Voice Processing Fundamentals

Customers demand convenience. They want information quickly, but they also want specialized attention. And they want to reach you on their timetable, not necessarily yours.

Voice response assures callers reach the right department without the need for an agent. Callers like having options. They hate being forced to wait in queue. Voice processing means you can offer them options. Depending on the technology you use, they can leave a message for a return phone call, retrieve information themselves, or request that it be sent to them.

And the benefits to you are even greater. When you use a voice processing system, more calls get handled through the system. Instead of paying your reps to answer every call, they can handle just the callers who ask to speak to them. Depending on circumstances, you’ll be able to handle higher call volumes with the same number of reps.

Information that an IVR system captures is always accurate. It comes firsthand, from the customer. By now everyone realizes the value of customer information. You can use it for cross marketing, surveying demographics about who your customers are, and so much more.

A lot of information about IVR will be presented in the next section. IVR is a special animal; it’s the key voice processing component in call centers, worthy of special attention. What this chapter will do is explain some of the other voice technologies that are available. These technologies, like speech recognition and automated attendants are, if not critical, then important for specific applications and industries.

Less than 10 years ago it was possible to go through each voice processing technology and give an example of a standalone system that offered that technology. Today’s systems are much more sophisticated.

These days certain technologies are found almost exclusively as functions in larger systems. It’s likely that some or all of these are included in the ACD you’ve already got, whether you use them or not. (Maybe in reading this brief chapter you will see the virtue of simple voice functions and trot out your ACD manual to get some of them turned on.)

When there is a standalone product, it is almost always aimed at the low end of the market. But today’s voice processing market is also a place where you can get what you want — exactly what you want. The hottest technologies are application generation software products, voice boards and the accessories needed to create “do it yourself” voice processing systems.

Here, I’ve outlined the technologies that are available. In a sense, all I’m really doing is showing you how some core voice technology (voice boards plus some software logic) can be put to use. There is precious little difference between auto attendants and their grown-up cousin, IVR, besides power, scalability and feature set. Under the hood, they are all essentially the same. But no matter what type of voice system you choose, they all share one common characteristic — you’ll be more productive and will save money in the long run.

Key Features To Look For | Computer Telephony

And so here are five key features that you might want to add to your call center through computer telephony. There are many others, and the list grows all the time. (That’s part of the wonder of this industry.) Again, these are the ones I see most frequently, that provide demonstrable benefit to the companies that implement them. You can add them by adding software that contains them, or as part of a general CTI overhaul. The benefits of each of them are always the same — faster and better customer service.

1. Simultaneous Screen Transfer. An agent is speaking to a client. The agent has the client’s database up on his screen. The agent needs to send the call to someone else for special treatment. Push a button on his screen, “Who would you like to send this call to?” He types the name, hits Enter. The call and the updated screen go to the specialist.

2. ANI/Caller ID Database Lookup. A call comes in. It carries the calling number. Your ACD grabs the calling number, passes it to your database over your LAN. As the phone rings on an agent’s desk, the agent’s screen pops with a screenful of information on the caller. What he bought last time. What his problems were. How they were resolved. What he tried to buy last time.

   Automatic phone lookup can shave 15 minutes off a typical call — the time the agent takes to ask the hapless caller such questions as “What’s your name, address, phone number, etc.?”

3. Predictive Dialing. When your agents are not answering incoming calls, they could be making outgoing calls. “Last month and the month before, Mr. Smith, you bought four dozen boxes of paperclips. May we send you another four dozen?”

4. Other Database Lookups. Many agents are linked to only one database. But customers always want more information than one database can provide. A price list. A list of your dealers. Other machines you’re compatible with. How to get the machine fixed. Layouts of the hotel rooms you’re renting.

5. Fax server. Your agent is answering a call for help. Explaining the solution is too difficult and time consuming. It’s easier to say, “May I fax you several pages of explanation?” Let your fax server send the pages while you make another phone call. Let your customer follow the jumping ball on the fax he just received.