What is an IVR Number & How to get it: Buying Guide [2024]

IVR numbers allow customers to self-serve 24/7. We live in a world where communication plays a critical role in increasing productivity, profits, and customers in a company. There were days when people had to wait a long time to connect to an agent to resolve their product issues. But things have changed now, and there are different modes of communication apart from customer calls. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) is one such technology that helps customers quickly resolve their issues through customer support, routes the call to the respective department, and streamlines the operation.

In this blog, let us discuss IVR Numbers and the steps to get one such number for your business.

What is an IVR Number?

IVR is an automated phone system that acts as a virtual receptionist for inbound calls for your business. It is a typical call center feature with call routing capabilities to ensure your callers are connected to the right person. An IVR number is a customer service functionality that gives the caller a selection of menu options. Callers can interact through voice or their phone keypad. Based on the response, the IVR system routes the call to the respective team or department to get the query resolved quickly.

To put it simply, IVRs work independently without manual agent support. Let us consider an example: if you call the contact center to track the parcel from your end, you can directly speak to IVR and know the status instead of speaking with the real-time agent. However, if it is a challenging issue, you can also speak to a call center agent by pressing the required options.

When we call a call center or a contact center, we are usually greeted with pre-recorded music and a list of options to select. This can be done with an IVR system. Apart from this, you can also integrate the IVR menu number with a contact number to make it an IVR number for businesses.

How does an IVR number work?

An IVR number comes with a pre-recorded message and a menu that helps callers route the call to the desired team, department, or agent. This routing takes place based on the caller’s input given on the phone keypad. In a few cases, IVR can answer the caller's queries if they are simple and complex-free.

At present, IVR software works through voice recognition. Hence, callers can speak to the automated prompts instead of pressing options on the phone keypad. Additionally, IVR systems use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to offer enhanced customer service.

These AI-enabled advanced IVR solutions will not require you to set any menu. These IVRs can simply recognize what the caller is saying and give them the appropriate information or route the call to the respective agent.

Features to consider while getting an IVR Number:

• Multi-Level IVR  

This automated IVR technology aims to provide a self-service menu to the callers, which helps them reach the desired agent, team, or department. A regular IVR system comes with a single-level menu containing upto 9 options, whereas a multi-level IVR system is more specific and offers multiple layers of menu choices. Each menu option in the IVR call flow will lead to a submenu of more options, helping customers reach the exact destination they are looking for.

• Call Flow Designer

Call Flow Design is another crucial feature you should not miss out on. This helps efficiently route calls through the Welcome IVR, direct them to a team, route a voicemail, etc. As a business owner, you can make the required customizations and build a high-end call flow design that helps customers engage promptly.

• Intelligent Call Routing

The IVR system routes calls to the respective team or department based on the customer’s input or the nature of the call. Businesses can set up a call flow in multi-levels to eliminate the need to miss out on customers. For instance, when an inbound caller reaches your multi-level IVR, the automated technology will go through the following steps:

1. Greetings and language selection.

2. General menu options include scheduling an appointment, office hours, speaking with the representative agent, tracking the order status, payment and refund status, etc.

3. More specific submenu options are in the next step.

• IVR for after-business hours  

IVR offers around-the-clock availability. By implementing IVR software, you can offer your customers support anytime without having to hire an additional team to work 24/7. If the customer is experiencing any issues with the business, they can quickly solve the issue through IVR. If IVR does not resolve the issue, customers can leave a voicemail for the agent/business when they return back.

• Automated Call Recording

An automated call recording feature will enable businesses to develop future decision-making strategies. This feature is vital for recording essential business communication and utilizing the data for training and quality purposes. The data can also be used to respond to multiple product queries. The call recording feature plays a significant role in enhancing customer experience and providing increased satisfaction.

• Call Barging

Call barging is an exclusive feature that allows a manager/supervisor to join the call between the customer and the agent quickly. This provides a real-time monitoring benefit and allows the agent to offer instructions privately without disrupting the customer on the other end. Hence, supervisors can learn about the agents' performance and start providing training sessions for them.

• Click to Call Buttons

Click-to-call functionalities will help customers instantly interact with your business. This can save time, increase productivity, help businesses follow up on missed and unattended calls, and record/track every call to enhance call-handling quality in a single click. It simplifies the process of outgoing calls and also informs the agents of crucial customer calls. To place a call with this feature, one just needs to click on the number on your web screen, and the call will be placed automatically.

• Sticky Agent

Sticky Agent is a feature that helps customers seamlessly direct it to the respective agent with whom they have previously spoken based on the call history. This offers a consistent, personalized experience where customers feel valued and comfortable as the agent already knows about their unique offerings and brand details.

• Custom Messages

Customized messages allow you to customize the messages that customers listen to when they engage with your IVR system. This allows you to reinforce your brand by offering a consistent and recognizable message, which can build a familiarity sense and make your customers feel trustworthy. In addition to this, the customization of these messages also enables businesses to enhance customer experience by offering precise and top-notch communication that guides the IVR system.

• IVR Music/On-Hold

By using IVR music or the On-hold feature, you can continuously play custom messages or music when the call is placed on hold. This helps reduce the chances of declining calls and enhances productivity and customer experience. With the ability to build custom messages that provide helpful information, tips, or updates about the brand or services, customers will also be informed about the details of your services when they are waiting for the call to be answered.

Factors to Consider When Choosing an IVR Number Provider  

• Cost  

You should consider the budget to ensure it fits your business requirements. At TeleCMI, we have flexible and budget-friendly pricing plans that can be fully tailored to every company's needs. Our cost plans vary depending on the features and time period. Also, no separate hidden charges or maintenance are needed.

• Cloud Solution  

Cloud software solutions provide increased productivity, easy setup, promote a remote-friendly environment, and affordable pricing compared to on-premise solutions. You won't need to spend a hefty amount to set up an expensive physical infrastructure as cloud solutions are accessible from anywhere and on any device, which helps businesses save money.

• Easy Configuration  

Configuration and setup are the basic functionalities that a business should consider. A few of them may ask you to configure an IVR Number Service Provider yourself when choosing an IVR Number Service Provider. As a leading solution provider of IVR numbers for businesses, we always help businesses by providing a cloud-based phone solution along with customizable configuration and setup processes that are hassle-free for customers.

• Multi-level System  

A multi-level IVR system is a must on your checklist. It helps route calls efficiently to different departments or teams based on the customer’s input. With a multi-level hierarchy, the system can easily direct the calls without any delay. For example, you can have it like press 1 for support, press 2 for sales, etc. When the caller types ‘2’, the call will be automatically connected to the sales department.

• Scalability  

You can choose an IVR Number Service Provider that can accommodate your business needs and future market trends. The IVR phone number system should be flexible to adapt to constantly changing business needs and effortlessly integrate with your existing business phone systems and infrastructure.

• Reliability  

When buying an IVR number for your business, you can choose an IVR service provider with a reliable infrastructure that guarantees high uptime and minimal downtime. Also, ensure that the provider has a backup and disaster recovery approach to maintain availability during unexpected events.

• Detailed Reporting  

It is crucial to extract detailed information about how your business is performing, how your agents are performing, call analytics details, and what decision-making strategies you must make for the upcoming months using a complete reporting structure.

• Dedicated Support  

When dealing with a technology service like IVR Solutions, it is essential to check for 24/7 support and prompt customer support. The right IVR number provider will offer communication support across various channels such as emails, web chats, phones, and other social media platforms.

• Customer Satisfaction  

Customers are the pillars of any business. Hence, check for customer reviews and ratings and learn about their product, features, and customer support. You can check for testimonials and case studies to learn more about this.

• Try Before Buy?  

Last but not least, try a product demo, which will help you learn more about the product. You can test different features and their performance and check their reliability before investing in IVR services.

How To Get An IVR Number From TeleCMI?  

• Get Started With The TeleCMI IVR Service  

As a top-notch IVR number provider in the market, you can get started with the TeleCMI IVR service by signing up and logging in to the application.

• Select Your IVR Number  

Choose your business's IVR or toll-free number to set up an efficient call-routing strategy.

• Select Your Plan  

Click on the desired plan that fits your budget and business requirements. We also offer a free trial plan to help businesses try our application for free of cost.

• Adding Users And Teams  

To maintain workflow operations, start by adding users and setting up a team by clicking on ‘Team → User.’ To add teams, click ‘Team’ and set up different teams.

• Design The Incoming IVR Call Flow  

Finally, design the incoming IVR call flow by going to ‘Call Flow’ in the dashboard, clicking on ‘IVR’, and setting up the IVR number. You can also add an IVR name, customized greeting music, IVR menus, etc.

Conclusion:  

Technology is constantly evolving, and so will the IVR phone systems. You can get the IVR number for business communication and enhance your business workflow. An automated cloud system with IVR is going to bring more benefits than you imagine. Get started right away.