"HELLO, CAN YOU HEAR ME?" A DELVE INTO VOICE ASSURANCE TESTING

Automated voice systems are something you might encounter daily, whether it is through your banking provider, insurer, or local doctor’s office you have likely had a successful customer journey thanks to the aid of a voice assistant. Voice assistants are increasingly enmeshed in the norms of customer service, with 71% of consumers preferring to conduct queries by voice instead of typing (PwC).

Companies without automated voice offerings find themselves falling behind in the era of CX, which is detrimental to any business in the modern age. As a result, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) adoption boomed, with many companies opting to utilize voice assistance to complement their existing customer service technologies.

However, a widely-taught lesson since the increased focus on Digital Transformation is that with new technologies come fresh problems. Companies are quickly learning that everyone can implement a voice application, but not everyone can successfully maintain a voice application. While technology reduces the chance of human error, our trusted machine companions are not completely flawless, and a lack of proper maintenance can result in easily- avoidable issues. According to Vonage, IVR was responsible for 50% of customers failing to complete their online transactions, showing that a poorly functioning IVR can quickly become a costly mistake.

When it boils down to it, your voice system is there for one thing only—your customers. So, how many voice systems are providing the unforgettable customer experience that is the key to securing returning customers?  ‍

The Problematic View of Cloud Technology  ‍

The widespread issue with voice technology is that businesses employ it and forget about it. You must treat your voice technology just like any other piece of technology that requires regular monitoring, maintenance, and upgrades when needed. Below are some of the key issues that occur when your voice system is not functioning correctly: ‍

The customer finds errors first: Arguably, the most harmful aspect of faulty voice technology is that your customers are usually the first to notice. If you do not regularly and rigorously test your voice technology, bugs and flaws go unnoticed until they are uncovered by your users. This results in complaints from customers and an increased likelihood that you will lose business to other competitors with better self-service offerings

‍Time and productivity costs: Companies are finding that they are investing more time than expected in their voice applications. One of the allures of voice technology in business is timesaving and productivity. The time and resources required to manually find ways of resolving flaws can sometimes outweigh any CX value that your system provides.  

‍Voice Privacy:  As technology evolves, so do the methods of fraud. There is a growing concern surrounding voice privacy and data security as businesses’ cloud-stored voice data libraries are at risk of exposure to cyber threats. When a security weakness occurs in your voice system, hackers can exploit these weaknesses to access or collect your sensitive customer data. This is why businesses are looking toward automated voice system testing to protect their voice systems from developing security vulnerabilities.

‍Assurance Through Automation‍

It is evident that automated testing is a necessity for all voice applications and that a well-thought-out and thoroughly-tested IVR can increase customer satisfaction, decrease labour costs, and pose little-to-no data security threats. However, choosing the right testing services is almost as important as choosing your voice technology, so you must choose a provider that suits your business.

With a full suite of automated, scalable, multilingual testing and monitoring capabilities, Connex Assurance Testing Solutions can help you launch your IVR system, as well as monitor and provide valuable insights to boost operational performance for improved service quality. Connex software emulates the customer experience so you can identify and resolve problems to achieve and maintain an optimal Net Promoter Score (NPS).

‍CX Monitoring ‍

Make providing high-quality CX your #1 priority with CX Monitoring. Automated monitoring and testing identifies and resolves CX problems nested in your voice systems by placing calls into your contact center, emulating real customer interactions. CX Monitoring is compatible with all systems including Genesys, NICE, Avaya, Amazon, Five9, Cisco.  

‍Regression Testing  ‍

Regression Testing thoroughly tests IVR and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) changes prior to updates and production cutovers ensuring seamless and speedy project delivery and reducing or avoiding unnecessary downtime and unexpected costs.

‍Load Testing  ‍

Avoid lengthy call queues, overwhelmed agents, and frustrated customers by appropriately preparing for your busiest moments. Load Testing floods your IVR system with an influx of calls to assess your contact center infrastructure and verify its performance at peak volumes.

‍Health Checks ‍

Peace of mind for you, seamless experiences for your clients. Health Checks offer a snapshot of your systems by benchmarking your CX performance against your competitors, revealing errors found in your voice assistant, and offering actionable results so you can easily resolve issues in a timely fashion.

Connex also offers the flexibility to test any type of voice system, any time, with our 24/7/365 support guarantee. This assures that you can immediately and efficiently resolve IVR issues before your customers encounter them or malicious forces can take advantage.

If you are looking to assure ongoing quality in your contact center, fill out the form below to learn more about Connex Assurance Testing.