Thorough preparation in your fundamental processes is critical in preventing overwhelmed teams and frustrated customers during seasonal CX surges.
Retailers invest significant resources into their fourth-quarter plans, and for good reason. While shoppers are expected to get a later start on holiday shopping this year when compared to recent years, industry analysts are still expecting overall retail spending to top $1.3 trillion this year.
How your organization prepares for the resulting flood of customer inquiries can affect seasonal and future sales and have lasting impacts on your brand, for better or worse.
In the special edition holiday 2023 preview issue of Retail Today, Ubiquity COO Corey Besaw shared the key considerations for delivering stress-free customer service this holiday season.
The key factors for retailers to consider include:
Analyzing the customer journey. The importance of optimizing the customer journey ahead of seasonal spikes cannot be overstated. Access the customer journey in every channel to spot and solve for friction points and review the top contact drivers. Holiday prep is also a good time to revisit your general online or in-app FAQs to make sure customers can find the answers to their most common questions.
Intentional recruiting and training for seasonal agents. Connecting with colleges and universities to recruit students for seasonal work is one targeted recruiting approach that can help reduce absenteeism and attrition. When it comes to training new seasonal staff, that approach should also be more targeted. Rather than focusing on every question an agent might receive, focus training on the most common contact types.
Utilizing humans and technology to drive better CX. There has been a lot of discussion about AI’s potential to disrupt many aspects of how we all do business. When it comes to CX, AI has the power to help drive better outcomes, but it’s important for organizations to find ways to align human talent with AI. One approach could be to program AI to help guide agents through calls in real-time to ensure the quickest and most compliant resolution.
A well-prepared customer service process is essential to avoiding an overwhelmed team and frustrated customers during a seasonal surge in customer inquiries, orders and questions. Failing to provide stress-free customer service could turn an otherwise successful holiday season into a risk for your brand reputation rather than a key opportunity to shine.
For more insights, read the complete article in the latest issue of Retail Today.
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