
How you can Supply Nice Buyer Service In the course of the Holidays
Have you ever finalized your customer support recreation plan for this vacation season? For eCommerce retailer house owners, that is the busiest time of yr. Assembly the wants of shoppers over the following couple of months could also be difficult, however you don’t should let the uptick in enterprise have an effect on customers’ experiences.
Beginning with Black Friday and lasting till the brand new yr, your customer support high quality is the one metric that may both make or break your vacation success. The way you handle your buyer relationships — from pre-purchase inquiries to cargo monitoring and returns — can decide whether or not a first-time purchaser stays a one-time shopper or turns into a loyal buyer.
So what are you able to do to drive individuals again yearly? Hold studying to seek out out a few of the finest practices for providing glorious customer support throughout the holidays.
Practice your workforce
A workforce is barely as sturdy as its weakest member. So throughout the vacation season, each member of your workforce ought to be able to reply any questions that come their method — and shortly.
Whether or not somebody has been there for six months or six days, everybody ought to get the identical coaching to make sure that procedures and knowledge given to prospects are constant.
Set clear roles
If you happen to’re working with a small workforce, there could also be overlapping roles. This won’t be an issue throughout slower occasions of the yr, however it will possibly result in confusion and diminished effectivity when your workforce will get actually busy. Take the time now to make clear areas of duty and guarantee that prospects are directed to the right particular person to reply their questions.
Listed here are a couple of methods you may make clear roles:
Create written job descriptions on your workforce members
Define every particular person’s roles and tasks and provides them a title that’s descriptive of that function (e.g. Transport & Returns Supervisor, Stock Supervisor, and so forth.).
Use a coaching guide
Whether or not you’re hiring new assist for the vacations or refreshing your present employees, a coaching guide could make every thing extra constant. Even one thing so simple as a one-page guidelines can go a good distance.
Create or replace inside documentation
In the identical method that you just present prospects with FAQs, you must present your workforce with written commonplace working procedures (SOPs). These ought to cowl your organization’s insurance policies in addition to technical particulars and troubleshooting ideas for software program and accounts that employees would possibly want common entry to.
If you have already got documentation in place, now is a good time to replace it. Within the days main as much as the vacations, spend time reviewing reductions, product options, return insurance policies, and workflow processes. Take into consideration potential questions from prospects and prep your workforce with up to date documentation to allow them to give useful solutions.
Direct prospects to the suitable workforce members
Use a contact kind in your website to direct customers to the right particular person primarily based on their particular query. Even itemizing division contact e-mail addresses on a “Contact Us” web page is useful. Transport questions? Ask Josey. Pre-purchase questions? Ask Mark. Ensuring that prospects get to the suitable particular person the primary time means sooner service and a extra centered employees.
Rent non permanent employees
How has your workforce fared throughout the previous vacation seasons? If there have been occasions the place a pair of additional palms (or two) would have been nice, contemplate hiring non permanent employees this yr.
Throughout loopy vacation rushes or profitable gross sales, seasonal employees will help you get orders out on time and keep away from delivery delays. These employees may assist you to unlock time to concentrate on your corporation as an entire.
An inflow of gross sales isn’t the one factor you must put together for throughout the holidays. Buyers searching for the proper present could have dozens of questions and requests, and also you’ll want individuals to reply these questions shortly.
Don’t wait till you’re knee-deep in on-line inquiries to consider hiring additional assist. As an alternative, begin looking earlier than the vacations are in full swing. This fashion, you’ll have time to convey them up to the mark and provides each shopper the nice customer support they deserve.
Get forward with detailed FAQs
As a lot as you’d like to reply each query out of your prospects, you merely don’t have the time (or the flexibility) to take action. As an alternative, direct all prospects to an FAQ web page to profit from your time.

At a loss for what to incorporate in your FAQ web page? Strive utilizing the next:
- Social media: Use your social media accounts to take polls and ask followers what they need to find out about your store.
- E mail publication: Encourage customers to reply to your publication with any questions they could have. Since these individuals already store with you recurrently, it may give you perception into issues that even present prospects are unaware of.
- Your gross sales or customer support workforce: Ask your employees to write down down the questions they appear to get time and again. Have them maintain a go online their cellphone or close to their desk to allow them to write extra as they consider them!
- Competitor FAQ pages: See what questions your opponents are answering on their FAQ pages and resolve if doing the identical can be useful to your prospects, too.
You’ll additionally need to take time to beef up your product descriptions. Detailed product descriptions will reply buyer questions earlier than they even ask them. Embody details about the product, what it does, the way to use it, and some other important info.
Present varied contact avenues
Offering prospects with a number of methods to get in contact will assist customers really feel extra assured when buying. They know that if one thing goes incorrect, they’ll contact an actual particular person to get solutions.
Put your contact info in a distinguished place in your web site. Many house owners create “Contact Us” pages that checklist the alternative ways customers can get in contact. Or you may:
- Listing your customer support cellphone quantity on the highest or within the footer of your website.
- Use a contact kind on a “Contact Us” web page or within the footer.
- Use social media direct messaging (e.g. Fb Messenger) to reply questions.
- Set up a stay chat widget or AI chatbot.
One of many quickest methods a buyer can have their questions answered is through the use of a stay chat or chatbot widget. The LiveChat extension provides store house owners the choice to make use of monitoring settings to see customers’ cart particulars throughout a chat. You may give real-time help or encourage them to make extra purchases to safe a reduction or free delivery.
Simplify your return/change course of
As superb as your merchandise are, generally they aren’t for everybody. There’s nothing extra irritating than a retailer with a problematic returns and exchanges coverage, so make it simple for customers.
Automate your return/change course of with the Returns and Guarantee Requests extension. As an alternative of customers needing to contact you straight, they’ll undergo your complete return course of from their consumer account.
Relying on the sort of merchandise you promote, you would possibly resolve to supply warranties on merchandise, too. You’ll be able to each add and handle warranties out of your dashboard and clearly define how lengthy the guarantee and return interval lasts. Letting individuals know prematurely how lengthy they should return merchandise will minimize down on any misunderstandings.
Inform prospects of order standing
Assist prospects know the place their gadgets are within the success course of. Many purchasers order merchandise in hopes that they’ll come earlier than a particular date, so common updates are important to place their worries relaxed.
For starters, you should use an order standing supervisor to ship customers new emails when the standing of their order modifications. If you happen to run an eCommerce store that sells customized guitars, for instance, you may add statuses for staining or engraving. As well as, you may ship follow-up emails to let individuals know the place an order is within the course of and whether or not or not it’s been shipped.
Ship welcome emails
By no means underestimate the facility of a easy welcome e-mail for brand spanking new prospects. Whereas returning prospects might already be aware of your five-star service, new customers don’t know what to anticipate. Get off on the suitable foot with welcome and follow-up emails after they’ve made a purchase order.

The MailPoet extension permits retailer house owners to design eye-catching emails. Shortly incorporate your brand, coloration palette, and related enterprise info. You may as well personalize messages relying on the bought product and schedule emails to exit when orders are finalized.
Cater to vacation customers
Whereas figuring out your customer support technique, take into consideration what’s going to profit them essentially the most this vacation season. Contemplate the next:
Supply present wrapping
For busy customers, present wrapping could be simply what they should simplify their vacation present shopping for. WooCommerce Product Add-ons enables you to add present wrapping, customized notes, and some other customized choice you may dream up. You’ll be able to cost flat or percentage-based charges on your add-ons, or supply them to your prospects without cost.
Promote present playing cards
Some customers would possibly need to buy present playing cards for the extra choosy members of their households. With WooCommerce Present Playing cards, prospects can:
- Schedule their present card supply.
- Add a private message.
- Ship to a number of recipients.
- Select a present card design to go well with the event.
Publish a present information
If in case you have prospects signed up on your e-mail checklist, write up and ship out a present information within the weeks main as much as the vacations. Put up your present information in your weblog and share it on social media.
Go the additional mile
With all the wonderful customer support you’ve offered up to now, you could be considering that there’s not rather more you are able to do. However don’t cease there. Go the additional mile to please your prospects and depart them with a long-lasting impression of your store.
If you happen to run a boutique retailer with handmade merchandise, contemplate together with a handwritten thanks word with every order. You might additionally embrace a shock deal with or a particular card with a reduction code for future purchases. They’ll take pleasure in your product and really feel valued as a buyer.
Are you prepared for the vacation rush?
Customer support is crucial all yr spherical, not simply throughout the holidays. Even so, giving prospects a memorable expertise throughout the vacation season is one technique to maintain them coming again.
Your aim ought to be for each particular person to depart your store feeling valued and revered. So take time to plan. Get all palms on deck and provides everybody the coaching they should do their job properly. Don’t be afraid to rent non permanent employees to steadiness the load and create an ideal FAQ web page to provide prospects the solutions they want after they want them.
Hold your return course of easy and provides each order somewhat additional razzle-dazzle to make prospects really feel valued. Earlier than you recognize it, January will likely be right here. So do your finest, present glorious customer support, and watch your corporation flourish this vacation season.