Where can I find an automated phone service for my business?

How to set up an automated response phone line?

• I'm looking to set up an automated response phone line for my business. I have no idea where to start. I want to establish a phone number, in which clients can call and find answers to their questions through an automated response system. I'm not looking for anything technological. Just a phone line, with a menu that leads to information that would be readily available. Anybody knows how much this type of service costs per month and where I can start? Thanks!

• Answer:

  What information and how often do you need to change it? The application is called Interactive Voice Response (IVR). It can be simple, or complex, depending on your budget and how sophisticated you want it. Speech Recognition adds a ton to the price. One of the fairly inexpensive systems is the Amanda Portal. It uses Token Control Language to control events and database lookups. Inexpensive can range in the low to middle 4 figures (ie $3000-5000). Keep in mind for the price of a phone system, you can get simple VR systems for less than $1000.