This outline is an introduction to IVR vendor selection from a down-to-earth business perspective. It will help you identify the outsourcing model that is best for your business.

In todays IVR marketplace, IVR service providers deliver their services in different ways; from a complete self service model where you need to do all the legwork to a white glove service model where your projects are planned, developed, and implemented for you. Which one is best for your business will depend on how much energy, effort, and time you can afford to divert from your core business, to your IVR project. The good news is that theres a model out there for almost every business.

Whether your project involves a survey, payment system, sales lead generation, order and fulfillment, credit card transactions, or field employee reporting, there is a vendor model thats right for you.

It is important to understand three key factors which will help you make the right decision. The three (3) main reasons why an organization might decide to outsource its IVR operations versus taking it on in-house are as follows:

(a) Lower Cost (b) Flexible Technology (c) Higher Levels of Expertise

(a) – Cost: An outsourced IVR application can be far less expensive to implement than IVR done in-house. An IVR System will probably take less time to implement if you choose the hosted model and you will typically only pay for what you use or commit to using. Service providers usually adjust to your requirements, rather than you having to plan for growth.

(b) – Flexible Technology: In todays environment of rapidly changing business demands, technology must be flexible enough to adjust quickly and cost effectively. The outsourced IVR approach protects you from having to continuously adapt to these changes, as the responsibility is shifted to the service provider, protecting you from technological obsolescence.

(c) – Higher Levels of Expertise: If you dont have the time and /or resources to keep your IVR application running current and glitch-free, a provider who offers Managed IVR outsourcing is worth looking into. There are various levels of IVR services available ” some provide higher levels of expertise and support than others. Hosted service providers have an expertise that is difficult or almost impossible to maintain in-house, that is, having the experience of deploying 100s, if not 1000s, of applications, and knowing what works, what doesnt work, and what works best.

Which IVR Service model is best for your business? You will probably agree that the best model for any business, regardless of size, industry, budget, or application, is the model that will get the closest to guaranteeing a successful execution. Lets face it, IT projects are seldom completed on time, and most often exceed budget. However it doesnt need to be that way.

You have some decisions to make: Do-it-yourself, or delegate the responsibility to an expert?

* If you feel confident that you have the expertise and resources to plan, develop, maintain, manage, support, and refine an IVR strategy on your own, you may want to look at Self-Service SaaS models.

* If you want to focus on your business and leave the IVR solution to the experts (those who have done it repeatedly – hundreds, if not thousands of times), and want to ensure that your applications are hosted, monitored, maintained, and supported to ensure the best performance, then you want to look at a Full Service Managed SaaS model.

The model you choose depends on the level of expertise and support you would like to shift to your IVR service provider.

To make an IVR service provider selection , read this free report on IVR and IVR Survey vendor evaluation .

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This outline is an introduction to selecting an IVR vendor, from a down-to-earth business perspective. It will help you select the outsourcing model that is best for your business.

In todays IVR marketplace, IVR service providers deliver their services in different ways; from a complete self service model where you need to do all the legwork to a white glove service model where your projects are planned, developed, and implemented for you. Which one is best for your business will depend on how much energy, effort, and time you can afford to divert from your core business, to your IVR project. The good news is that theres a model out there for almost every business.

Whether your project involves a survey, account inquiry system, sales lead generation, call center self-service, product order and fulfillment, credit card transactions, or field employee reporting, there is a vendor model thats right for you.

It is important to understand three key factors which will help you make the right decision. The three (3) main reasons why an organization might decide to outsource its IVR operations versus taking it on in-house are as follows:

(a) Lower Cost (b) Flexible Technology (c) Higher Levels of Expertise

(a) – Cost: An outsourced IVR application can be far less expensive to implement than IVR done in-house. An IVR System will probably take less time to implement if you choose the hosted model and you will typically only pay for what you use or commit to using. Service providers usually adjust to your requirements, rather than you having to plan for growth.

(b) – Flexible Technology: In todays environment of rapidly changing business demands, technology must be flexible enough to adjust quickly and cost effectively. The outsourced IVR approach protects you from having to continuously adapt to these changes, as the responsibility is shifted to the service provider, protecting you from technological obsolescence.

(c) – Higher Levels of Expertise: If you dont have the time and /or resources to keep your IVR application running current and glitch-free, a provider who offers Managed IVR outsourcing is worth looking into. There are various levels of IVR services available ” some provide higher levels of expertise and support than others. Hosted service providers have an expertise that is difficult or almost impossible to maintain in-house, that is, having the experience of deploying 100s, if not 1000s, of applications, and knowing what works, what doesnt work, and what works best.

Which IVR Service model is best for your business? You will probably agree that the best model for any business, regardless of size, industry, budget, or application, is the model that will get the closest to guaranteeing a successful execution. Lets face it, IT projects are seldom completed on time, and most often exceed budget. However it doesnt need to be that way.

You have some decisions to make: Do-it-yourself, or delegate the responsibility to an expert?

* If you feel confident that you have the expertise and resources to plan, develop, maintain, manage, support, and refine an IVR strategy on your own, you may want to look at Self-Service SaaS models.

* If you want to focus on your business and leave the IVR solution to the experts (those who have done it repeatedly – hundreds, if not thousands of times), and want to ensure that your applications are hosted, monitored, maintained, and supported to ensure the best performance, then you want to look at a Full Service Managed SaaS model.

The model you choose depends on the level of expertise and support you would like to shift to your IVR service provider.

Before making an IVR vendor selection , make sure to read this free report on IVR and IVR Survey vendor evaluation .

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Every day, millions of people are calling toll-free #s to obtain information about a product or service. One organization that we work with, mails 1,200,000 pieces of mail per month, to let people know that they can pre-qualify for a loan, by calling an 800 number, with a real-time response conversion rate of 1.2%. Another company makes 1000 + calls a day connecting potential car buyers with lenders, initiated by a web opt-in mechanism, resulting in a 2.5% response conversion rate. What do they have in common? They both use IVR (Interactive Voice Response) to generate interest, acquire sales leads, connect the buyer with the seller and provide a continuous deal flow to their sales force.

How Can You use IVR to generate more leads.

A key benefit of using IVR for a sales lead generation is that it can work for you 24/7.

The ability to activate a pre-approved auto loan or apply for a mortgage pre-approval, are just some examples.

Say you are an Auto Dealer, and you want to generate more prospect-flow. You can easily rent a targeted consumer list from dozens of sources and write a compelling sales letter ” which invites your target to apply for a pre-approved auto loan, 1000s of dealers are doing this across the country.

The same can be done if you are a mortgage broker, and you provide a quick telephone mortgage application. By renting your list from a credit service, such as Equifax, you can target your audience, and make your offer even more compelling.

IVR allows you to engage with consumers and process your leads 24/7 over the telephone, and leads are delivered to you in real-time.

What Response Rates Can You expect?

Your response rate will vary depending on your product or service, your unique sales proposition and the type / quality of the list. IVR allows you to turn the calls into leads that you can follow-up on.

Based on a cross-section of the organizations that we work with, you can anticipate response rates of 1% ~ 3% and in some cases even higher.

For example, we have recently worked with a client that was obtaining a 11% response rate from his voice mail drops (from an opt-in list), initially with 1.5% conversion rate. Eventually, through the utilization of some IVR optimization techniques, the client was able to generate even higher conversion rates (2.7%).

Using Inbound or Outbound Calling – What is the Difference?

When you are using IVR to help you with sales lead generation, you can use one of two approaches,

* Inbound calling, where you invite a prospect through print letter , or other media to call into your toll-free #.

*Outbound, where prospects are called and invited to take action, on a unique offer you are making them.

Outsource or Buy? If you plan on setting up your own IVR infrastructure, this is an expensive proposition. That is why there are service providers who will offer IVR Sales Lead Generation as a managed, hosted service. You will require NO Hardware or Software to run your programs, basically you pay for what you use, and you are supported 24/7.

By capitalizing on a hosted service, you have NO infrastructure requirements. E-mail and web access will do, as you can either receive your leads via e-mail or access them though the web.

If you want real-time integration with your in-house systems, you will require conversations between your IT team, and your IVR vendor.

How Do I Get Started?

Source Your List: If you are currently engaged in direct marketing or have conducted direct marketing or web marketing campaigns in the past you probably have established sources for prospect lists. If you are using outbound calling, make sure you comply with the no-call list guidelines.

Messaging: Your message must be clear and have a direct call to action, which is a call to a toll-free # to respond on the spot and complete the application. There must be alignment between your sales letter/voice message and the greeting when the prospect responds. Research has shown that this can increase conversion rates by as much as 50%.

Your Script: Prepare a script for your service provider. This should be a simple process to start, however your service provider will help you refine it. Write it as if you were the caller hearing your message, application, etc. over the phone. What would make you stay engaged, and interested in continuing? Remember that your participant will need instructions, what is common sense on paper, may not be in an IVR survey, and so you should provide detailed instructions on how to respond. Your service provider will certainly be able to assist you.

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I recently launched an ask the expert campaign on IVR Surveys, inviting anyone who wanted to participate to submit their questions regarding IVR Surveys. Not surprisingly the most popular question was, How can I increase my survey response rates when using IVR?

I would like share a client story with you that will help answer this question.

I was recently working with a healthcare benefits group, we develop and host about a dozen IVR surveys per year for them. They were experiencing a 10% response rate on a particular project, when the average for projects of this scope is about 30%. They chose IVR specifically because of the demographics they were targeting, and where access to the internet was limited.

The IVR survey invitation was part of a benefits package information kit sent out to 15,000 employees and the package contained about 50 pages. If you have worked in a large organization, or your employer offers you benefits I ’m sure you are familiar with this type of package. Included in the package there was an invitation to participate in an employee survey. The client thought they had this under control. The organization was relying on the results of this survey to tailor changes to the benefits package to the realities faced by employees, and the client wanted to obtain a significant enough sample to make the changes that reflect the needs and wants of the employees.

Needless to say, the 10% response was not what they expected, and certainly was not representative of their employee base; therefore it was of little use in planning their benefits strategy change. They were very disappointed, I would be.

The first reaction, by the clients project team, was “Our employees don’t use IVR”, and this is why so few responded. Our client called us immediately to ask for our opinion, and what could be done. Of course, as soon I heard where the invitation was inserted; basic marketing 101 told me where the problem was.

Since the client had already invested in developing the survey, and had pre-paid for some transactional services, I suggested that they conduct a small pilot, a mailing to 200 employees. This was a simple post-card invitation, with the survey toll-free number, and access code, plus a compelling reason to call , “We are making changes to your benefits plan, and your opinion is important to us.”

Printing and mailing were cost-effective and the response rate jumped to 65%. Needless to say the client was ecstatic, and the next week, they mailed all 15,000 postcards, achieving a 62% response rate. Applying basic marketing principals to promoting surveys, became part of our clients practice, and escalated the average survey participation rate for employee surveys from 30% to over 50% where IVR access was provided.

The survey invitation was part of a benefits package information kit sent out to 15,000 employees and the package contained about 50 pages. If you have worked in a large organization, or your employer offers you benefits I ’m sure you are familiar with this type of package. Included in the package there was an invitation to participate in an employee survey. The client thought they had this under control. The organization was relying on the results of this survey to tailor changes to the benefits package to the realities faced by employees, and the client wanted to obtain a significant enough sample to make the changes that reflect the needs and wants of the employees.

Needless to say, the 10% response was not what they expected, and certainly was not representative of their employee base; therefore it was of little use in planning their benefits strategy change. They were very disappointed, I would be.

The first reaction, by the clients project team, was “Our employees don ’t use IVR ”, and this is why so few responded. Our client called us immediately to ask for our opinion, and what could be done. Of course, as soon I heard where the invitation was inserted; basic marketing 101 told me where the problem was.

Since the client had already invested in developing the survey, and had pre-paid for some transactional services, I suggested that they conduct a small pilot, a mailing to 200 employees. This was a simple post-card invitation, with the survey toll-free number, and access code, plus a compelling reason to call , “We are making changes to your benefits plan, and your opinion is important to us’

Printing and mailing were cost-effective and the response rate jumped to 65%. Needless to say the client was ecstatic, and the next week, they mailed all 15,000 postcards, achieving a 62% participation rate. Applying basic marketing principals to promoting surveys, became part of our clients practice, and escalated the average survey participation rate for employee surveys from 30% to over 50% where IVR access was provided.

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