Prepare for Increased Customer Service Demands During the Holiday Season

The holiday season is on the horizon, which means e-commerce businesses will face a significant increase in customer service demands. With the ever-growing workload during this time, companies must work more intelligently, not harder, to meet and exceed customer expectations.

1. Clearly Communicate Response Times and Expectations

Customers loathe waiting on hold, especially during the holidays. Respond to inquiries swiftly and establish clear expectations. The time taken for your first response plays a crucial role in customer satisfaction.

Stats Highlighting the Importance of Quick Responses

“90% of customers consider an ‘immediate’ response important or very important when they have a customer service inquiry. 60% of customers define ‘immediate’ as 10 minutes or less.” (Hubspot)

Use Automated Messaging for Clear Communication

Inform your customers of your team’s availability and other vital customer service information. This lets your customers know when to expect support, and your agents can provide top-notch support to every customer.

For instance, WhatsApp Business lets you set up an ‘away message’ for times you’re not online. This helps communicate response times transparently during the holiday season.

WhatsApp Auto-reply Example

“Hi! Thanks for your message. Our team is busy packing gifts, so our reply might be slower than usual. We’ll respond within 24 hours. Meanwhile, check our help center for answers to frequently asked questions: [link to help center]. Happy holidays! 🎄”

💡 Pro Tip: When creating an auto-reply on WhatsApp, set a realistic expectation for your next availability. Customers value knowing when to expect a response.

2. Harness the Power of Automation

Automation saves time, streamlines your inbox, and organizes your team’s workflow.

💡 Use Flowbots for Instant Responses

Agents can’t be available 24/7. Who handles inquiries at 2 am on Friday or responds to emails over the weekend? Usually, nobody.

Chatbots and flowbots ensure customers don’t wait for live agents, offering immediate responses instead.

With Trengo, create your flowbot and train it as needed.

Flowbot quickly provides information by asking customers a few simple multiple-choice questions. It then offers the requested information directly in the chat.

Analyze Last Year’s Queries

Examine last year’s holiday queries. Were they about shipping, cancellations, or returns? Add the questions and correct answers to the bot. More question variations make the bot smarter and more accurate.

The flowbot can also determine when to direct customers to a specific team or team member.

“Flowbot significantly reduces your team’s workload, saving time for both your team and customers.” – Daryl Sanches, Team Lead Support at Trengo.

📚 Read More: Betersport set up a Flowbot for frequently asked questions. Create your bot in Trengo without coding knowledge.

💡 Automate Workflows with Rules

Routine tasks like organizing emails, forwarding messages, setting ticket results, and others take up your team’s time. Automation, particularly for complex tasks like data entry or mass emails prone to human error, can be a game-changer.

Rules automate workflows, helping your team avoid manual work.

If a team member labels incoming emails from 5,000 customers, automation can categorize emails using specific keywords. This saves time, effort, and resources.

Rules comprise conditions that initiate specific actions.

Boost Your WhatsApp Marketing Strategy During the Holiday Season

The holiday season is a busy time for businesses, and it can be challenging for your marketing and customer support teams to keep up with the increased demand. It’s essential to optimize your WhatsApp marketing strategy to engage with your audience effectively and provide efficient support. iSend.live can help you achieve this with innovative solutions tailored for the holiday season.

1. Set Up Automated WhatsApp Messages

Don’t leave your customers waiting in the chat. Use automated WhatsApp messages to inform them about potential delays during the holiday rush.

Example Automated Message

“Currently, our chat is a little busier than usual. That’s why we can’t answer your question as quickly as we normally do. We’re trying our best to get back to you as soon as possible. If you don’t want to wait, we can also answer your question via email. Wishing you a merry Christmas and an amazing new year.”

💡Tip: Use iSend.live’s automation features to schedule and send these messages automatically.

2. Organize Your Emails Efficiently

For companies with a large customer base, it’s normal to receive hundreds or even thousands of emails daily. Use iSend.live to automatically categorize your incoming emails, making it easier for your team to prioritize and respond.

Pro Tip: Labels like “Action Required,” “Review,” “Important Notice,” or “Urgent Notice” can help your team quickly identify high-priority emails.

3. Use Quick Replies for Faster Responses

Your team likely receives many similar inquiries during the holidays. Use iSend.live’s quick replies to streamline your responses to frequently asked questions.

Benefits of Quick Replies

• Improve response time
• Save your customer service team time
• Maintain a consistent tone of voice

💡Tip: Learn how to set up quick replies with iSend.live’s easy guide.

4. Offer Self-Service Options with a Help Center

Today’s customers often prefer self-service over live support. By creating a Help Center, you enable your customers to find answers quickly without waiting for an agent.

💡Tip: With iSend.live, you can easily create and maintain a Help Center, reducing the workload on your support team.

5. Analyze Previous Holiday Trends

Examine your previous holiday marketing campaigns to identify trends and areas for improvement. Look at your busiest channels, average response times, and total ticket volume to plan more effectively for this year.

💡Tip: Use iSend.live’s dashboard to monitor various metrics, helping you make informed decisions for your marketing strategy.

6. Provide Multichannel Support

Customers may contact you through various channels, such as WhatsApp, email, social media, or phone calls. Use iSend.live’s omnichannel widget to centralize all your communications and offer consistent support across different platforms.

7. Optimize Your Live Chat Greetings

Personalize your live chat greetings for the holiday season to create a positive first impression and boost customer engagement.

Example Live Chat Greeting

“Welcome! 🎄 Let us help you find the perfect gift this holiday season. Chat with us now and get an exclusive 10% discount on your order!”

8. Improve Collaboration with a Team Inbox

A team inbox centralizes all customer communications, allowing multiple team members to manage and respond to messages efficiently. iSend.live’s team inbox features help your team collaborate better and provide a seamless customer experience.

Collaboration Tools

• @tagging: Quickly involve the right colleagues in a conversation.
• Assign conversations: Route messages to specific teams or team members based on their expertise.
• Workload balancing: Automatically distribute the workload among your team members for more efficient support.

Enhance Your Customer Service with iSend

The holiday season offers excellent opportunities for growth, but it can also put extra pressure on your team. iSend.live gives you the tools to provide outstanding customer service and boost your WhatsApp marketing strategy without additional staff or expenses.

Explore how iSend.live can enhance your marketing and customer service efforts during this holiday season.