IVR Deconstructed

Below are some basic tips about IVR prompts that will help you create a consistent user friendly caller experience.

Global guidelines

Be consistent in the wording of your prompts — use the same phrasing and structure throughout the call script.
Menus

For any menu, there should be no more than five options.
The wording of each menu option should be consistent.

Example:
For information on Women’s Health, press 1.
For information on Child and Adolescent Health, press 2.
For information about the Breast and Cervical Cancer program, press 3.
For information about the Family Planning Program, press 4.
Instructional prompts

Instructional prompts are prompts that ask the caller to do something. Instructional prompts should be clear and concise, and should, preferably, not exceed twenty seconds.

Example 1:
Please enter your account number followed by the pound sign.

Example 2:
For stores in the Bronx, please press 1. For stores in Brooklyn, please press 2. For stores in Queens, please press 3. For stores in Staten Island, please press 4. For stores in Manhattan, please press 5.

Descriptive prompts

Descriptive prompts are prompts that provide information to the caller. These prompts have no maximum length.

Example:
The Mississippi Department of Health’s clinics serve the public health needs of residents throughout the state. Services include child and adult immunizations, family planning, pregnancy testing, and HIV/STD testing. Blood work for marriage licenses can also be obtained at our county clinics. Clinics also environmental staff who conduct food service facility inspections and ensure daycare facilities are safe and meet all required standards.

Error handling

Please consider how you would like the system to respond if a caller enters an invalid or no response.
Plum recommends prompting the caller a second and a third time. If an invalid response is entered again after the third prompt, the caller would be transferred to an operator, or the call would simply end.

Repetition of prompts

Please consider what you would like the prompts to say when a caller enters an invalid or no response. One possible chain of events is to have the initial prompt repeated a second time. Then if an invalid or no response occurs again, the prompt: “Sorry, I didn’t hear you” could be played followed by a re-prompt. Finally, if the caller fails to enter a valid response yet again, the call could be transferred to an operator.

DTMF standards

1. The star key (*) is reserved for caller’s to access the main menu.
Example:
For the main menu, press the star key.

2. 0 is reserved for callers to speak with an operator, customer service representative, customer care associate etc.
Example:
To speak with an operator, press 0.

3. The pound sign is reserved as a terminating character for any multi-digit entry.
Example:
Please enter your ID number followed by the pound sign.

4. The keypad can be used to spell out names, etc.
Example:
Using your telephone keypad, please enter the first three letters of the person’s last name; then press pound.