“Does your company consider post-call IVR surveying to be a technology?” is a question that was included in the 25 Mistakes to Avoid with Post-call IVR Surveys ebook and self-assessment. The ebook and self-assessment includes diagnostic questions to uncover many of the problems I have come across since inventing post-call IVR surveying in contact centers almost 20 years ago.
Why this is a problem?
It seems like there is an app for everything nowadays, and this seems like a very good thing for consumers. Similarly, there seems to be software for everything we need to do in our businesses. You are probably involved in no less than one major software/hardware installation and two or three minor ones that support business automation. Being supported to do something faster or to do something you have been unable to do, but wanted to, by using technology can be very exciting and financially beneficial for companies. But this excitement has also been met with a lot of sorrow for many. We have all heard about the 80% CRM software implementation failure rates. Did you ever think about the other 20% and why they didn’t fail?
While there may not be a lot of media coverage because the dollars spent are massively smaller, post-call IVR survey programs have had similar disappointing results as CRM software implementations. What separates the best from the rest is an understanding that technology is an enabler, not a driver. Take, for example, creating a document. Does Microsoft Word create a document for you or does it help you to create better documents faster? See, it’s an enabler. If it was a driver, it wouldn’t need you.
It’s not difficult for me to tell which post-call IVR survey programs are failure prone (destined to be in the 80%) because they are technology drivers. Requests For Proposals to procure the technology and then the implementation and operation are managed by the IT group instead of the operations team that must add (the real) value to the customer experience.
All customer experience voice of the customer programs are enablers and not drivers. You need to be able to apply research principles and technology must support this need. There are no parts of the customer experience voice of the customer program that are simply turn-on-and-forget- about-it; not the design, not the implementation, not the on-going execution, and certainly not the analytics.
If your organization is leaning too far on the technology solution side, it’s pretty safe to assume that you are dangerously close to committing survey malpractice and being just like the 80% CRM software failure group. No one likes to admit this, but claiming to not be aware of such damaging deficits, and not delivering value, is not an acceptable defense.
Solution to the Problem
While the solution is simple, executing the solution is where the challenge lies. To experience greater success with your post-call IVR survey program in your contact center you must learn about the science of customer research and have this lead your technology implementation and operation. Switch these priorities and place technology in the lead of your project is a certain recipe for failure. Just ask the 20% who do it right.
