Normally when the term “interactive voice response” (IVR) comes up, attaching the term “visual” to it makes less sense than it should. An IVR system sounds at first blush like an audio-only tool, but as it turns out, adding visuals to the proceedings can be a huge help, particularly in mobile. With that in mind, Jacada's release of the Visual IVR system onto the Interactive Intelligence Marketplace is a move that should prove welcome.
The new addition came following Jacada's joining the Interactive Intelligence Global Alliance Program, a program designed to bring together a great many technology providers that can help companies provide the best in customer service. Including firms like Salesforce, IBM, Zendesk and more, Jacada's membership in the program means that it's got something special on hand in terms of providing great customer service.
Indeed, Jacada's visual IVR system has some powerful implications for customer service. While a normal IVR system uses audio as its primary content delivery system, a visual IVR does likewise, but also adds the extra touch of visual menus that can be used along with the audio. This is especially useful for mobile users, according to reports, and such a system allows for an impressive degree of customization. With a visual IVR, users can add in information from a variety of sources including email addresses and even free-form text. Audio-only IVRs can't actually gather that information, and the more information a system has, the more, in turn, can be put to use.
Once the information is gathered, the system can then use what's known as the Customer Interaction Center (CIC) platform to route information to contact center agents. When contact center agents have this information, there's less need to ask for it, making the overall process smoother for both agent and customer. CIC actually works with several different customer engagement platforms, including predictive dialing, speech analytics, automated customer feedback surveys and several others.
Jacada's co-chief executive officer Guy Yair offered up some comment around the move, saying “Jacada is partnering with Interactive Intelligence to transform the way customers interact with businesses by reducing the effort and pain associated with requesting live service. The integrated Jacada Visual IVR and CIC solution enables customers to experience sophisticated self-service features with the rich attributes available on today’s smart devices, while taking advantage of CIC’s industry-leading customer engagement capabilities.”
We all know the importance of achieving omnichannel functionality, or being available on several different platforms. With users increasingly moving to mobile technology, being able to offer up customer service tools geared toward making mobile easier to work with is likely to be well received. Visual IVR looks to have a particular value for mobile, and that's not only going to help bolster mobile users, but it's also going to help companies make that push toward true omnichannel functionality.
The Interactive Intelligence Marketplace, meanwhile, is said to be full of material like this, so that helps to make a good thing even better for its potential users. Jacada's arrival on the Interactive Intelligence Marketplace should prove to be a welcome one as more users look to improve customer experience and make for a more attractive proposition for users.