12 IVR Call Flows You Can Steal (and Use) in Your Call Center

Setting up a good IVR (interactive voice response) call flow can pay dividends for your business because it can keep more customers on the line and route more of them to the exact resources they need without delays.

Below, we’ll explore 12 call flows that you can implement in your call center straight away—plus we’ll offer some quick tips for setting up your call flows in a way that brings the most benefits while safeguarding you from the most common mistakes.

Quick Tips for Setting Up an IVR Call Flow

If your company happens to be using some of the best call center software on the market today, then you already have access to some tools for creating a great IVR call flow. In any case, it’s important to have a strong grasp of the basics when you’re setting one up.

Keep it simple

Along with those that provide too many menu options, call flows that aren’t clear or concise enough can lead to higher call abandonment rates and lower overall customer satisfaction due to their unnecessarily complex nature. Instead of bombarding your users with sensory overload, try to limit your main menu to a maximum of five options and keep your navigation tree simple and logical so that customers know how to use it and where to go.

Make sure customers can speak with an agent at any time

Sometimes a caller may not understand the menu options clearly or will simply prefer to talk to a human agent as soon as possible due to the urgency of their issue. With that in mind, you should always make sure to include an option to be routed to a live agent in your main menu and submenus.

Offer callback options

Offering a callback option gives the customer the choice to hang up the phone and have a live agent contact them at their next earliest convenience. This prevents callers from having to wait for an indeterminate amount of time on hold—which can otherwise be frustrating and lead to decreased customer satisfaction.

Allow touchpad and voice response

Before setting up your IVR call flows, be sure to offer both touchpad and voice response options. This gives callers additional choices so they can feel more comfortable navigating your IVR system, thus improving customer satisfaction and curbing call abandonment rates.

Offer post-call surveys

Offering a post-call survey can be a simple yet effective way to gather valuable data insights and customer feedback. This can give you direct instructions on how to improve and optimize your entire IVR system.

Steal These 12 IVR Call Flows

Having a good or bad IVR call flow can pretty much make or break the success of your call center. At the end of the day, what you want is a call flow that can help expand your customer service options, boost your first-call resolution rates, lower your call abandonment rates, decrease your wait times, and make your call center more efficient overall.

Simple IVR call flow

This type of call flow can be used as a general greeting for callers, helping you introduce them to your company and put them at ease.

Thank you for calling [company name]. All of our agents are currently busy. Please hold and we will be with you shortly. Your estimated hold time is [number] minutes.

General-use IVR call flow

A general-use call flow can serve as the main menu for your company. With it, you can give callers several high-level menu options so they can quickly and efficiently route themselves to one of your main departments or a live agent.

Thank you for calling [company name]. If you know your party’s extension, please enter it now. Please choose one of the following options:

For sales, press 1
For billing, press 2
For customer support, press 3
To speak with a representative, press 4
To repeat this message, press 0

Sales submenu

For order tracking, press 1
For account information, press 2
To speak with a member of the sales team, press 3
To go back to the previous menu, press 4

Billing submenu

For account information, press 1
To check the status of an invoice or bill, press 2
To speak with a member of the billing team, press 3
To go back to the previous menu, press 4

Customer support submenu

For account information, press 1
To check the status of an order, press 2
If you’re having trouble with an order, press 3
To speak with a member of our customer support team, press 4
To go back to the previous menu, press 5

Information IVR call flow

An informational IVR call flow can help customers get the information they need quickly by connecting them to the right departments and specific teams.

Thank you for calling [company name]. For more information, please choose one of the following menu options:

For order tracking, press 1
For billing inquiries, press 2
For technical support, press 3
For customer support, press 4
To speak with a representative, press 5

Order tracking submenu

For questions about an order status, press 1
For questions about a delivery, press 2
If you’re having trouble with an order, press 3
To speak with a representative, press 4

Billing inquiries submenu

For questions about a bill or invoice, press 1
For account balance and inquiries, press 2
If you’re having trouble with a recent bill or invoice, press 3
To speak with a representative, press 4

Technical support submenu

To learn more about our products and services, press 1
To speak with a member of our technical support team, press 2
To go back to the previous menu, press 3

Customer support submenu

For account information, press 1
For order inquiries, press 2
To speak with a member of our customer support team, press 3
To go back to the previous menu, press 4

Self-service IVR call flow

Implementing self-service options in an IVR system is a great way for customers to find the information they need independently and complete routine tasks on their own.

Thank you for calling [company name]. To direct your call as quickly as possible, please choose from the following self-service menu options:

To update account information, press 1
To make a payment, press 2
To check an order status, press 3
To hear our company hours, press 4
To speak with a representative, press 5

Customer service IVR call flow

A customer service IVR call flow can help both new and existing customers find the right submenus for their inquiries.

Thank you for calling [company name] customer service. We’re happy to assist you. Please choose one of the following menu options:

For account information, press 1
To check the status of an order, press 2
If you’re having trouble with an order, press 3
To speak with a member of the customer support team, press 4
To go back to the previous menu, press 5

Ecommerce store IVR call flow

IVR call flows are especially great for ecommerce companies, as they allow customers to access information about sales, orders, customer service, technical support, and other important areas quickly.

Thank you for calling [company name]. We’re proud to be an ecommerce leader since [year]. Please choose from the following menu options:

For sales, press 1
For customer support, press 2
For technical support, press 3
To speak with a member of our team, press 4
To go back to the previous menu, press 5

Sales submenu

For order tracking, press 1
For account information, press 2
To speak with a member of the sales team, press 3
To go back to the previous menu, press 4

Customer support submenu

For account information, press 1
For questions about an order, press 2
To speak with a member of our customer support team, press 3
To go back to the previous menu, press 4

Technical support submenu

For information about our products and services, press 1
To speak with a member of our technical support team, press 2
For help logging into your account, press 3
To go back to the previous menu, press 4

Appointment booking IVR call flow

An IVR menu can make booking appointments much faster and more convenient than waiting to speak with an agent, leading to both increased customer satisfaction and decreased call volumes.

Thank you for calling [company name]. Please choose one of the following options:

To schedule a new appointment, press 1
To cancel or reschedule an existing appointment, press 2
To speak with a representative, press 3

Sales IVR call flow

Along with other things, sales teams can leverage IVR technology to simplify the contact process for customers who need information about the status of their orders.

Thank you for calling the sales team at [company name]. We’re here to help. Please choose one of the following menu options:

To place a new order, press 1
For order status and tracking, press 2
For payments, press 3
For account information, press 4
To speak with a member of the sales team, press 5
To go back to the previous menu, press 6

Outreach IVR call flow

An IVR menu can also be used to follow up on customer outreach efforts, taking another responsibility off the shoulders of your live agents.

Thank you for calling [company name]. We apologize, all of our lines are busy right now. Your call is important to us, so please leave a message after the beep and we will contact you as soon as possible.

After-hours IVR call flow

IVR can be very useful for handling calls that come outside of your normal business hours. By implementing the right IVR script, you can direct them to leave a message without needing a live agent to get involved until business hours resume.

Thank you for calling [company name]. We’re not available to take your call right now. Please call us during our normal business hours from [times and days of business hours] or leave a message after the beep with your name, contact information, and the reason for your call and a representative will contact you as soon as possible.

Holiday closure message IVR call flow

If your company is closed for a holiday, IVR can be a useful way to inform your callers and gather any inquiries they may have for when you reopen.

Happy [holiday name]. Thank you for calling [company name]. We’re currently closed until [date]. We will reopen on [date] at [time]. Please contact us at [email address] for further assistance, or leave us a message after the beep and we will be in touch with you as soon as possible.

The Benefits of Getting IVR Call Flows Right

Better customer service

Implementing intuitive, simple, and effective call flows can go a long way toward improving your call center’s customer service. It allows callers to connect with the right resources faster, ultimately reducing the number of transfers, the duration of wait times, and the need for follow-ups.

Increased productivity

With the right IVR system in place to handle basic customer inquiries and other simple tasks, your call center agents will be freed up to handle more complex calls and other important tasks. Similarly, the right IVR call flow can also streamline call handling, allowing agents to take on increased call volumes in less time.

A more enjoyable customer experience

IVR is also a great tool for streamlining the customer journey and making the overall customer experience more enjoyable. With the increased speed, greater accuracy, and self-service options offered by IVR, call centers can see improved metrics like better first-call resolution rates, lower call abandonment rates, and decreased wait times.

Personalized customer support

IVR technology can integrate with customer relationship management (CRM) software to deliver personalized customer experiences by recognizing repeat callers and offering service options tailored to them.

Self-service options

Finally, IVR call flows can incorporate self-service options into their menus, giving customers the ability to complete tasks independently. This boosts customer satisfaction for callers, as it allows them to complete tasks and get the information they need without having to wait. It can also reduce call loads for agents, which can help reduce agent burnout and subsequent turnover.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using IVR Call Flows

Forgetting to optimize the call flows

An IVR call flow is not a “set it and forget it” type of system. You need to keep optimizing them and collecting feedback on how to improve their flow, efficiency, and effectiveness. This can be done by tracking KPIs like first call resolution rate, call abandonment rates, and average wait times.

Not doing any testing

Testing is crucial for IVR call flows. Before releasing them into the wild, you ought to establish a small team to test them out so you can spot technical errors and other hiccups ahead of time. Bringing in external focus groups to test out your call flows is another good idea, as they can offer outside perspectives that your internal team may have missed.

Not looking at the data

Don’t make the mistake of neglecting to look at your IVR call flow data. Make a point to review it at least once a month—and focus on KPIs like first call resolution rate, wait times, call abandonment rates, and the like. Any insights you can glean from post-call customer surveys also count.

Not mapping them out first

Finally, don’t forget to map out your call flows before implementing them. This helps you visualize the full customer journey and makes it easier to adjust your menu options and call flows as needed.

Optimize Your IVR Call Flows Today

Running a well-oiled call center that provides excellent customer service can be tough, but by implementing the right IVR call flow, you can make it a lot easier.

Meanwhile, a good IVR call flow will also help your customers find the resources and solutions they need without having to wait.