing them quick startup and accessibility.  Oft times, customers migrate to full onsite systems as their business grows and they require high levels of database integration.  Regardless of the location of the chosen system, Plum offers excellent IVR services complete with maximum scalability and reliability!

Plum Voice rolled out their new program for creating interactive voice applications, QuickFuse, about three months ago.  Since rolling out the product, thousands of users have developed applications in the program interface.  The program offers users the opportunity to quickly and seamlessly link IVR applications to their network, databases, and the Internet.  Why write pages of code when you can drag and drop your way to a full-featured IVR application?  Users can have a working prototype in minutes, and it is easy to design and build applications intuitively with QuickFuse.  Upon signing up for a subscription, users have access to a myriad of different templates that subscribers can easily modify, clone, and run to fit their business models.  The QuickFuse team has developed applications that can quickly and easily be put in to place, and that any subscriber can alter to fit their business model.

The virtual receptionists allows companies to route customer calls to the proper location.  Customers can call in and enter extension numbers or verbally indicate the party they want to reach. This predesigned application will get users to the exact department, branch, or representative they are requesting.  The QuickFuse team has constructed an automated surveys tool that can be designed to collect various snippets of data from users, and stored for further processing.  The order taking hotline application allows companies to utilize a telephonic system that subscribers can access to make purchases and enter payment information.  The system can be programmed to interface with in place databases, so that no live representative is needed for the order taking process.  Finally, the QuickFuse team has developed an application that allows users to access their account balance, and even allows them to pay off bills from the application.  QuickFuse is an easy to use tool, even for individuals who are not code or tech savvy.  With the inclusion of some great applications, anyone can be creating applications that lend themselves to business improvement in no time!