Spoken Communications ^® Publishes Results of New Benchmark Portal Study on IVR Effectiveness for Customer Service Call Centers

White paper describes new technology that dramatically increases success of IVR caller experience and maximizes quality self-service for callers while enabling agents to manage four calls at once

SEATTLE, Wash., July 11 /PRNewswire/ -- Results of a new Benchmark Portal study have found that companies which deploy cost saving automated self- service IVR solutions run the risk of frustrating and "turning off" their callers to self service altogether.

The study was sponsored by call center technology provider Spoken Communications ^® and has been published in a new white paper called, "Let the Truth be Spoken: Self Service Guaranteed!" The study focused on Contact Center professionals and found that of the 659 respondents surveyed, 74% indicated that they have deployed an IVR solution and are experiencing an average of 30% or more of callers opting out of the system. The 26% of respondents who choose not to use IVR decided so because of the following:

1) A belief that live agent service is required for a quality caller
experience
2) A concern that their calls were too complex to be handled by an IVR
3) A worry that they will have too many callers "opting out"

Organizations that spend millions of dollars to provide IVR self-service face the very real problem of poor caller experience which results in high caller opt-out rates and reduced return on investment for speech-based IVR solutions.

"Spoken takes a new approach to voice self-service by offering a solution that increases customer satisfaction with a live agent 'Safety Net,' significantly raising speech-enabled IVR call completion rates, and boosting call center agent productivity by 4x," said Gilad Odinak, CEO of Spoken Communications ^®.

Spoken's agent-assisted IVR business solution, or Guided Self-Service Solution(TM) blends the very best call automation technology with live human agents to favorably impact the outcome of each IVR interaction. The concept is similar to having a clerk in a grocery store who assists four self-service checkout kiosks at the same time. The Spoken solution brings the ability for a silent agent to guide four callers at the same time, making sure each IVR self- service session is completed. This means callers can now use "whole language" to interact with speech IVR, since the combination of technology and silent live agent will adapt to any inquiry for call completion.

The patented Spoken System ^®(TM), which delivers the next-generation Guided Self-Service Solution(TM) solution for call centers, has already been deployed in call centers which are seeing tremendous benefits and industry leading caller completion rates. It offers a pragmatic and strategic way for companies to continue scaling their technology investments while leveraging their human agent force.

About Spoken Communications ^®

Spoken Communications ^® has established a cutting edge concept in call center agent efficiency called Guided Self-Service Solution(TM) -- a new business solution that allows call center agents to handle four calls at once by blending the agents with enabling technology. This provides organizations lower live agent costs through high productivity gains, the ability to provide phone self service that works for callers with a live safety net, and be able to leverage existing call center investments. The company is focused on the enterprise and BPO markets providing a solution that improves operational efficiencies, drives revenue, and increases customer satisfaction. Spoken's technology has its roots in more than 5 years of research and development in call center agent productivity and is currently in use in the direct response industry. Spoken Communications ^® is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. For more information, visit www.spoken.com or call 425-679-0696.

Source: Spoken Communications ^®

CONTACT: Tonia Lopez-Song of Spoken Communications ^®, +1-425-679-0696 or
spokenpr@spoken.com

Web site: http://www.spoken.com/

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