How IVR Systems Increase Revenue And Cash Flow

Every company in the United States wants increased profits and improve cash flow. So, how can an IVR system help them achieve these goals?

Let’s start with increased profits and how an IVR system can help a company boost its products and services revenue. Here are a few ways our clients are making this happen.

Self Serve IVR Automation

By enabling an IVR system to facilitate calls, take orders, check price/availability, and automate the ordering process, our clients tend to increase sales profits. For instance, if the call flow for your inside sales team suddenly peaks and customers are holding, those callers may choose to hang up and call someone else. Likewise, if customers call after hours, an IVR system can automate the order process, allowing customers to call anytime, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Segmenting Customer Audience

In the scenario above, imagine you have 1,000 customers who represent 80% of your revenue. Yet, another 7,000 customers represent the remaining 20%. Our clients frequently use an IVR to prioritize highly profitable customers to make sure they receive concierge service. This tactic helps to maximize the customer experience of their largest and most profitable customers. The IVR then allows the remaining 20% to complete their tasks and orders through self-service (again, optimizing profitability).

Improving cash flow is another area companies often leverage automation. Below are a few ways we’ve helped our clients achieve these results.

Improved Days Sales Outstanding

Once a company provides a product or service on terms, there is a lag between delivery and customer payment. This lag is referred to as Days Sales Outstanding or DSO. Extended DSO’s and accounts receivables harm cash flow. IVR systems can send outbound voice and text messaging for payment reminders and notifications. Municipalities often use outbound IVR notifications to remind residents when their water bill is due. When residents get a reminder the day before, they tend to pay it quicker (and on-time) instead of waiting for the late notice.

Reduce Cost to Collect

In the above example, the cost to collect without an IVR solution is often the print and mail cost. These added collection costs negatively impact cash flow and profitability. For instance, if a city water authority has roughly 25,000 customers with 10% paying late, this requires the city to mail 2,500 notices per month to them at around $1 each. It also takes longer for them to get there than merely sending an SMS text notification or making an outbound IVR call reminding them of the water bill. SMS and IVR messaging speeds up the process and costs much less… helping increase profit and improve cash flow.

To learn about other ways IVR and SMS solutions can help your business increase profitability and improve cash flow, Contact Us today.