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Enhanced IVR Solutions Boost Utility Customer Service Efficiency

A two-decade history of on-time, on-budget, successful solutions gave this electric utility provider the confidence to trust us with its biggest project yet.

Industry: Energy & Utilities

25%

of outage calls identified through predictive intent

40%

completion of IVR process to begin service

20%

of sign-up for e-billing during the IVR process

Challenge

With over 19 million calls a year, this client needed innovative ideas for shaping its utility customer service. Too many of its customer inquiries were being directed to teams, and the volume was such that it often had to rely on costly external overflow advisors. It needed to improve the overall experience and rein in those costs. 

What the client wanted most was to develop a user-friendly system that would allow customers to easily answer their own questions and address their own issues. A familiar idea for many of us but, for the client, the work required to make that transition for the first time was daunting. 

Enhanced IVR Solutions Boost Utility Customer Self-Service Efficiency

Solution

We recognized that the client needed more than just a streamlined self-service solution; it needed a complete enhanced interactive response (IVR) solution that would give it control over the utility customer service experience. 

The solution included: 

  • IVR administrative self-service: Things change all the time, so we built a seamless admin access point that empowered the client to control IVR prompts for outages, common billing issues, and general topics—all without having to involve our team. 
  • Natural language understanding (NLU): We helped our client switch from a menu-driven dialog application to a more conversational approach with the infamous “How can I help you?” question.
  • IVR move-out self-service: The client’s customers made it clear that moving out was a hassle, so we made it a breeze with our IVR move-out self-service. Customers could now easily provide all the necessary information and receive their confirmation via the IVR, eliminating the need to talk to an advisor. 
  • IVR move-in self-service: It’s not just moving out that we made easier. IVR move-in self-service allowed customers to provide all the information required for their move-in. And when they needed to be transferred to an advisor to complete the process, their data transferred with them. 
  • Billing self-service: Billing was one of those simple inquiries the client wanted to automate most. We integrated our IVR solutions with the client’s backend information to provide a more personalized experience that advised the customer why their bill either increased or decreased while providing more detailed information about current and past bills. 

We helped our client switch from a menu-driven dialog application to a more conversational approach with the infamous “How can I help you?” question. 

Outcomes

With our enhanced IVR customer experience in place, the client realized: 

9% increase in customers using the IVR system to complete their transactions without having to speak to an advisor. 

25% of outage calls being identified through predictive intent and routed accordingly. 

40% of customers completing the automated portion of the IVR process to begin service. 

20% of customers signing up for e-billing during the IVR process. 

By diverting 25% of incoming utility customer service calls with our innovative IVR solutions, our client can reduce advisor handle time and significantly reduce that costly use of external overflow advisors.  

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