The busiest time of the year will be here before we know it and, despite inflation, ecommerce sales are anticipated to increase by 15.5% this holiday season. Needless to say, the busiest time of the year will be even busier this year - especially for customer service teams.
Brands everywhere are gearing up for the inevitable surge in support tickets and CX leaders are strategizing on how to scale the seasonal demand customer service. But some have found a solution for handling seasonal spikes 👀
Pause your seasonal customer service planning for a few minutes, because we’re about to reveal the secret to scaling support for the holidays 👉
Picture this: a significant percentage of your support tickets are fully resolved without human intervention, agents are more productive, and CSAT scores are rising like a delicious cinnamon roll in the oven.
So how you do you make this a reality? AI automation.
AI automation allows for autoscaling capabilities, creating elasticity when it’s needed most - daily fluctuations, hypergrowth, and seasonal rushes. And while humans have a ticket capacity, AI does not; so even during rapid and unprecedented spikes in ticket volume, it can handle issues with consistency and ease. This means you can deliver high-quality service at scale. But wait--there's more.
Here are three ways AI automation helps scale your holiday customer service while simultaneously improving the overall CX.👇
1. Minimizes seasonal hiring
CX leaders know that the one thing harder than hiring is hiring for the holidays. Not only is it a huge investment for businesses and a large responsibility for managers, but it disrupts the team culture, adds pressure on temporary hires, and makes it harder to retain top talent.
Yet year after year, brands continue to spend their valuable time, money, and effort searching for, hiring, onboarding, and training seasonal staff - only to let them go when the holiday rush is over.
To minimize seasonal hiring, Blenders, one of America’s fastest-growing sunglasses brands, sought out a true AI solution. With Thankful’s AI Agent onboard, Blenders’ was able to reduce their 2021 seasonal hiring projections by up to 68%. This enables them to save resources and sustain the team culture they have cultivated while continuing to provide high-touch service during peak seasons.
Learn more about how Blenders used AI automation to decrease seasonal and year-round hiring here.
2. Provides 24/7/365 support
Whether a customer wants to track a package via SMS at 7 pm on Thanksgiving or is sending a 2 am email to change a late-night order, they expect the help they need when they need it - even on the holidays. That’s why it’s important that your business has service available 24/7/365.
Implementing a solution like AI automation ensures your customers are always taken care of, even when your human agents are tending to other customers or are off the clock.
3. Reduces customer wait times
Give your customers what they really want this holiday season: quick responses and resolutions. It’s true, speed of service is deemed the most important aspect of service experiences by 89% of customers.
Not only does an AI Agent provide responses and resolutions in a matter of minutes, but it also reduces your agents’ workload - further decreasing customer wait times.
The holidays are a stressful time for support teams and customers alike, but leveraging AI automation can help alleviate that pressure while spreading some cheer.
How will your brand be handling customer service during the holidays this year? If you’re interested in making AI automation part of your holiday customer service strategy, schedule a demo today!
