Who Doesn’t Need Call Center Support This Holiday Season?

Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Holidays. And…it’s Black Friday! 

If you’re like most people this year, reading those greetings brings a mix of emotions: happiness, nostalgia, anxiety, and stress. The last two, anxiety and stress, are impacting retailers and consumers alike this year. It is our job as call center support to ease those feelings, for consumers and retailers, so we can all enjoy the season.

It’s the little things that count. 

This holiday season, the little things matter more. Frontline Call Center supports online retail across several genres like clothing, makeup, and food products. Our clients’ consumers have shown how important it is to keep some aspects of normalcy in their lives, despite chaotic shutdowns and panic buying. The first holiday we saw this was Easter, specifically in food product retail support. Frontline supports candy manufacturers, and during this time there is a big need for chocolate bunnies, marshmallow Peeps, candy-coated mini eggs, the list could go on. This year, access to purchasing these products in stores was severely minimized and the online points of purchase were experiencing delays due to shipping. To say the least, we prepared our support agents to handle the many scenarios that could arise. 

What we actually experienced were consumers who cared a lot more about being able to purchase those items that represent their holiday traditions. That specific chocolate bunny your daughter loves, that brand-new makeup palette, or those matching Christmas pajamas that can all evoke a sense of holiday tradition. Products like this remind us of everything else that would normally be part of our celebrations.  Across our retail accounts, we continue to find that the small things, like communication and maintaining normalcy, matter more this year.  

Keep it real. 

Frontline Call Center trains every agent to support the entire consumer journey. This year we are giving extra attention to keeping it real and being transparent with our holiday retail support. By working with our clients we are able to anticipate complaints, difficulties and challenges like agitated shipping and supply chain scenarios that can, and do directly affect the consumer experience. Consumers who call know there is only so much any of us can do at this moment. Having a legitimate concern or issue gives an outlet for many other feelings like anger or frustration, which can be misdirected at support agents. By anticipating this and working with our clients to make sure that the right support processes are in place, support agents are empowered to make it a better moment for the consumer. The key to a good holiday season for any business is keeping the customer first. What does that mean for successful businesses? First off, ensure your website and support processes are prepared to handle an influx of contacts. Next, have strategies in-place for the challenges of the busy holiday shipping and delivery season. Lastly, and importantly, communicate regularly with our Customer Success Representatives so customer questions are anticipated and fully supported.

Show up. 

Many are working from home this year or under reduced capacity. This shift in behavior changes the nature of holiday shopping, including the experience. Many products and services have moved online, making your contact center team a critical entry point for your consumers. To ensure positive first experiences with your brand, it is critical that support agents can also represent your brand appropriately in any given circumstance. How might a contact center do that? First off, start by creating a festive online holiday experience by adding festive decorations to your website. Next, swap up your IVR music to holiday sale messaging or music, to keep consumers feeling nostalgic and in the right holiday mindset. Lastly, empower agents to use a holiday greeting, if appropriate. This is a great way to implement the normalcy and holiday spirit that we are all craving. 

We are proud of the many retail clients we support and the challenges they have each overcome this year in their industries.  If you would like to learn more about how we provide support that can satisfy like a well-cooked Thanksgiving dinner and shine like the brightest bulb on the tree, check out our customer care page.