Creating Nested Voice Menu's (IVR's)
- Pieter Oosthuizen
Follow this guide to create a nested Voice Menu - also commonly knows as an IVR.
A nested Voice Menu is a Voice Menu that will route users to another Voice Menu, until such a time as the Voice Menu Number options routes the caller through to a destination (User/Call Group/External Number).
In this example, we’ll create a nested Voice Menu for the below scenario:
The Event Shop (Overview):
The Event Stop is an events business that supplies its clients with world-class events for corporate groups and individuals. The Event Stop needs to create a Voice Menu that provides their callers with menu options to route the calls through to the correct department based on a selection.
Departments & Users:
They currently have 2 departments located in 2 different provinces with one user at each of the departments:
Department | Province | User |
|---|---|---|
Corporate Events | Gauteng | Joan Delante |
Corporate Events | Cape Town | John Mc Donald |
Private Events | Gauteng | Emily Parker |
Private Events | Cape Town | John Smith |
The Voice Menu will be created with the below audio files (Greetings):
Voice Menu | Audio | Greeting Name | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Welcome | Thank you for calling The Event Stop, Your one-stop event shop for both corporate and private events. For Corporate Events, Press 1. For Private events Press 2. | WelcomeGreeting |
| 2 | Corporate Events | You’ve reached the Corporate Events Department. For Corporate Events in Gauteng, Press 1. For Corporate Events in Cape Town, Press 2. | CoporateGreeting |
| 3 | Private Events | You’ve reached the Private Events Department. For Private Events in Gauteng, Press 1. For Private Events in Cape Town, Press 2. | PrivateGreeting |
The below video provides a walkthrough of the nested IVR creation. To follow detailed instructions on creating a voice menu (IVR) you can refer to Creating a new Voice Menu (IVR) or Updating a Voice Menu (IVR).
Important: When creating a nested IVR. Start by creating the lowest level IVR as these would need to be selected in higher level IVRs. (No 3 in Greetings Table above)
Video Example: Nested Voice Menu (IVR)
Completing Voice Menu fields
Basic Information
Field Name | Description/Options | Required Field |
|---|---|---|
Name | This is the name of the Voice Menu/IVR you are creating. If you have more than one Voice Menu, choose a name that can be easily identified. E.g. Welcome Voice Menu | Yes |
Assign Phone Number | Selecting a number here will route the incoming calls to this Voice Menu.
Important: It is not recommended to select the number here as this will remove any routing configured under Numbers Time Routing - Phone Number (DID) | No |
Welcome Greeting | This is the sound file that should be played to the caller. Typically presents the caller with menu options. Company Greetings will be available for selection here or alternatively:
| No |
Enable extension dialing | Checkbox that allows the caller to enter an extension number from here. This is generally when adding a playback simlar to “If you know the extension you are trying to reach, please dial it now“. You will be prompted to select the Branch if you have more than 1 branch configured. See Creating Branches for more information. | No |
Voice Menu Options
To add a new menu option, click the ADD MENU NUMBER button
Field Name | Description/Options | Required Field |
|---|---|---|
Menu # | This is the number that you would like the caller to press for this routing option. E.g. Press 1 for the Sales Department.
| Yes |
Action | This is the action/Routing that should happen when a caller enters this number. The below options are available for selection: External Number: This will provide you with an option to enter an external number to be contacted such as a mobile number. User: This will provide you with an option to select a User within your organization. See Users Voice Menu: This will provide you with a list of existing Voice Menu’s for selection. This is when creating nested Voice Menu (TO DO LINK) Voicemail: This will provide you with a list of users to select. The voicemail will then be delivered to this users voicemail (Optional: Select or Create a custom voicemail greeting here.) Call Group: This option will provide you with a list of existing Call Groups for selection. | Yes |
Ending Actions
The below section contains options for all calls that did not select an option or have selected an incorrect menu option #:
Field Name | Description/Options | Required Field |
|---|---|---|
Play | This is the audio file that will play back to the caller when they did not make a valid selection or no selection at all. Leave this field unchanged if you do not want to playback any audio to the user at this point. | No |
Repeat Scenario | Enter the number of times you would like to repeat this voice menu when the caller did not make a valid selection or no selection at all. This will repeat the Welcome Greeting selected in the Voice Menu and restart the Non-Activity Timeout Counter. | Yes |
Ending Action (Play) | This covers the flow of the Voice Menu once the Voice Menu has repeated X times as defined in “Repeat Scenario“ above: Play: Select or create an audio file to playback to the caller. | No |
Ending Action (And) | This includes the action that needs to happen if the:
Options to select from:
| Yes |
Click SAVE. The voice menu will now be updated and available in the main Voice Menu screen.
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