Maintain top-notch customer service this holiday season with the help of an overflow call answering service and these additional tips!
It’s hard to believe, but the holiday season is upon us once again. For many businesses, the holiday season is the most important time of the year. Between holiday gift shopping, travel plans, and an overall increase in consumer spending, it is crucial for businesses to maximize the opportunities available during this time.
Maintaining customer service standards during the holiday season
One often-overlooked aspect of the holiday season is the impact on, (and increased demand for) customer service. In virtually every industry — from consumer-facing retail brands to corporations primarily serving other businesses — the impact on customer service departments during the holiday season can overwhelm companies who do not properly prepare.
Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to ensure that your organization’s customer service levels are as strong as possible this holiday season:
Use historical data to predict this year’s needs
While it can be difficult to predict the upcoming number of customer service calls, it is by no means impossible. One way to forecast customer service demand this holiday season is to look at the relative spike in customer service requests the previous year. When assessing this data, remember to factor in any major variables that might have impacted last year’s numbers, or that might have an impact this year. This can include anything from the obvious variables like company size and revenue to less obvious ones, such as the launch of a more complex product or service. While your estimates will by no means be 100% accurate, they can act as a guidepost to work from.
Create efficient processes for common issues
One way you can improve customer service for the holiday season is to have a specific process in place for your most common customer service issues. While this is actually a good thing to have year round, the benefit of these processes is only magnified during the holiday season. If there are a few specific issues that take up a significant amount of your customer service team’s time, invest effort into establishing a streamlined and standard process for each of them now.
Remember to focus on your customers
It can be easy to become overwhelmed by the increase in customer service requests during the holiday season. However, it is important to remember that your customers will continue to have the same expectations of customer service that they would have throughout the year. At the end of the day, it is your customers who keep the doors to your business open. During the hectic holiday season, this can be difficult to remember, but it remains true.
Utilize a call center solution to scale your customer service capabilities
Finally, it is worth remembering that you can take advantage of the skills, time and availability of a call center partner like MAP Communications. If you want to ensure that your customers are provided world-class customer service — even during the busiest time of the year — it is worth harnessing an effective call center service. Not only can a call center provide relief to your existing customer service department, but they can help your entire business stay focused on the customer during the holiday season. Best of all, they are available 24/7/365 – so while you and your staff are enjoying the holidays, we still have you covered. Give us a try before busy season hits and experience the MAP difference for yourself. Get your free 7-day trial started today!
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