This guide outlines how high call volumes can impact your sales in the holidays and solutions to handle them.
Many individuals throughout the world associate the holiday season with purchasing gifts for loved ones. Although online shopping has grown in popularity in recent years, brick-and-mortar stores still continue to generate the greatest sales. E-commerce retailers made $135.35 billion during the last Christmas season.
Increased online sales frequently increase consumer calls to call centers, meaning high call volumes can become a problem. Customers rely on call centers to address their problems because they cannot ask sales personnel questions in person.
Holidays with high call volumes
The holiday season has arrived, and small business owners are making a mad scramble to capitalize on this profitable time of year. Overall, U.S. holiday sales (i.e. retail sales in November and December) are predicted to increase 8.5-10.5 percent this year to as high as $859 billion, up from 8.2 percent last year.
This time of year may contribute between 20 and 40 percent of a company’s revenue, so it’s no surprise that businesses work exceptionally hard to prepare for the holiday season, whether that means bringing in new inventory, stocking up on popular items, dealing with high call volumes or ramping up marketing and advertising activities.
While Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving, is traditionally the busiest retail shopping day of the Christmas season in the U.S., new days such as Cyber Monday and Small Business Saturday helped boost holiday retail sales.
Why it’s crucial to meet high call volumes
How are you going to run your business during this stressful period of high call volumes? Answering the phone may become a full-time job in and of itself. High call volumes to businesses increased by more than 375 percent during the last two holiday seasons. Even today, a considerable percentage of commerce is conducted over the phone.
It might be an existing client phoning to place an order or a lead contacting your organization to learn more about the products and services you provide. It is critical to maintain your emphasis on providing exceptional customer service and capturing every lead that comes into your firm.
These prospects may be shopping for the holidays right now, but they could become lifetime clients based on their first engagement with your company.
The COVID-19 pandemic already had an impact on how people shop. Even after stores were reopened to the public, many customers preferred to purchase from home. Online sales increased by 43 percentin September 2020. During the month, retail sales totaled $60.4 billion. Only a pandemic could explain such a drastic shift in purchasing habits.
As people avoid storefronts, online sales may help firms remain successful. However, increased internet shopping has a side effect that companies must address. Customers use their phones for sales, support, questions, and follow-ups because they don’t connect with salespeople in stores.
Call centers are already dealing with a higher volume of calls than usual. The holiday shopping season will bring even more high call volumes that make it considerably more difficult for retail centers to meet consumer demand.
How to deal with high call volumes
The following are some techniques for businesses to handle an increase in call volume during the holiday season.
Use the Right Equipment
You can only provide a good quality of service and a pleasant client experience if you have the necessary equipment and call center software in place. While the majority of C-suite executives and sales leaders believe that efficient and successful call centers are vital to customer acquisition, retention, and happiness, far too few are exploring or using cutting-edge technologies to improve and optimize call center operations.
Call centers that implement supportive technology, such as the digital care coordination model utilized by many health care organizations, frequently claim significant decreases in average customer call length. When portions of a normal customer call can be automated, call center agents can satisfy the customer’s needs more rapidly. Time is no longer wasted traversing antiquated analog systems or waiting on hold for consumers if you were to compare answering services vs. call centers.
Establish Multiple Customer Service Channels
Unless you can add seasonal personnel to your call center, increased call volume invariably implies that customers will be placed on hold. You may not be able to eliminate wait times, but you may make them quicker by encouraging customers to use online chat and email communications.
Long wait periods can irritate clients. Giving customers call back choices allows them to continue about their daily lives without having to sit around the phone.
Outsource Call Services
If you’re having trouble meeting client demand and can’t afford to hire new staff or invest in new technology, you might need to consider outsourcing your call center. This is a logical solution for many firms that helps them stay on course with their customer service targets.
If your company suffers rapid expansion or increasing demand, you’ll need front-line employees to meet the needs of your new clients. In-house customer support departments are notoriously difficult to scale, but this isn’t an issue when you outsource. Client care agencies frequently have more workers, so you can use their resources to keep your momentum going.
Service that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week promotes customer satisfaction and conveys a higher level of dependability for your services. It gives you peace of mind after your physical store or office has closed for the day. You are left with skilled agents who may contact or answer your high call volumes at any time of day or night, including holidays and weekdays.
More importantly, the capacity to target a global audience is enabled by the availability of services 24/7. Because you can outsource to customer service organizations based in other countries, dealing with high call volumes will no longer be limited to a particular location.
Automate Customer Service Processes
Automated customer service, sometimes referred to as customer support automation, is a purpose-built procedure that tries to reduce or eliminate the need for human intervention while giving advice or assistance to client requests. Automated calling systems make it simple for businesses and organizations to respond to incoming client calls swiftly. From a sales standpoint, the same service may be used to quickly call big lists of prospects and enhance sales.
An automated calling service makes sense in instances where many outgoing calls, texts, or emails are required, and speed and accuracy are critical. It is obvious that transitioning from traditional phone methods to an automated call system is a good idea. Additionally, automated call services allow you to create automated welcomes to fit a specific theme or season, which is very useful during the holiday season.
Make the most of the holiday season
It’s time to get ready for the best time of year: the holiday shopping season. Following an unexpected year of events, many retailers are trying to capitalize on the season’s joy. This is when early planning and prioritization of online initiatives come into play. Brands and online customers have traditionally benefited from the holiday season and it comes as no surprise that it produces some of the year’s best sales.
However, a successful holiday strategy in 2021 demands far more than an internet presence. To compete during one of the busiest and most unexpected seasons in history, brands must build meaningful connections with customers, provide tailored online experiences, deal with the high call volumes effectively and provide holiday shoppers with enhanced conveniences and peace of mind.
