ACD (automatic call distribution) and IVR (interactive voice response) are two different ways for call centers to handle inbound calls. ACD automatically routes incoming calls based on predefined rules — an IVR guides callers through pre-recorded menu options so they can route themselves.
In a perfect world, you’re able to use both to optimize around the caller experience. If you have to pick one, though, ACD is the clear winner for customer retention.
While IVR systems are cheaper and can help free up your agents, it requires callers to take the initiative. Plus, nobody likes being stuck in a phone tree.
Six (more) reasons why ACD is the better choice
In addition to higher customer retention rates, there are several other reasons why ACD has the edge over IVR for call centers.
1. You’ll answer more questions and resolve more problems
When was the last time you called a business with a problem and got your question answered from an automated menu? I’m assuming never. Or maybe almost never if you’re lucky.
Even with recent call center IVR upgrades, they still have a long way to go.
Customers aren’t calling to find your address and they know that they can pay their bills online. The only reason they picked up the phone and dialed your number is because they want to speak to someone who can actually help them.
ACDs make this happen. IVRs, on the other hand, can frustrate your customers, and they tend to answer questions they aren’t even asking.
2. Improved call center KPIs
ACD systems are faster and more efficient for call centers. This can help improve many of the key call center metrics you’re tracking to measure success, including:
- First response time (FRT).
- First-call resolution (FCR).
- Average handling time (AHT).
- Net promoter score (NPS).
- Customer satisfaction score (CSAT).
- Average abandonment rate.
- Average time in queue.
An IVR can negatively impact just about every metric unless you do everything perfectly. Even when done well, things like first call resolution, customer satisfaction, and average time in queue can still get worse.
3. Increases brand loyalty
If your customers are calling you, they likely have some sort of problem. Forcing them to navigate a long phone menu can make matters worse, make them wait longer, and build up frustration by the time they get to talk to someone.
Providing phone support from a live agent goes a long way, especially in an era where so many businesses fail to deliver.
Quickly connecting callers to a qualified agent proves that you actually care. If your customers feel like you care about them, you’ll not only retain them, but it’s also easier to turn them into loyal customers with higher lifetime value.
Plus, they’re more likely to talk about their five-star experience, recommend you to their friends and family, and even pay more for your services.
4. Limits repetitive self-service
Self-service isn’t always a good thing. For a lot of call centers, it doesn’t make sense at all, despite sounding good on paper.
Most people can troubleshoot common issues on their own through your website, Google, or even forums. But if they’re calling you, it’s likely that they have a more complex problem to solve — one that likely requires skilled agents.
Many callers have likely tried various other solutions and the last thing they want to hear is a self-service voice menu telling them to go try things they’ve already done.
What about callers who would actually benefit from self-service? Worst case, they talk to an agent for a few minutes and receive excellent care along the way. Best case, they’re able to get all of their questions answered in a few minutes and leave feeling like you’ve exceeded expectations.
5. It’s easier to prioritize incoming calls
If your call center software is integrated with your CRM, you can use customer data to prioritize your most important calls. This ensures that callers with the highest sales potential or those paying for faster service are quickly routed to a live agent ahead of others.
SEE: Learn how to test call center integrations before you buy.
You probably don’t want an enterprise client paying $20,000 per year sitting on hold behind a solo user who pays $20 per month.
6. Connects callers to the right agent on the first try
IVR systems fail when they don’t help callers help themselves. As we’ve already discussed, most people calling want to talk to a real person rather than navigating a complex and long-winded phone menu.
If the caller presses a wrong button or doesn’t understand your options, they’ll likely end up talking to the wrong person.
You may be able to get by with a general operator after your IVR to direct calls to the appropriate department. But this leads to longer hold times, and your callers still haven’t connected with someone who can help them.
ACD systems eliminate these problems by automatically routing inbound calls to the most qualified agent on the first try.
Customers get faster care because the rep who answers the phone can provide assistance without having to transfer them to someone else.
ACD features to look for
As you’re comparing different tools and call center software, these are the features you should pay attention to. If you attend live demos, be sure to ask about them so you know how they work and each system’s capabilities.
Call distribution methods
Because call routing impacts your company image, it’s one of the most important pieces of running a successful call center. Do it well and callers will appreciate it whether they realize it or not. Do it wrong and they’ll walk away notably frustrated.
As such, you should have the ability to customize the way your ACD routes calls to agents.
Popular options include:
- Skills-based — Each agent is tagged based on particular skills, languages spoken, or their level of expertise. For example, if a customer calls from Mexico, skills-based ACD will route the call to an agent who speaks Spanish.
- Round robin — This evenly distributes each call in a continuous loop so every agent has an equal opportunity. The first call is routed to the first agent, the second agent answers the next call, and so on.
- Simultaneous ring — Every inbound call is simultaneously sent to every available agent, and the first agent who answers handles the call.
- Least-occupied agent — Calls are automatically routed to agents with the most idle time. If one agent has been idle for 30 seconds and another agent has been idle for two minutes, the second agent would take the call.
- Availability-based — This system automatically routes callers to agents based on their work schedule. It’s common for remote contact centers that span multiple time zones.
- Fixed order — Every agent is ranked in whatever order you choose. Whenever a call comes in, the ACD will route that caller to the first agent on your list. If they aren’t available, the call will go to the next agent, and so on until someone answers.
There are a lot of different ways to set up your ACD but every provider offers different capabilities at different tiers, so it’s important to understand what you need and ensure the software you choose can support that.
Ring or call groups
Call groups can be helpful for various types of inbound calls because they let you segment agents into specific departments.
When the ACD routes calls to a particular department, everyone in that ring group hears it ring.
From there, you can customize the distribution method for each ring group based on what makes sense for the department. You may want to use round robin for your sales calls, simultaneous ring for billing, and skills-based call distribution for tech support.
Automatic callbacks
With this feature, callers can request a callback when it’s their turn rather than waiting on hold. You can set it up to trigger the callback option if hold times are longer than a certain amount of time, if there are too many people in the queue, or by default.
Say you set the minimum wait time to two minutes. If the caller only waits a minute and a half, they won’ get the option of requesting a callback.
After the two minute mark, they’ll hear an automated message and instructions on what to do.
SEE: Discover why customers (and agents) appreciate queue callbacks.
Virtual voicemail
If no one answers, you can set up rules to route voicemail messages to different departments or agents. You can customize your prerecorded voicemail message based on what types of information each department needs to help them, when they can expect a reply, and other pertinent pieces of information the caller may need to know.
Some ACDs provide visual voicemail services that automatically transcribe messages — so agents can read voicemails even if they’re away from their desk or in a loud environment.
Call queuing
Call queue management is a simple way to organize callers who are waiting on hold.
ACD systems can automatically add inbound calls to a queue or potentially route that call elsewhere if there are already too many callers in line.
You can customize your call queues based on what’s most important to your call center. You may want the call sent to a live agent as soon as possible. Maybe you’d rather have the caller wait a few extra minutes to ensure they talk to the right person instead. Either way, it should be entirely up to you.
SEE: Discover our best call queue management tips for peak hours.
Call monitoring
Managers and supervisors can monitor calls live or post-call. Both methods can provide valuable information on the quality and efficiency of your ACD.
If you notice agents are regularly transferring calls or struggling to provide help, you can adjust your settings to ensure calls go to the right person. Over time, you’ll have a lot of data you can use to make faster and better decisions.
You can even use ChatGPT to analyze customer sentiment if you want a fast and easy way to understand what’s happening in calls.
Integrations
Most call centers want to integrate ACDs with third-party tools — CRM software is the most common and helpful integration. When done well, it will automatically populate key information about the caller so the system can route them according to your rules.
The more information the system has, the better chance it’ll get it right.
Beyond routing, CRM integration allows agents to see caller information without having to go find them in your CRM.
In many cases, all of their details pop up on their screen so they can review before they answer.
ACD with IVR: Use them together for the best results
The best way to improve the contact center experience is to use IVR and ACD together. You can set them up with two different phone numbers (i.e. IVR for generic customer support and ACD for technical support) or use a very simple IVR system to collect enough information for your ACD to route the call.
ACD is only as good as the information it has to go on. If it doesn’t have much, setting up a straightforward IVR call flow can help you make the most of it.
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