Creating Customer Connection with Digital Post-call Surveys

Getting accurate, real-time customer feedback can be invaluable for any organization, and most companies rely on interactive voice response (IVR) to poll customers about their experience. The flaw in this strategy is that consumers have come to loathe IVR post-call survey systems.

In the age of e-commerce, companies have increasingly relied on delivering a digital consumer experience, which leaves customers feeling isolated. It can be frustrating dealing with endless menus and machine-driven responses when you want personal assistance. Getting insight about the customer experience is also made more difficult, since interactive surveys use the same, impersonal digital systems for interactions.

Making the post-call survey a welcome part of the customer journey using voice IVR surveys gives callers a forum to share their views.

The challenge for marketing teams and call centers is making customer surveys an extension of a positive customer experience. You want the survey experience to be as unique and personalized as possible. That’s why more call centers are opting for open-end voice surveys that allow customers to express themselves in their own way quicky and easily.

Making the post-call survey a welcome part of the customer journey using voice IVR surveys gives callers a forum to share their views. To make post-call center IVR surveys more welcoming requires a new perspective and a new approach:

1. Customize the survey experience. Most IVR surveys use a one-size-fits-all approach without differentiating between the types of inbound calls or the customer’s needs. Offering a more customized survey experience improves engagement and gives you more relevant insights. Use different types of surveys that correspond with different types of calls.
2. Personalization. Using the information stored in the CRM system can create a more personalized survey experience. For example, using the customer’s name or referencing their status with the company makes callers feel unique. It also pays to make surveys more customized by eliminating questions that aren’t relevant.
3. Offer open-end questions – Nothing gives customers more satisfaction than having an opportunity to provide detailed feedback in their own words. Ask open-end questions and let them talk. Capture the true voice of the customer. It’s easy enough to use ASR speech-to-text to transcribe responses and extract the insight you need. With real-time transcriptions you can flag problems and provide an immediate customer response when required.
4. Use omnichannel surveys – Communicate with customers using their preferred channel. Don’t respond to a phone call with an email survey. Use the same channel to deliver the post-contact survey, whether it’s via phone, email, or chat.
5. Respect the caller’s time – Just because you have their attention doesn’t mean you can ask customers everything you want to know. Keep IVR surveys focused and relevant. Ask about the specifics of this engagement and limit the number of questions. Asking a customer to answer a lengthy post-call survey could turn a positive interaction into a negative customer experience.

It pays to integrate IVR surveys into the customer journey. Have call center agents set up the survey and make it collaborative during their call. Be sure the customer knows that their opinion matters and these surveys offer essential feedback. You might even consider adding an incentive, such as a discount coupon for completing the survey.

A more thoughtful, personalized approach to IVR surveys can improve the customer journey while offering deeper insight for analysis. It’s all a matter of showing the proper respect for the customer and using the post-call survey to invite them to a richer customer experience.