The IVR Expert

IVR As A Service: What You Should Know Before Making an IVR Vendor Selection – Part I

Making a vendor selection is no easy task, especially if you want to get it right the first time.  So the more information you have, the better your chances of success.

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 today’s IVR marketplace, IVR vendors 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 there’s a model out there for almost every business.

Whether your project involves a ivr 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 that’s 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 today’s 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/Surpport: If you don’t 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 100’s, if not 1000’s, of applications, and knowing what works, what doesn’t 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.  Let’s face it, IT projects are seldom completed on time, and most often exceed budget.  However it doesn’t 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.

You can download a complimentary guide which can help you through the IVR vendor selection process at: http://www.datatel-systems.com/IVR-GUIDE

Barnard Crespi

New to Canada: Datatel Introduces a PCI Ready Hosted Telephone (IVR) Credit Card Payment Service

 Toronto, Ontario  (June 8, 2010) – datatel a leader in Hosted IVR, Managed Services and Telephony Automation Solutions, announced  the introduction of its Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliant Hosted Telephone IVR Credit Card Payment Service to Canada.

 

Datatel’s Hosted Telephone IVR Credit Card Payment Service provides Canadian business and organizations with the ability to automate the processing of payments over the telephone 24/7, while meeting Payment Card Industry (PCI) security requirements.

 

As a hosted solution, Datatel provides a telephone payment platform, secure connectivity to credit card processors, secure connectivity to back-office systems, plus a Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant environment and dedicated support.

 

“As a telephone hosted solution, and by working major Canadian credit card processors, we are removing the barriers that have prevented Canadian business and organizations from implementing secure payments by phone”, said Barnard Crespi Datatel CEO. 

 

In addition to cost savings, customers also benefit from having access to the latest technology, a PCI compliant environment and dedicated support.  By avoiding the time commitment of dedicating development resources, keeping up with payment card industry security requirements, hardware and telecommunition infrastructure; customers enjoy rapid and worry free implementation. 

 

About Datatel

Datatel helps business and organizations automate the processing of credit card payments for products and services over the telephone 24/7, while meeting the Payment Card Industry (PCI) security requirements. Datatel’s IVR services are employed by business and service providers to automate a wide range of customer interactions over the telephone.

 

 

Media Contact:
Barnard Crespi
416-444-9172 x 251
 http://www.datatel-systems.com

Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Requirements: A New Breed of IVR Service Providers Emerges

Businesses of all sizes continue struggling to meet Payment Card Industry (PCI) data security requirements. The PCI standards were established by the major credit cards; American Express, Discover Financial Services, JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide, and Visa to ensure organizations followed standardized practices to protect card holder information.  To learn more about the PCI Data Security Standard and how it may affect your business go to: https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org .

The PCI guidelines apply to ALL types of interactions between a card holder, merchants and service providers. This includes IVR applications developed pre-PCI, which allows card holders to make payments for products and services over the telephone. Currently all IVR applications taking credit card payment must be PCI compliant or the merchant could face fines and even lose its ability to process credit cards. Thousands of companies are in the position where they have to re-tool their IVR applications and infrastructure to become PCI compliant; in some instances developing applications from scratch or switch IVR hosting providers, to providers who offer a PCI compliant environment for processing credit card payments.

For the majority of IVR service providers,  who in the past few years have had to resort to cut-throat pricing tactics to gain market share or stay in business, PCI ads a new level of complexity to their business model. PCI is not a commodity; there is a significant cost associated with implementing PCI standards, to ensure card holders are protected.  For many service providers PCI means that they must overhaul their infrastructure, change network architectures, changes which might not be cost effective, when only a small percentage of clients use IVR to process credit card payments.  Because of increased data security concerns, in addition to PCI, each credit card processor has its own unique set of “platform certification” processes, which service providers must navigate to process payments on behalf of a merchant, and connect with the processor.

As a result a new breed of IVR service providers has emerged. IVR service providers who focus on delivering PCI compliant telephone payment applications. With a focus on security and meeting the PCI standards, this new breed of IVR service providers remove the PCI burden from the merchant and shift it to the service provider.

Datatel provides Hosted PCI compliant IVR Credit Card Processing Applications as a Service. Learn more about how to achieve  call center  PCI compliance.

Datatel Communications Supports Mission and Vision of 2010 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium

Toronto , Canada – (May 4, 2010) – Datatel Communications Inc,  a leader in Hosted Telephone Payment Solutions and Managed IVR Services, today announced that it will join executives from around the world as a strategy partner of the 2010 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, the premier international event for CIOs and senior IT executives to become better business leaders.

The annual event offers a day of interactive learning and thought-provoking discourse on the future of technology, best practices, and business that is not available anywhere else. The portfolio of speakers includes more than 50 presenters from a wide range of industries, as well as leading academics from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

More than 600 CIOs and senior IT executives will be attending the 2010 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, which will take place Wednesday, May 19, 2010, 7:30 am to 7:00 pm at Kresge Auditorium, MIT (77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA). The full agenda is available at www.mitcio.com/agenda.

“Our attendance remains high because we attract key business leaders,” said Graham G. Rong, the 2010 CIO Symposium Chair. “By bringing together innovative leaders, sponsors  and partners such as Datatel, we foster an environment where attendees gain great insight about how to drive growth and be successful in these challenging times.”

About Datatel Inc.

Datatel is a leading provider of Premium IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Hosted and Managed Services.  Datatel's Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Credit Card Payment Gateway helps business and organizations automate the processing of credit card payments for products and services over the telephone 24/7, while meeting the Payment Card Industry (PCI) security requirements.

Datatel’s IVR success comes from over 14 years of research, development and continuous improvement in delivering IVR service models that provide organizations with reliability, flexibility and the ability to integrate into a wide range of emerging technologies.

About the MIT Sloan CIO Symposium

The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is the premier global event for CIOs and senior IT executives to become better business leaders. In one day, CIOs and senior IT executives receive actionable information that enables them to meet the challenges of today's changing global economy. The annual event offers a day of interactive learning and thought-provoking discourse on the future of technology, best practices, and business that is not available anywhere else. The MIT Sloan CIO Symposium is organized and developed by a team from the MIT Sloan Alumni Club of Boston, the MIT Center for Digital Business and the Boston Chapter of the Society for Information Management. Visit www.mitcio.com for more information and registration.

To stay connected to the community developing around the Symposium, please join The Global CIO & Executive IT Group (An MIT Sloan CIO Group), which can be found on Linkedin.com: http://www.linkedin.com/groupInvitation?groupID=1719457. Follow Symposium updates on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mitciosymposium.

Editor’s Note:
Journalists interested in a press credentials should contact Rachel Greenstein (rachel@warnerpr.com; +1 617.569.6269) or Robert Minicucci (robert@warnerpr.com;
+1 603.488.5856), Warner Communications.

Datatel Introduces a PCI Compliant “Pay- By-Phone” Hosted IVR Credit Card Payment Gateway Service

Miami , FL  (March 21, 2010) – datatel a leader in Hosted IVR, Managed Services and Telephony Automation Solutions, announced  the introduction of its PCI Compliant Hosted Telephone Credit Card Payment Gateway Service.

 

 

Datatel’s Hosted Telephone Credit Card Payment Gateway provides business and organizations with the ability to automate processing of payments over the telephone 24/7, while meeting Payment Card Industry (PCI) security requirements.

 

As a hosted solution, Datatel provides a telephone payment platform, secure connectivity to credit card processors, secure connectivity to back-office systems, plus a Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant environment and dedicated support.

 

 

“As a telephone hosted solution, and by working  major credit card processors, we are removing the barriers that have prevented business and organizations from implementing secure payments  by phone, as an option to its customers, donors, members and patients”, said Barnard Crespi Datatel CEO.  

 

In addition to cost savings, customers also benefit from having access to the latest technology, a PCI compliant environment and dedicated support.  By avoiding the time commitment of dedicating development resources, keeping up with card industry security requirements, hardware and telecommunition infrastructure; customers enjoy rapid and worry free implementation.  

 

About Datatel

Datatel is a communications technology company that delivers managed hosted Interactive Voice Response solutions. Datatel’s IVR services are employed by business and service providers to automate a wide range of customer interactions over the telephone.

 

Datatel helps business and organizations automate the processing of credit card payments for products and services over the telephone 24/7, while meeting the Payment Card Industry (PCI) security requirements.

 

Datatel’s IVR success comes from over 14 years of research, development and continuous improvement in delivering IVR service models that provide organizations with reliability, flexibility and the ability to integrate into a wide range of emerging technologies.

 

For Information:
http://www.datatel-systems.com/ivr-payments

IVR – Text-to-Speech or the Real Deal?

At some point during your IVR application planning and development, you will be faced with the decision to either implement Text-to-Speech (TTS) or use the recording of a live person - or possibly both – to deliver the desired information to the end user.  Although TTS has come a long way from its electronic-sounding origins, most end users would agree that it still does not meet expected sound quality expectations, in that it doesn’t sound like a live person.  There are more than a dozen TTS vendors in the marketplace, some of which have mastered the synthesis of human voice better than others.  I’m of the opinion that a recording by a live person is the best method to deliver an optimal customer experience when replacing a live interaction with IVR.  My rule of thumb is to use a live person to record the body of the IVR application, while sticking to TTS for database driven content.  TTS can work very well to read back dates, currency amounts, or short bits of information which can change dynamically, or even for reading names from a database.  Ultimately, you want your IVR application to deliver the most natural-sounding experience.  Only through user testing will you find the right balance between the use of files recorded by a live person and TTS.

IVR Survey Response Rates: How to get it right!

This is not the first time that I have posted about this topic; however, companies continue to scramble because they don't get this part right..  If you don't get this right, your response rate will tank...

When it comes to response rates to an IVR survey, it has little to do with the technology and everything to do with how you communicate the value to your would be participants.

 

If you want higher response rates, then communicate the value to the participant. Not the value that their responses have to you, but what you intend on doing with the information which will benefit them.

 

If you are targeting your existing clients via mail, make sure your invitation to participate in the survey is not diluted in a package containing all different sorts of information. If the response rate is important to you, then use addressed mail, and do not include anything else with the invitation. The Survey should be the only focus, and your potential participant should not be distracted by anything else.

 

Consider the invitation a sales letter, your job is to get your client to participate.

 

You can get all my tips on this topic by downloading  “The Complete Guide To Successfully Executing Your IVR Survey Project” , go to:

http://www.datatel-systems.com/whitepapers/IVRSurvey_Request.htm

 

Barnard Crespi

 

IVR - A Savior in a Time of Economic Uncertainty

In a time of economic uncertainty, when managers are being asked to do more with less, and when cost cutting has become the norm, the ability for IVR (Interactive Voice Response) to assist in accomplishing these objectives has never been more obvious.

Managers are being forced to make difficult choices between high-touch experience delivered by a live agent and low-cost automation delivered by IVR.  It is well known that to process a call using a human agent can cost 5-10 times what it costs to answer a similar call using IVR.  In the past, managers have chosen to deliver an enhanced customer experience over a much lower-cost automated option.

So when it comes time to slash costs, IVR can play a key role.  On the other hand it’s very important not to upset the balance between automation and customer experience.  The answer is not to shift every human interaction to an automated interaction, or to use IVR to make it more difficult for customers to speak to a higher-cost live agent.

I would suggest that you start by taking inventory of all your customer interactions.  Not only the obvious ones.  Your inventory will allow you to prioritize by value contribution, revenue contribution, and cost of each interaction, and pinpoint where IVR can assist you to cut cost, and not significantly upset the balance.

Recently, I received a call from the director of marketing at a company in the health care sector, needing to cut costs by finding an alternative to live agents handling their ‘Diabetes testing kit’ sampling program.  As a sampling program, there was no linked revenue to the call, and the value to the caller was mostly in receiving delivery of the kit on time, which was advertised to over 2.5 million people.  Although this was a highly successful program, based on response, fell under the cuts to the marketing budget. The company recognized that the calls could be handled using IVR, however as an untested alternative they wanted to run a short term pilot to measure the impact to the success of the program.

To minimize the risk the company opted for an “outsourced” IVR approach, which provided financial flexibility by not having to make a long term commitment.  In addition, with reduction in the IT budget, outsourcing the implementation and hosting was a perfect match, allowing the company to control costs, and provide commitment flexibility.

Perhaps when the economy recovers, this company and many others alike will move back the high touch approach of live agents, however as hard economic times call for tough measures, IVR is playing a key role and helping managers accomplish their objectives.

Datatel offers a free guide which helps companies through the IVR vendor selection process, and can be downloaded at: http://www.datatel-systems.com/IVR-GUIDE

Company Web Site: www.datatel-systems.com

Datatel Announces Easy to Deploy IVR Time and Attendance Services For Companies in Canada.

Toronto, ON, Canada. October 28, 2008 – DATATEL INC. a Leader in IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Hosted and Managed Services announced today that it has launched a new IVR Time and Attendance gateway  to its portfolio of ready to implement IVR Hosted Services.

Datatel provides hosted services that help businesses and organizations automate a wide range of telephone interactions with customers and employees, using interactive voice response (IVR).

If you are looking for a simple way to collect Time & Attendance information from your field workforce using the telephone without extensive development or buying a pre-built enterprise workforce management software, you can use Datatel’s IVR T & A Gateway.

This new gateway is specifically designed to help organizations who have already implemented proprietary in-house time and attendance applications, to collect information from their field workforce, with minimal investment, using the telephone.

“Most workforce management software vendors provide telephone IVR access to time and attendance; however, companies who have developed their applications in-house are limited by the capabilities they have built. They can seldom afford, and therefore do not include telephone based time and attendance” said Barnard Crespi, CEO at Datatel.  

“In the current economic atmosphere, companies are cutting back on large capital expenditures; this is why this service makes so much sense. It provides you with what you need to ensure you can collect time and attendance information from your field employees.  There is nothing fancy about it, its straight forward, and it works.” said Mr. Crespi

With a significant Canadian infrastructure and professional services footprint, Datatel can service clients anywhere in Canada, plus provide IVR solutions tailored to regional needs.

As a hosted solution, customers avoid the risk and expense of large capital investments in custom development and software. By avoiding the time commitment of dedicating development resources, hardware purchases and configuration, customers enjoy rapid solution deployment, and lower costs.

About Datatel

Datatel is a leading Canadian provider of Premium IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Hosted and Managed services.

Datatel provides services that help businesses and organizations automate a wide range of telephone interactions with customers and employees. These include IVR Surveys, Order Processing, Lead Generation, Contests, Promotions, Payment Processing, Billing, and 100's of other business applications, in a hosted, managed environment.

For over 15 years we have helped businesses and organizations successfully execute their IVR strategies, by delivering superior know-how, hosting and support services. We have refined a service delivery process that guarantees your successful IVR project execution.

Datatel offers a free guide which helps companies through the IVR vendor selection process, and can be downloaded at: http://www.datatel-systems.com/IVR-GUIDE

Company Web Site: www.datatel-systems.com

Datatel Announces Outbound IVR Services Compliant with the Canada Do Not Call List.

Toronto, ON, Canada. October 20, 2008 – DATATEL INC. a Leader in IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Hosted and Managed Services, announced today that it has launched  a new portfolio of  Outbound IVR Hosted Services, tailored to comply with the Canadian Do Not Call List.

On October 1, 2008, the Canadian Do Not Call List took effect, and the use of IVR for outbound calling to consumers is restricted to specific types of calls. Datatel  provides services that help businesses and organizations automate a wide range of telephone interactions with customers and employees. Datatel has released  an extensive suite of services, which are designed to keep an open channel of communication with customers and employees, and be fully compliant with the DNC.

This new DNC friendly suite of IVR services, allows organizations to initiate automated calls to consumers and always remain DNC compliant. These include:

• Surveys and Polls
• Appointment Reminder Calls
• Appointment Rescheduling Calls
• Calls related to Payments or Collections
• Public Service Announcements
• Product Recalls

 “We want to help businesses stay connected with their customers and stakeholders while ensuring they are following the DNC guidelines. The best way we can do this, is by only offering only IVR services that are DNC friendly” said Barnard Crespi, CEO at Datatel.

With a significant Canadian infrastructure and professional services footprint, Datatel can service clients anywhere in Canada, and provide IVR solutions tailored to regional needs.

As a hosted solution, customers avoid the risk and expense of large capital investments in custom development and software. By avoiding the time commitment of dedicating development resources, hardware purchases and configuration, customers enjoy rapid solution deployment, and lower costs.

Datatel offers a free guide which helps companies through the IVR vendor selection process, and can be downloaded at: http://www.datatel-systems.com/IVR-GUIDE

About Datatel

Datatel is a leading Canadian provider of Premium IVR (Interactive Voice Response) Hosted and Managed services.

Datatel provides services that help businesses and organizations automate a wide range of telephone interactions with customers and employees. These include IVR Surveys, Order Processing, Lead Generation, Contests, Promotions, Payment Processing, Billing, and 100's of other business applications, in a hosted, managed environment.

 For over 15 years we have helped businesses and organizations successfully execute their IVR strategies, by delivering superior know-how, hosting and support services. We have refined a service delivery process that guarantees your successful IVR project execution.

Company Web Site: www.datatel-systems.com

IVR and the Canadian Do Not Call List

Effective October 1, 2008, Marketers who employ IVR to reach out to their potential customers in Canada must be wary. If you are using IVR to place your calls to Canadian consumers, you better press the “pause” button and read the following: www.LNNTE-DNCL.gc.ca

The CRTC refers to IVR as ADAD (Automatic Dialing and Announcing Devices) – you can reference the specifics at: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/INFO_SHT/t1022.htm

The Canadian DNC is very similar to its US counterpart; however, it comes loaded with a list of rules that apply specifically to the use of IVR to communicate with consumers.

If you are using IVR to automate calling for the following purposes, you are exempt as ADADs are permitted when there is no attempt to sell.

So you can press the “resume” button for:

• Product recall calls
• Appointment reminder calls
• Appointment rescheduling calls
• Calls related to payment or bill collections
• Public service announcements
• Polls and Surveys

Important Notice:

If you are using IVR to communicate with consumers, (who are not in the DNC), even if they are your customers, you must make sure you obtain specific clarification from the CRTC. This refers specifically to a new rule which reads: ADADs may not be used for telemarketing unless the consumer has given express consent to accept an ADAD telemarketing call.  https://www.lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/nrt-ntr-eng#link01

To help you successfully execute your IVRsurvey project, I have written a guide (which you can download for free):

http://www.datatel-systems.com/whitepapers/IVRSurvey_Request.htm

To Your Success,

Barnard L. Crespi
CEO
Datatel Inc/Datatel Communications Inc
www.datatel-systems.com