Angel.com IVR Newsletter

How To: 10 Tips For an Effective Opening Prompt
Product Focus: SalesByFone
Customer Spotlight: Così
Ask Angel.com: How can Angel.com help Marketing?
Live Webinar: Customer Service Success Strategies for Merchant

Angel.com How To: 10 Tips For an Effective Opening Prompt

You get only one shot at making a good first impression. In an Interactive Voice Response system (IVR), such an impression is formed by callers and conveyed by Voice User Interface (VUI) designers with the application's opening prompt.

Angel.com offers 10 tips for an effective opening prompt, including:

Drop the "Welcome to..." Instead of "Welcome to XYZ," why not simply have your application announce your company's name, preceded or followed by an audio icon, and then followed by your company's tag line, if you have one? Such an opening will not only set your IVR apart from the garden variety ones but will shorten the length of your opening prompt.

Drop the "Thank you for calling..." Certainly an acceptable and pleasant enough opening, but again one that is also widely used by your run-of-the-mill IVR systems out there. Set your application apart with the simple opening described above and save two seconds of prompt time.

Use an audio icon An audio icon is not only an effective way of signaling to callers that they are interacting with an automated system, but also a good way of communicating to callers that the system has been designed and crafted with care. The implication is that the company being called cares about its customers and will work hard to ensure that callers are satisfied.

There are 7 more tips for an effective opening prompt. Learn them all; download the complete article by visiting:http://www.angel.com/resource-center/vui-design/opening-prompt.jsp

Access other Angel.com white papers, webinars, and other VUI and application design articles by visiting:http://www.angel.com/resource-center/ivr-university.jsp

Product Focus
SalesByFone

Salesbyfone by Angel.com makes is possible to access, update, and manage key prospect information directly in salesforce.com through a simple phone call. With Salesbyfone, your field representatives gain the flexibility and ease-of-use to manage their accounts while on the move, eliminating the need to access the Internet to maintain CRM records and enhancing the productivity of the sales process.

Highlights:

Access client contact information housed in salesforce.com over the phone
Automatically connect a call or send an email to contacts through a simple voice command
Log meetings and create follow up activities directly into salesforce.com through your phone-enabled application

For more information about Angel.com/CRM application integrations, please call us at 888-MyAngel and ask for “Sales.”

Or listen to our pre-recorded webinar “How To Voice-Enable Salesforce.com” to hear more about our salesforce.com integrations. Access the webinar here:http://www.angel.com/resource-center/webinars.jsp

Customer Spotlight
Così

Così® is the premium convenience restaurant full of creative, fresh, flavorful foods and beverages, and has evolved into a dynamic growth company with more than 107 company-owned restaurants in 17 states and the District of Columbia.

Challenge: Così®’s growth is dependent on solid hiring practices, backed by a competitive and extensive benefits package. Traditionally, a member of the Così® Human Resources (HR) team would send benefits information to each restaurant location and have new employees fill out registration paperwork for healthcare and retirement benefits as they became eligible. With restaurant locations opening regularly throughout the country, it became increasingly challenging for Così® management to perform these HR functions easily, quickly, and thoroughly. Ultimately, relying on an employee’s understanding of written material and completing multiple forms became too cumbersome.

Solution: To reduce the cost and time of paper registration forms and personnel travel requirements, Così® enlisted Angel.com to develop an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system that allows employees to register for benefits over the phone. The system prompts employees for all necessary information and allows them to select benefits packages based on their position and location.

Results: Although implementation of the system is recent, Sterling believes the system is primed to help Così® maintain their rapid growth pace.

"Angel.com has helped us save a ton of time, travel, and resources with this solution,” said Susan Sterling, Manager, Compensation and Benefits. “Our ability to offer new employees at each location the opportunity to sign up for benefits with ease assists our growth."

Read the full success story or view other case studies by visiting: http://www.angel.com/customers/

Ask Angel.com
Q: I work in marketing. How can Angel.com help me?

A: Smart marketers are using every communication channel – from the web to the telephone – to get their message heard. Angel.com IVR applications give you more visibility into and drive more meaningful interactions with your customers. Whether you’d like to conduct a customer satisfaction survey or provide a recognizable 800# as part of your advertising efforts, Angel.com give you an easy, effective way to manage it all via the phone.

Find the solution that’s right for you and your business, visit our Solutions Finder at: http://www.angel.com/solutions/app-marketing.jsp or call 888-MyAngel and ask for “Sales”.

Angel.com Webinar
Driving Quality, Not Costs in Retail: Customer Service Success Strategies for Merchants

As a small to medium-sized retailer, you know that providing high quality customer service can separate you from the competition. However, building, managing and maintaining a productive customer care center to handle customer inquiries does not come cheap. So, how can you maximize service and agent productivity while at the same time minimize customer care costs?

View this complimentary webinar today and find out how you can easily integrate your web-based order management functions with automated IVR and call center solutions to:

Cut call-center costs: Offload easily automated tasks to IVR. Instead of $2.00/minute, reduce to 15 cents/minute
Make agents happy: Agents receive calls that truly require their skills
Make customers happy: No more waiting in queue to ask a simple question about order status

You can optimize the customer experience while at the same time generate tangible ROI from your investment in IVR and call center solutions. View the recorded webinar for customer service success now >>