Speaker 1 0:0

Music. Welcome to the aim podcast, where we bring you actionable insights on E commerce, customer service and AI innovation, hosted by help flow. This is your weekly guide to staying ahead in the world of E commerce. Let's dive in. Okay,

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Speaker 2  0:17

So like, let's unpack this whole getting ready for the E-commerce holiday surge thing. Because if you're anything like me, you see those black friday Cyber Monday ads everywhere, right? And you're thinking, okay, cool opportunity. But also, like potential customer service meltdown,

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Speaker 3 0:36

It's a lot, right? Yeah, you gotta be ready, yeah. So

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Speaker 2 0:39

Luckily, this health flow article we're looking at today is packed with insights to help us not just survive, but hopefully thrive. Yeah,

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Speaker 3 0:45 

this is like the playbook, yes, is it exactly? And it's smart to be thinking about this now before things get too crazy, for sure, before we're all in the thick of it, absolutely. And this article, it drops a pretty staggering statistic right off the bat, last year, online sales during Black Friday, Cyber Monday raped in over $9 billion

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Speaker 2 1:05

Whoa, 9 billion. 9 billion. That's not even like a cert. That's like a tsunami of shoppers. Yeah,

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Speaker 2 1:13

No wonder they say prepping your customer service is mission critical, yeah, especially in the E commerce world, for sure.

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Speaker 3 1:18 

Because what's interesting here is the article isn't just about, like, handling more inquiries, it's about the long game. They're saying that, like, a bad customer service experience during the holidays, that's not just a one time inconvenience that can actually, like, drive people away for good. That

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Speaker 2 1:36

Because what's interesting here is that the article isn't just about, like, handling more inquiries, it's about the long game. They're saying that, like, a bad customer service experience during the holidays, that's not just a one time inconvenience that can actually, like, drive people away for good. That

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Speaker 3 1:45

shop? Oh yeah, you're gonna remember the bad ones for sure. They backed this up with some data. 68% of customers will abandon a brand after just one negative experience. 68% 68% think about that like almost seven out of 10 people saying,

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Speaker 2 1:59

See you later. That should make any business owner a little nervous.

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Speaker 3 3:03

eah, that's a big chunk of potential revenue just walking out the door. Huge.

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Speaker 2 2:07

Okay, so how do we stop that from happening? This article seems to focus on getting your team prepped and ready. Yeah,

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Speaker 3 2:15

they really emphasize that it's not just about hiring a bunch of people last minute. They break down a few different approaches to scaling your team. Okay?

Speaker 2 2:24

So one option is hiring seasonal help, which can give you the extra hands you need, but of course, requires training and onboarding, which, let's

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Speaker 3 2:31

a catch 22 for sure, right? Another approach they talk about is outsourcing to like, specialized customer service agencies. Okay, they've already got all the experience and infrastructure, which can be a lifesaver, but it comes at a cost, literally, literally, it can be pricey, and you do lose a bit of control over how your brand is represented. So

Speaker 2 2:36 

a catch 22 for sure, right? Another approach they talk about is outsourcing to like, specialized customer service agencies. Okay, they've already got all the experience and infrastructure, which can be a lifesaver, but it comes at a cost, literally, literally, it can be pricey, and you do lose a bit of control over how your brand is represented. So

Speaker 3 2:57 

it's a trade off. Always a trade off, cost versus control, right? And of course, no conversation about modern customer service would be complete without mentioning automation.

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Speaker 2 3:05 

Oh, yeah, automation has got to be in there core, have it? So

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Speaker 3 3:09 

the article talks about using AI powered tools, particularly chat bots, and how they can be surprisingly effective for handling those frequently asked questions, yes, the simple ones, exactly that always seemed to flood in during peak season, like

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Speaker 2 3:23 

order statuses, basic product info, simple troubleshooting, the

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Speaker 2 3:30 

exactly after a while. Yeah, nobody wants to answer that same question 100 times a day, right? And this

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Speaker 3 3:36

frees them up to deal with those trickier situations that really need a human. It's all

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Speaker 2 3:41 

about using the right tool for the job. Yeah. But even with chat bots, the article makes it clear that it's not just like a set it and forget it, right? You can't just put it out there and hope for the best. It's not magic, no, it's not magic. They need to be well designed, integrated, properly and strategically implemented, right to be truly effective.

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Speaker 3 4:02 

So you're saying it's more nuanced than just, Okay, we have chat bots. We're good,

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Speaker 2 4:06
much more nuanced. Okay, yeah, you can't just slap a band aid on it, and having

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Speaker 3 4:09
enough trained staff is still key, right? Oh, absolutely. Even with the bots doing their thing, you'll need people for those escalated issues,

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Speaker 2 4:15
for sure, or those customers who just really need to hear a human voice, right? Exactly. And the article actually gets into some really interesting staff management tips. Okay, what jumped out at you? You know,

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Speaker 3 4:27
what's interesting to me is they emphasize something that seems so simple, but so many businesses just totally overlook it. Staggered shifts during peak times. Okay, seems obvious, right, right, but you'd be surprised.

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Speaker 2 4:41
I mean, burnout is real. Burnout is very real, especially in that kind of high stress environment.

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Speaker 2 4:48
the holidays, nobody's performing at their best when they're running on

Speaker 3 4:51
fumes. Exactly the article stress is making sure your agents are well taken care of, that they're getting enough breaks, right, that they're not constantly. Being pushed to the brink of exhaustion. Important, it's not only better for the employees, it leads to better service for the customer. It's

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Speaker 2 5:09 

employees, happy customers. The Golden Rule pretty much of everything. Okay, so we've talked about having the right number of people, but what about making sure they're ready for what's coming their way. I imagine, just like throwing them on the phones and hoping for the best, yeah, is not really a strategy.

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Speaker 3 5:26 

Yeah, that's a recipe for disaster. You're gonna have a bad time, right? You got to train them.

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Speaker 2 5:31 

Yeah. Training is crucial, crucial. Okay,

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Speaker 3 5:34 

they dive into the importance of specialized training for those holiday specific issues that tend to pop up, like, what kind of things are we talking about? Oh, you know, dealing with shipping delays, which,

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Speaker 3 5:49 

gonna happen, increased return requests, the inevitable post gift giving frenzy, and, of course, managing those frustrated customers who might be a little more on edge, because

Speaker 2 5:59 

holiday shopping can turn even the most patient person into like a ball of stress. Oh, yeah,

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Speaker 2 6:09 

of deadlines and expectations and family dynamics. Yeah, all while you're just trying to track down like the perfect gift. You said

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Speaker 3 6:15 

it, right? So training your customer service team to handle those situations with grace, efficiency and a little bit of holiday cheer. Of course, gotta have. It's essential, essential, and they suggest some really practical approaches, which I love.

Speaker 2 6:29 

Okay, give me the good stuff. What kind of training are we talking about? Well, they're

Speaker 3 6:32 

big fans of role playing, and honestly, I am too. Okay, it's not just for actors, having your team run through those likely scenarios, practice their responses and learn to de escalate those tense exchanges. It's like customer service boot camp. I love that best possible way. It's

Speaker 2 6:49

like a safe space to make mistakes and learn from them before they're dealing with a real, potentially volatile customer. Exactly on the other end of the

Speaker 3 6:58 

line, you get those reps in a low pressure environment, right? And it builds confidence and makes sure everybody's on the same page when it comes to like, policies and procedures, right? You don't want

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Speaker 2 7:07 

to be figuring that out on the fly. No way someone's yelling at you.

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Speaker 3 7:10 

And you know, the article also mentions using real life examples from past holiday seasons. Oh, smart, genius, right? Good. Makes the training so much more relevant, and it helps the team prep for the unexpected.

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Speaker 2 7:22 

Because, you know, there's always something unexpected, always it wouldn't be the holidays without it,

Speaker 3 7:27 

Oh, for sure, yeah. But here's where it gets really interesting. They also talk about using AI to make training even more targeted and effective.

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Speaker 2 7:35 

Okay, AI training, yeah. Now we're getting really futuristic, a little bit, okay, but

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Speaker 3 7:40 

it's actually really cool. So imagine this AI analyzing data from your past customer interactions, okay, like sifting through mountains of info to pinpoint those common questions, complaints, issues? Oh, wow, that keep popping up year after year. So you're

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Speaker 2 7:57 

not waiting for the same problems to happen again. Nope. You're anticipating them exactly. That's next level. It

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Speaker 3 8:02 

lets you be proactive instead of reactive, right? Which is so key in customer service, especially during those peak times, especially during those peak times, you're not just putting out fires, you're preventing them. So smart and speaking of AI, The article goes beyond just training. Okay, they're big advocates for leveraging tech in all aspects of customer service. Makes sense. One that really stood out to me was CRM integration.

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Speaker 2 8:26 

Okay, before we go any further, for those of us who haven't memorized every acronym in the business dictionary, remind me what that stands for, of course, and why it matters.

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Speaker 3 8:35 

So CRM stands for customer relationship management, and it's basically like your customer memory bank, okay? So every interaction they have with your business, whether it's an email, a phone call, a chat, it all gets channeled into this one central hub. So

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Speaker 2 8:51 

no more digging through endless emails, no more digging or trying to remember what a customer said weeks ago. He's

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Speaker 3 8:58 

all right there. Oh, I love that. And the article emphasizes how crucial this is during the holiday rush, because it means that no matter who a customer talks to on your team, they've got that entire history right at their fingertips. Oh, it's so important. Like, picture this, right? Yeah, a customer emails about a product then calls for a status update with a good CRM, the phone agent instantly sees that email thread, and they can be like, Hey, I see you emailed us about this. Here's an update. So

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Speaker 2 9:27 

much better than being like, can you tell me your order number? Again, what did you order? What's your name and

Speaker 3 9:35 

all about making that customer feel heard and valued without them having to, like, jump through a bunch of hoops, and hoops are the enemy during the holidays. Hoops are the enemy of everything, yes, but especially during the holidays. For sure, the article also talks about using data analytics to optimize your customer service, okay, which kind of ties into the CRM piece. So we're not just

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Speaker 2 9:54 

collecting all this data, we're actually using it to make things better, yes, using it. Because data without action is just a bunch of numbers, right?

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Speaker 3 10:03 

It's useless. You got to do something with it, exactly. So it's about turning that data into insights that you can actually use. So the article talks about using analytics to pinpoint like, bottlenecks in your process, okay? Like, where are those major delays happening? Which issues are causing the most escalations? Interesting? Yeah, it's like having X ray vision into your customer service operation. I love that you see what's going on, and then you can be like, Okay, how do we fix that?

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Speaker 2 10:30 

You're spotting those pain points, and you're figuring out how to make them more efficient,

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Speaker 3 10:36 

streamline it. Yeah. So for example, maybe you notice a pattern of complaints of a specific product malfunctioning, okay? Now, instead of waiting for, like, a ton of people to get frustrated and call you, you can proactively reach out to people who purchased it and offer solutions before they even have to contact you, okay? And it can even help with something as like essential as forecasting staffing needs. Oh, interesting. So let's say your data shows a pattern of increased calls on certain days or times. Okay, boom. You can adjust your scheduling accordingly. Oh

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Speaker 2 11:10 

my gosh. That would have been so helpful last year, right? So it's all about working

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Speaker 3 11:14 

smarter, not harder, right? Which I think is something we all want to do, signing me up, especially during the holidays. Yes, this is making me think about how much customer expectations have changed, for sure, especially in the E commerce world, right? People expect answers so quickly. They want personalized solutions, and they have options, so many options, if they're not happy with your service, it's on to the next one. It's brutal out there. It's rough, yeah, the article talks about this too. It's not enough to just put out fires anymore. You really

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Speaker 2 11:46 

have to go above and beyond. You gotta build those relationships, even in those short customer service interactions, yeah,

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Speaker 3 11:52 

even those short little interactions can have a big impact, absolutely, and a positive one during the holidays. That's everything that's gold, yeah, that can be the difference between a one time holiday shopper and a loyal customer who comes back year after year. Because it's true.

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Speaker 2 12:11 

A good customer service experience can make you feel really good about a company, especially during the holidays, especially during the holidays, when things can feel so transaction. It's just

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Speaker 3 12:20 

like, get me in, get me out. I just need to buy this thing right. Then when you have that good experience, it's

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Speaker 3 12:29 

And the article emphasizes this. It's not just about like getting through the holiday season. It's about using this time to build loyalty and set yourself up for even more success in the new year. It's

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Speaker 2 12:41 

like turning what could be a stressful period into a massive Customer Appreciation Event. Yeah, exactly, which

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Speaker 3 12:46 

is kind of cool. I like that. It's a good way to think about it.

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Speaker 2 12:50 

So we've covered a lot of ground here, from scaling and training to leveraging the power of tech and data. This help flow. Article has given us a lot to think about when it comes to not just surviving but thriving during the holiday rush. Yeah.

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Speaker 3 13:07 

What I love about this article is that it reminds us that customer service, especially in E commerce, it's about so much more than just like answering questions or fixing problems up to the whole thing. It's a whole thing, right? It's about building relationships, exceeding expectations, creating those positive, memorable experiences that turn one time shoppers into like loyal fans. We

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Speaker 2 13:28 

don't want more of those. Give you all the loyal fans, right? Sign me up exactly. So as we head into the holiday season, I think the challenge for all of us is to take these insights and put them into action. Yeah, let's ditch the dread, embrace the opportunity and create some customer service magic out there. I

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Speaker 3 13:48 

love it. Let's do it right. And here's a final thought for everyone to ponder, okay, how can you apply these principles, not just during the holidays, but all year round? How can you make this like exceptional customer service, a core part of your brand identity, not just a seasonal thing, such

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Speaker 2 14:08 

a good point. It's about playing the long game, right? Play the long game, building those strong relationships. That's what it's all about, that keep customers coming back for more no matter what time of year it is. Exactly Okay? Well, this was eye opening. This was great. Thanks for diving into this with me. My pleasure. Until next time,

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Speaker 1 14:26 

thanks for listening to the aim podcast. If you found today's episode helpful, make sure to subscribe and follow us on social media for more insights that will help your E commerce brand grow until next time, keep aiming for success. You.

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