IVR Script and Sample On-Hold Messages

Love them or hate them, IVR’s are a necessity in many industries, so if you need one, you should have the best IVR possible.

In an age when people have information at their fingertips, waiting on-hold can be frustrating. Opportunities to differentiate yourself from your competitor should be embraced and excellent customer service is one area you can really stand out. In a survey by Microsoft, 90% of people admitted customer service was a factor in deciding whether to do business with a company or not.  So, giving your customers the best customer experience possible is imperative and this includes when they call you and have to wait on hold.

So what makes your IVR bad?

The stats speak for themselves:

• 63% have an issue with being forced to listen to irrelevant options
• 54% just wanted to speak to a person and the IVR was a barrier
• 46% of people think the menus are too long
• 45% say they often have to repeat themselves

These are not small figures and could seriously be damaging your bottom line. But what can we do? I hear you ask… Well, call your business, listen to your IVR messages, and ask yourself, would you be happy on hold?

Vonage reported that 85% of people have hung up on a call centre without resolving their need, why?

• 65% listed missing options
• 63% irrelevant choices
• 46% overly long menus

So, if you want to improve customer experience, start with your IVR script.

We’ve compiled some example IVR scripts to help, but remember, these are just a guide. An effective IVR message should be tailored for your business.

The Greeting Message IVR Examples

The greeting message is very most important, it sets the tone of the call. It must be able to identify your customers’ needs and quickly point them in the right direction. There are several options on how to structure this, the most popular is by department, or by your most common enquiries. Remember to keep the initial menu as short as possible (three or four options is a good limit). You can offer more choices later at each stage.

For example:

• Thank you for calling Onhold Studio, let’s get you to the right person.
• For customer service, please press 1.
• For sales, please press 2.
• For accounts, please press 3.
• To speak to a member of the team, please press 0.

Once you caller has moved on to the next phase, you can route them through to a person, of if you are a bigger organisation, pass them through to a sub menu, to narrow down the request to smaller teams. The few layers the better in our experience to avoid hang ups.

For example:

• We want you to talk to the right person, so here are a few options
• To set up a new account, press 1.
• To make changes to your account, press 2.
• To speak to a member of the customer team please press 0.

Closing Message IVR Examples

A closing message is a great way to end the call. It is also a great opportunity to gather feedback on your call redirecting them to a customer satisfaction survey

• Closing IVR Message Script
• Thank you for calling Onhold Studio.
• If you have another request, you can return to the main menu by pressing 1.
• We would like to ask you how we did today. Please stay on the line to take a short survey to help us improve our service.
• Otherwise, you can hang up any time. Thank you again for calling Onhold Studio.

After-Hours IVR Sample Scripts

After-hours messages are a slightly different. With no agent to speak to you need provide enough information so the caller knows what to do

For example:

Thank you for calling Onhold Studio. Our offices are currently closed. Please visit www.onholdstudio.co.uk for more information. If you would like to speak to a member of the team, please call us during business hours, Monday to Friday, 9a.m. to 5p.m. If you would like to leave a message, please wait for the beep. Thank you again for calling Onhold Studio.

Holiday Greetings

You may have different opening times during the holidays, having a holiday greeting is a great way to let your callers know when you’re open.

For example:

Thank you for calling Onhold Studios, we are currently closed in observance of [holiday name]. We will return on [Date] at 9a.m. if you would like to leave a message, please wait for the beep. Thanks for calling Onhold Studio.

Marketing IVR Messages

Here are a few examples:

• Don’t forget to update your IVR messages, please ask a member of the team about how we can help.
• We are always interested in hearing how we’re doing, if you are happy to do so, please stay on the line after you call to complete a short survey.
• We have some great special offers on right now! Visit www.onholdstudio.co.uk for more information.