I often hear from customers running IVRs and call centers that they want "analytics."  They already know they need "analytics," and they often ask about a specific analytics tool that they've just heard a sales pitch about.  And while it's so tempting to go out and buy an analytics tool - you need to be very careful. 

Why? Well, "analytics" can mean many different things and they can solve very different business problems.  But, broadly speaking, analytics tools focus on one of the following three areas:

1. IVR front-end (callers interacting with your IVR)
2. Agent back-end (callers speaking with your agents)
3. IVR & Agent end-to-end (callers interacting with IVR and agents)

When I talk to customers who are considering implementing news analytic tools or refining existing ones, I tell them to think about the following:

• Focus on your business problems, not on tools
  You run a business, so focus on solving your top business problems related to your IVR and call center.  Typically these are issues like getting more self-service from your IVR; finding out why callers call your agents and how long these call types typically take; measuring customer satisfaction; or understanding what your callers' really experience as they work thru your IVR and then talk to your agents.
• Get professional advice to choose the right analytics tools
  Work with an experienced consultant to provide deep and broad practical knowledge across all three analytics areas.  I've seen clients who had no idea that the analytics tools they were excited about buying couldn't actually address their specific business problems.
• Budget for analytics services, not just tools
  We've all seen teams that bought an analytics tool that looked great in the demo, but never amounted to much business value a year later.  It's important to have an experienced analytics team to work with your team (and your new tool) to both determine what the red flags are in your IVR and call center, and how to fix them.  Tools just point to problems. You need expert services to recommend solutions you can act on.

And remember, when all is said and done and your new analytics team and tool are up and running, be sure to create a continuous improvement program in which ongoing analytics activities are defined and proactively performed by your team.  This ongoing governance discipline will ensure your analytics investment provides value for years to come.