Holiday Customer Service: 8 Strategies to Win Festive Rush

Why Festive Season Success Depends on Great Customer Service

With so many people shopping at once, the holiday season presents a prime opportunity to showcase your brand and reach a larger audience. 

Customers who received greater customer support are more likely to share their experiences on social media and review platforms. This increases your chances of gaining new customers, your brand’s visibility, and attracting new customers.

Also, providing top-notch customer service during the busy holiday season helps build trust and loyalty. 

Holidays are stressful times of the year. Between gift shopping, event planning, and family obligations, customers want to quickly get over their shopping task without any added frustration. 

With great customer support, you can make yours feel heard, valued, and well taken care of, which in turn can make them into your brand in the future, turning one-time buyers into repeat customers.

8 Strategies for Perfecting Your Holiday Support

1. Start the Season with a Clear Customer Service Plan

Before the holiday madness kicks in, it’s important to have a plan in place for how your team will handle the rise in customer enquiries.

Whether it’s assigning specific roles or setting response times, everyone needs to know what’s expected of them during this busy season. 

For example, you can set the number of enquiries that should be responded to within 24 hours. This will keep your team on track and ensure no customer is left waiting too long.

Also, be sure to hold a pre-season meeting where everyone can review the decided plan, discuss customer concerns, and train on common issues. 

2. Choose the Channels You’ll Use During the Season

Think about where your customers are most likely to reach out for help during the holidays. 

Look at past data to identify which channels customers prefer. If social media is your most active channel, ensure your team is available and responsive there.

Also keep the list of channels to essentials. While giving customers multiple ways to reach out has its own benefits, during the holiday season it can make your team feel overwhelmed with the increased volume of tickets.

3. Use Technology to Its Full Potential

Holiday season support can get pretty hectic, so it’s essential to use technology to help manage the workload.

CX software like Mevrik offers automated ticketing systems, AI chatbots, and knowledge base tools that can take a lot of pressure off your support team. 

Automated ticketing systems make sure all the tasks are routed to the right agent for quicker resolution.

On the other hand, an AI chatbot and knowledge base help customers get answers to their questions any time of the day. This not only improves customer satisfaction but also allows your team to handle the more detailed issues.

4. Track Your Analytics Regularly and Often

It’s one thing to have a plan in place; it’s another to make sure it’s working as expected. 

Keep an eye on your support metrics—like first response times or recurring issues—throughout the holiday season to spot any areas that might need improvement.

Mevrik offers real-time dashboards to track key metrics like response times and customer satisfaction ratings, ensuring that you’re staying on top of any issues as they arise.

Also, consider holding daily or weekly check-ins with your team to review these analytics. This keeps everyone aligned and allows you to identify any performance gaps early on.

5. Send Complex Issues to the Right Team ASAP

Not all customer issues are created equal, some customer problems require more expertise than others. 

For this you can use CX tools like Mevrik which has skill based routing features. What this does is that it automatically sends questions to the agent who's got the right expertise.

 Every agent in the system is assigned with a set of skills tags, such as “Tech Support” “Billing Expertise” or “Product Knowledge”. The system then uses machine learning to match incoming message keywords with pre-configured skills tags to route them.

6. Consider Outsourcing Staff to Handle the Rush

The holiday season is a time when extra help might be needed, and outsourcing can be a great solution.

Consider working with freelancers to bring in temporary support staff who can handle the increase in customer inquiries. This allows you to scale up without overloading your core team.

But remember even temporary staff should be well-trained, so invest time in providing them with the necessary tools. 

When outsourced employees are properly prepared, they can handle common queries just as effectively as your regular team.

7. Have an Escalation Plan in Place

Even with the best customer service, there will be times when a customer’s issue gets escalated. 

It’s important to have a clear escalation process in place so that when a problem arises, it’s swiftly moved to the right person who can handle it. 

Your escalation plan may consist of:

• Well-defined roadmap so your team understands when and to whom they should escalate issues. 
• Training opportunities to better prepare your agents for common holiday issues (such as shipping delays and product stockouts, etc.)
• Easy access to knowledge base articles for quick resolutions.
  Temporary authority to agents so they can act quickly and prevent customers from feeling dissatisfied.

8. Go Beyond the Seasonal Service

While holiday customer service is crucial, it's important not to forget about your customers once the season ends.

Follow up with holiday shoppers through thank-you emails or satisfaction surveys, showing that you value their business and care about their experience.

Consider offering discounts to turn your seasonal customers into long-term ones. Whether it’s through a VIP program or special deals, these small gestures can encourage customers to continue shopping with you throughout the year. 

Final Thoughts

The holiday season is a huge opportunity to strengthen your relationship with customers, and great customer service is the key to making that happen. 

By putting the right strategies in place—whether it's using technology to handle the regular question, outsourcing extra help, or tracking analytics—you can ensure your team is prepared to handle the seasonal rush.