How to setup, configure and modify Delacon's Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solution

1. Navigate to the IVR configuration interface

• Login to your Delacon account using your login details.
• Navigate to the left sidebar and click the Services tab (Services -> List Services). Click the Edit button for the Service ID you wish to add an IVR.
• Find and click on Configure IVR. Ensure that the IVR option is set to 'Enable'.

2. Welcome IVR Message and basic configuration

In the main IVR interface, start with uploading your IVR welcome message. This message needs to present the caller with the options of the IVR. Click on Upload Audio and select the correct file from your local storage. Please note the audio file must be in .wav format. Once successfully uploaded, you will be able to play back the message in the preview bar. 

Navigate to IVR Setup to configure some basic behaviours of your IVR.

Replay Entry: Replays to the caller the option they have pressed.

Max Digit: Enter the numeric value corresponding to the number of layers your IVR will have. For example, if your IVR as one menu with 5 options, it will be a single layer IVR and you will need to enter 1 into this field. If any of the menu options have subsequent options, it will be a multiple layer IVR and you will need to enter 2 or more into this field. The numeric value you add will tell our system how long it should wait for digits to be pressed before it starts routing the call.

Play Transfer Message: Set the toggle to yes, if you want to play the transfer messages that you can add under the IVR prompts (6.1 Configure IVR prompts).

Max Wait Time: Number of seconds the system will wait for the caller to make a selection. 

Max Attempts: Maximum number of invalid selections the caller can make. 

No Entry Value For Report: here you can customise what value will be added to the reporting, if the caller makes no selection. By default, it will show as blank in reports.

3. Add Menu options

Now continue with building the structure of the IVR. Click on Add Menu to build your first option. In the pop-up, complete all fields with the relevant details. More information on each field can be found below. 

Name: The name will be the description of the respective IVR option and will feature in the call log and IVR reports. The value can also be pushed to various integrations, such as Google Analytics. 

DTMF Code: The number assigned to the DTMF code will be the number the caller has to press on their keypad to select this option. The system will automatically number up starting from 1, but you can also customise the number if needed. Please note that once you have selected a number and saved your changes, you won't be able to change the DTMF Code again. More info on DTMF can be found here.

Call Handling: From the drop-down menu, select one of the three options on how to handle calls. More info on the options can be found here. 

Transfer time: Update your preferred transfer time in seconds. More info can be found here. 

E-mail: add all e-mail addresses that should receive call notifications for this option. Separate multiple e-mail address with a semi-colon (;) and no spacing. 

Do you want subsequent level?: by setting the toggle, you have the opportunity to create a subsequent menu for this option, eg the caller has pressed Option 1 and is presented with a new menu.

3a IVR option without subsequent level

If you do not need a subsequent menu to this option, set the toggle to No and add your termination number. 

Termination Number: This is the phone number to which calls will be transferred after the caller has selected this option.

IVR Audio: This field allows you to upload a transfer message which will be played to the caller after they have selected this option and before they are connected to the termination number. If you do not wish to upload a message, please tick “Upload Audio Later”.

Click on Save to save your changes and add this option to the IVR structure. 

Click on Close to close this window without saving this option. Please note all data will be discarded.

Repeat steps for all required options. 

3b IVR option with subsequent level

If your IVR option does have a subsequent menu, set the toggle to Yes.

Phone: our system will automatically complete this field and does not require any further input. 

IVR Audio: as with the welcome message, upload the audio file that presents the caller with the new menu options. You can upload the audio file later if you wish by ticking “Upload Audio Later”. 

Click on Save to save your changes and add this option to the IVR structure. 

The new option will now appear in the main overview. Click on the menu option and find the Add Sub-menu button to add all options for your second layer menu. You will receive the same pop-up as before to complete the new menu options.

In the DTMF Code field, you will now find a reference to the previous menu option. In the below example, the DTMF code is "3.1", which means that this is menu option 1 following menu option 3 from the previous menu. You can still customise the DTMF option, but only change the number after the dot. Do NOT change the reference number to the previous menu option as otherwise this sub-option might be played for the wrong previous menu option. 

Repeat above steps until all options and sub-options have been added. 

Configure IVR prompts

IVR prompts allow you to further assist the caller in navigating through the IVR by providing audio cues. By default, the prompts are disabled and can be activated by uploading an audio file in a valid format. 

Postcode IVR

If your IVR is a postcode IVR (ie the caller is prompted to enter their postcode to be routed to their nearest store), this menu allows to further configure the behaviour of the postcode IVR. 

If you set the toggle to "yes" for Enable, the system will take the longitude and latitude of the postcode the caller has entered, and will send the call to the geographically nearest postcode that is configured within the IVR.

If you further set to the toggle to "yes" for Is it Dynamic, the system will, based on the postcode the caller entered, present them with a list of the 3 nearest stores that have been configured within the IVR setup, and the caller can subsequently select their preferred store.

If you leave the toggle for both configurations as "no", you will need to make sure to define every possible postcode within the IVR setup. If a postcode that a caller has entered is not configured within the IVR, the system will define it as an invalid entry and route the call to the default termination number.

Adding Postcodes:

Now, you can easily upload the list of postcodes and endpoint details - termination number and notification email - for each of those postcodes in an easy way. You simply need to create a CSV file that contains three columns - DTMF (postcode), Termination Number and Email ID. If you want to specify the transfer time duration for the call, you can add another column that specifies the transfer duration. If no value was mentioned in the fourth column, the default transfer time - 40 seconds - will be used.

• To add the postcodes, click on 'Bulk Upload':

• From the pop-up dialogue box, you can either choose to append to an existing postcode IVR listing or overwrite the existing listing, if any, with fresh set of endpoints for the postcodes. Please note that if you select 'overwrite' it clears everything and not just the details of the postcodes being uploaded. Click on 'Import Routes' and you are ready to go.

If you need help with setting up your postcode IVR, please contact the Support team.

IVR Operator Hours

The IVR operator hours determine what days and times the IVR will be active, ie being played to the caller.

• Within the operator hours, eg Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, the IVR menu will be played to the caller and they can make a selection based on the options available.
• Outside the operator hours, calls will instead be diverted to an after hours routing without the IVR menu being presented to the caller.

Please note: 

1. The operator hours need be uniform across each day, eg 9-5 each day.
2. You will need to define an additional route for the after hours diversion. 

Configure Time of Day Routing for individual IVR options

With Time of Day (TOD) routing rules, you can further diversify how your calls are being answered at any given time of the day. For example, you can determine that during business hours, calls are transferred to termination number A and outside business hours to termination B. Or you can simply send all calls straight to voicemail outside business hours. This could be used (but not limited to) to transfer it to a particular number or another office or business location that is still open, or a voice message which says the office is closed and instructs the caller to leave a message.

Please note, this interface sets up TOD rules for each individual IVR option. If you want to set up routing rules for your entire IVR (ie the hours of day your IVR is active), please refer to the steps above under "IVR Operator Hours".

To add TOD rules, select the IVR option from the IVR configuration interface and click on the three dots underneath Advanced settings.

Add New:

Click the Add New button to create a new route and complete all fields in the pop-up. For more guidance on how to complete the fields, please refer to Step 4 of this guide. 

Click the Save button to save the changes. If you do not want to save the changes, you can click the Cancel button.

Once the route has been created, you will have the option to delete or edit the route with the two action icons to the right. 

Once all menu options and sub-options have been added and all audio files uploaded, call the tracking number and test the IVR flow. 

Checklist: 

• check that the welcome message is playing
• Select each option and ensure it correctly transfers either to the next menu or to the correct termination number
• Ensure all transfer messages, if uploaded, are playing

If your IVR has a lot of options (eg a postcode IVR), you can filter the details depending on Name, DTMF Code and Termination Number.

You can further adjust the view of how all routes are structured. This can be useful when you have an IVR with many sub-menus. 

Showing IVR list as normal:

Showing IVR list as table format:

Here all the menus and its sub menus will be listed one by one.

IVR Routing:

Here we can see all the IVR menus. You can update the details, including updating the IVR audio messages. You cannot update or modify the DTMF Code. Unless you update anything here, the Save and Cancel buttons will be disabled. Once you update any fields, the Save and Cancel buttons will be automatically enabled.

If you have made any changes and you want to save those changes, you can click the Save button. If you want to discard the changes you have made, you can click the Cancel button. If you want to delete the entire IVR, you can click the Delete button.

Add Sub Menu

If you want to add a sub menu, you can select the main IVR in which you need to add a sub menu by clicking the Add SubMenu button. If the sub menu option is disabled you should enable it by clicking Yes for Will this menu have sub-options? Then you can add sub menus.

Delete or Edit Sub Menus:

All the sub menus for a particular menu will be displayed in a list. You have the option to Delete sub menus and also to Edit sub menus.

If you want to delete a sub menu you can click the Delete button. A pop-up will appear, asking for confirmation to delete the sub menu.

Click the Confirm button to delete the sub menu. If you do not want to delete, just click the Cancel button.

If you want to edit the sub menu, click the Edit button to make any modifications.

To find the IVR data Delacon has captured for your calls, please review this guide under:

• 3. Where to find IVR data in the Delacon portal
• 4. Pushing IVR data into 3rd party platforms