Caller Experience

Providing the ability to automate a transaction is only half the story. In fact, many people "zero-out" of phone systems due to the frustration of tedious touch-tone menus and unintuitive directed dialogs. The overall success of any speech application is driven by a caller's perception of the total interaction or experience. At Versay, we call this critical success factor the Caller Experience. If the caller experience is ignored, the effects can be dramatic, including lower automation rates, lower customer service levels, and even customer defection to competition. If the caller experience is compelling, then…


Callers Will Interact Naturally With the Application
"Self-service" does not mean that your customers should have to work to accomplish their desired tasks. Just imagine how much easier it is to say "tomorrow" than to touch-tone the six digit date. To enable your customers quick and easy access to the information and services they desire, the user interface must be designed with the caller in mind. This focus on the caller will result in an interface that is intuitive, natural, and intelligent- your customers will be impressed with the ease of use, and your business will benefit from shorter call durations.

You Will Get the Best Automation Rate Possible
It's simple- the fewer callers that "zero-out" out of your phone system, the higher your call completion rate and cost savings will be. A properly designed speech application will anticipate what the caller might want to do at every step of the interaction and will account for this variability in the application's business logic, grammar coverage, and error recovery strategies. In turn, the application will provide an effective means of self-service, as callers are able to complete their desired tasks without the help of live agents.

The Application Will Support Your Company's Brand Image
Similar to advertising and the Web, speech applications provide another way for you to reinforce your company's brand. Research has shown that callers attribute human characteristics to the speech applications they use. Often referred to as the "persona", these characteristics can factor into an application's ease of use and its ultimate success with callers.

Your Customers Will Use the Service Again and Again
The last thing you want to do is deploy, promote, and maintain a service that is not used. Ultimately, a compelling caller experience will encourage your customers and employees to use the system repeatedly and remain loyal to your company.