| It's important to keep the needs and preferences | | | | "The most important ingredient when shopping for |
| of your customers in mind when using interactive | | | | IVR is the needs of the person you're shopping |
| voice response. | | | | for - the end user." |
| Dean Baker, Unisys' head of telecoms business | | | | Baker gives several examples where companies |
| unit, global commercial industries, says the days | | | | saw a big increase in uptake of their services |
| are gone when interest in technology drove | | | | when IVR that is tailored to consumer needs is |
| business strategy and decisions like interactive | | | | installed. Orange, an international telecoms provider |
| voice response and other technologies that allow | | | | is a good example, he says. |
| people to purchase products and services without | | | | In South Africa, Standard Bank, one of the four |
| speaking to a human. | | | | largest banks in the country says its telephone |
| Speaking at the VoiceGenie Africa summit in | | | | banking business went up by 71% in the eight |
| South Africa, Baker said: "The challenge that | | | | months after it deployed an interactive voice |
| companies face globally is how to provide services | | | | response platform. |
| to clients in a simple, easy to use, accessible way." | | | | The company says the increased adoption of the |
| Dave Tidwell, VoiceGenie's director of business | | | | telephone banking channel took place despite the |
| development and channel management says | | | | fact the bank did not specifically advertise the |
| when businesses consider buying an IVR platform, | | | | availability of the new redesigned service. The |
| they tend look at how they will save money. | | | | growth was driven by word of mouth and good |
| That attitude is wrong, he says, as it does not | | | | user experience, it says. |
| help you meet consumer need. | | | | |