How to Craft the Best IVR Scripts to Create an Excellent Customer Experience?
An IVR or Interactive Voice Response script (IVR), also known as an auto-attendant greeting is perhaps the first thing most callers hear when they try to contact a business on their business phone. For today’s businesses, an IVR system plays a key role in providing a personalized experience to their customers. It is an automated phone system that customers see and based on their experience they usually form an impression about the business. The way a business sets its IVR scripts can make a good or bad impression on its customers.
Therefore, businesses need to set up their IVR script in the right manner to create the best possible experience. An inappropriate IVR system can turn off customers and ultimately affects future sales. When built perfectly, the IVR system can create an excellent first impression on customers and reduce their frustration when trying to resolve their issues.
IVR script examples
Here are some of the examples of IVR scripts that can help businesses to improve their customer experience.
Welcome script: A well-written welcome message is one of the most important parts of the IVR system that helps businesses to create a good first impression on customers. Here are some of the ways a welcome message can be written:
Hi, thank you for calling (company name).
- To speak with our sales representative, Press 1
- To connect with our customer support agent, Press 2
- To connect with the accounts department, Press 3
- If you want to speak with a live agent, Press 4
- To leave a voice message, Press 0
- To repeat the menu, Press 9
You can customize your auto-attendant scrips as per your requirements. Just make sure to keep all the options or instructions as short and clear as possible.
After business-hours IVR script: It is important to create a separate after business-hours IVR menu. There may be few customers who are not aware of your business timings. They may try to connect with you after business hours. Here, a pre-recorded IVR prompt plays an important role in attending customers’ calls even when the customer support staff is not available. Here, you can craft your script as mentioned below:
- Hi, thank you for reaching (company name). Our offices are currently closed. Our business hours are Monday to Friday from 9 am to 7 pm.
- You can leave a message with your name, contact details, and query. Our customer support agent will get back to you soon within a business day.
IVR script for customers on hold: It may be possible that someday all your agents are busy attending to customers or any other important task. In such a scenario, leaving few customers unattended can create a bad impression about your business. What you can do is, create an auto-attendant script for customers on hold. Here is how you can craft a good IVR script:
- Hi, thank you for connecting with (company name). At the moment all our agents are busy.
- To leave a message, Press 1
- To you want our agent to call you back, Press 2
Or,
- Hi, thank you for reaching (company name). At the moment all our agents are occupied in assisting other callers. You will be connected to an available agent soon. Please stay on the line.
Creating these kinds of scripts will help your customers to know that you value their time.
IVR script for Product Inquiry: Your customers may want to know more about your products or may want to know the status of a product that they have ordered from you. A multi-level IVR menu can be helpful here for queries associated with your products. Here is an example:
- Hi, thank you for contacting (company name)
- If you have any product-related queries, Press 1
After the customer presses the 1 number, he/she will be taken over to a new menu-
- To reach our customer support department, Press 1
- For billing and account status related queries, Press 2
- For inquiries related to product tracking and delivery, Press 3
- To return to the main menu. Press 9
- To speak with our agent, please stay on the line. We will connect you to our live agent shortly
IVR script for customer service: You may receive a large number of queries that need to be directed to your customer service department. Segmenting the customer service queries based on various factors, will help to narrow down options. This will further help customer support agents to resolve their customer’s queries faster. You can create a script as mentioned below:
- Hi, you have reached (company name)
- To access the customer support menu, Press 1
If a customer chooses to press 1, he/she will be taken over directly to the customer service menu. Here they will be presented with various options like:
- If you are a new customer, Press 1
- If you are an existing customer, Press 2
- To get more information about our company, Press 3
- To connect with a live agent, Press 4
- To repeat the menu, Press 9
Conclusion:
These are some of the best examples of IVR scripts that businesses can use to impress their customers and assist them in a better manner. Businesses can even customize their IVR script as per their requirements to create a more personalized experience for their valuable customers.