Five Ways to Prevent Your Shoppers from Having a Spooky Experience

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Spooky season is upon us once again! Soon enough, trick-or-treaters will be combing the streets in search of fun, frights, and something to satisfy their sweet tooths.

It’s a nice reminder that spooky can be fun—but only in the right context. When it comes to seeking customer support online, the last thing you want are shocks, scares, and surprises. As you stock up on Halloween candy this year, consider these important dos and don’ts for your brand’s customer service team—so your shoppers can leave feeling treated, rather than tricked.

1. Don’t be afraid of embracing new channels

Calling by phone is still the most common way to reach out to customer support, but newer channels such as SMS, chat, and social media platforms are quickly overtaking older mainstays like email.

Your customers expect to be able to reach your support team on the channels they already use and prefer, so seamless, cross-channel support for SMS, chat, and other popular channels is a must. Look for a customer service platform that offers native, seamless integration of today’s most popular channels (at Gladly, we offer native support for Instagram, for example).

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2. Ditch the terrifying tower of tabs

If there’s one thing most of us seem to agree on, it’s that clowns are actually really scary—so let’s leave the juggling to the professionals. Most service agents report that juggling multiple tabs and windows negatively affects their productivity, but few brands have the tech support to cut down on the clutter.

Investing in the right customer service platform allows your agents (we like to call them ‘heroes’) to do all their work within a single window, increasing efficiency and speeding up the support experience for your customers.

3. Repeat conversations give consumers the chills

Ok, so there’s nothing especially scary about being asked to repeat yourself, but it is a deeply frustrating experience. In fact, most consumers report that being asked repeatedly for the same information is one of their greatest customer support frustrations.

And while trick-or-treating gets more fun after each doorbell ring, speaking (and repeating information) to multiple service heroes can really start to wear on a shopper’s patience. Our channel-independent customer service platform allows for a single, lifelong conversation with customers and clients, so you can skip the repetition and get straight to providing exceptional service.

4. Bewitch your shoppers with personalized service

Every Halloween enthusiast loves treats, but no one likes to be treated like a ticket number. After all, what’s more scary than feeling like no one is listening to you?

Many consumers say a lack of personalization is one of their biggest frustrations with customer service, while 82% of buyers say they’re more likely to return to brands that make them feel known. Equipping your heroes with the tools and training they need to offer a personal touch will turn one-time customers into loyal fans. Consider adopting a customer service platform that makes it easy to track a customer’s personal information and conversation history, so your heroes can make them feel like the valued guests they are.

5. Self-service shouldn’t be spooky

Knowledgeable, personable service heroes will always be key to a great customer experience, but a growing number of consumers also want the option to help themselves, especially when it comes to answering simple and straightforward questions about a product.

The problem? Navigating poorly implemented FAQ pages and chatbot conversations can be positively frightening—and self-service databases need to be up-to-date and accurate to avoid causing additional confusion.

Thankfully, the right self-service tools can increase your team’s efficiency and make finding answers an easy and seamless experience. In fact, switching to our integrated Sidekick self-service channel allowed one company to cut their order-to-contact ratio in half while lowering their average wait time by 35%. By giving your shoppers the tools they need to help themselves, you’ll give your agents more time to focus on the customers who need them.

Have no fear: choose Gladly

Don’t scare your customers off with spooky service. Our radically simple, radically personal all-in-one platform makes it easy to build the personal relationships that turn customers into fans—and keep them coming back for more.

If you’re looking for ways to really treat your shoppers this Halloween, contact us or check out our product demo.