Today, Interactive voice response (IVR) can do a whole lot more than just deflect calls. For retailers of all types, IVR can be a powerful tool throughout the customer lifecycle. Across sales, service, and marketing, retailers are using IVR systems as part of their overall personalization and engagement strategies to foster customer loyalty and grow share of wallet. Let’s explore some  insights and real-world examples to help you develop an IVR strategy suited for retail.

How to get more from IVR

The technology-driven shift in consumer expectations, behavior, and preferences that continues to disrupt the retail industry is also defining it. Retailers of all types are re-evaluating how to engage their customers, as the quality of customer experience is now a greater brand differentiator than the quality of a good or service. 

The best customer experiences are characterized by ease, convenience, and personalization. To achieve this, top retailers are leveraging …

As a major retailer selling everything from party food platters to duvet covers to kids' clothes, UK-based retailer Marks & Spencer has a customer base as diverse as its product offerings. 

And yet, according to enterprise architect Akash Parmar, the company had, for a long time, tried to pigeon-hole customers into three or four interactive voice response (IVR) options any time a call came in.

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t go well.

“The key challenge we were facing was the fact we just didn’t understand. We were getting ten million calls a year and didn’t clearly understand what these calls were about,” he said.

It goes to show that the challenges facing a multi-billion dollar company can be the same ones plaguing a one-person start-up: namely, understanding and then communicating effectively with your target audience.

To solve this challenge, the company created a Natural Language Platform (NLP) l that captured more than …

Today, customer service is at the intersection of two important trends: customers want to be more self-sufficient, and businesses are looking to improve customer experience without increasing costs. 

A modern IVR system solves for both.

Since your IVR system is often one of the first contacts a customer has with your company, it provides an exceptional opportunity to deliver a customized experience. With the use of customizable phone menus and prompts, your enterprise can use the IVR as a critical element in your engagement strategy. Mapping your business logic to the natural customer journey will allow you to deliver an experience that is always reliable—and on-brand.

When an IVR system is designed with the customer in mind, your support process is more efficient and makes customers happier. Here are the top 10 features of a modern IVR you’ll want to consider: 

1. A visual interface 

Changing content and routing logic …