While Black Friday may be a highlight for consumers, it is also a day many retailers dread.
They not only need to prepare for record sales and increased demand, but also need to focus on keeping customers happy, which is no easy feat, says Merchants South Africa’s customer experience expert, Sandra Galer.
In 2018, South Africans spent nearly R3-billion on Black Friday, a 92% increase from 2017 Black Friday spend, according to BanksServ. This year, sales levels are expected to increase by another 30%, according to Paygate.
“When executed successfully, retailers can certainly benefit from the increased sales opportunities that Black Friday offers, both in their physical and online stores.
“However, if they fail to execute their strategies successfully, this can result in lasting reputational damage for retailers; which can be further amplified in a digitally-driven world where topics like #BlackFriday can trend on all social media channels for days,” explains Galer.
Risks that retailers face during Black Friday include:
* Customer demand
It is near impossible to predict the levels of customer demand during Black Friday. This ranges from the number of people who plan to visit the physical store, to those choosing to shop online or call the contact centre.
“One local retailer received around 8 000 calls on Black Friday last year – that equates to five calls every 60 seconds during a 24 hour shift,” says Galer.
Reviewing previous years analytics of sales per customer, average contacts per sale and contact per channel, one can start to forecast trends that will assist with staff planning and what to train the staff on. Additionally, by reviewing the types of calls and reasons for calls that relate to after sales service, such as deliveries or stock issues, retailers can start to fix broken processes and improve the overall satisfaction levels.
Availability of staff
Dealing with such elevated levels of customer volume means not only having enough staff to manage the various consumer channels, but also ensuring the staff are knowledgeable and can assist consumers effectively – no matter the enquiry or channel type.
This is where analytics from previous years come into their own as they are able to give an indication of where, when and which channel requires additional staff to be trained up to provide the necessary support.
“We also recommend looking at extended opening hours for all consumer channels as typical behaviours change during this time,” explains Galer.
Another aspect to take into consideration is staff turnaround and negative public comments post Black Friday as this can jeopardise the public image of the retailer, as well as have a negative effect on the customer experience.
Stock availability
In the run-up to Black Friday, consumers are continually marketed to, resulting in increased product demand and consumers listing products they intend to purchase on the day. One could say that consumers go into Black Friday shopping prepared and with high expectations, which can lead to retailers running the risk of not having enough stock to satisfy the demand created.
“In situations like this, contact centre customer service can turn a potential problem into an opportunity for retailers, by offering a solution around alternative products or the opportunity to upsell stock post Black Friday,” says Galer.
Delivery
Retailers can spend months after Black Friday resolving delivery issues and dealing with customer complaints in this regard. As it takes place at the end of November, consumers will typically use Black Friday to purchase their Christmas gifts and can become viciously disappointed if the goods don’t arrive in time.
“Using data collected through their consumer channels and touch points, retailers can better understand the source of their customer interactions (online, in-store, etc) and use this information to adequately plan for the upcoming sales cycle; thus avoiding disappointment and possible reputational damage.”
In terms of understanding the source and channels of the retailers drivers, insights shared by the Merchants team for a specific retailer in 2018 revealed that 45% of all Black Friday queries came from the retailer’s online store, while 55% originated from in-store website enquiries.
This invaluable intelligence pointed to some key opportunities for service improvement for the retailer. Merchants also delivered a ticketing system within three days to support the increased workflow of information around Black Friday.
After sales support
Once Black Friday goods have been ordered, the retailers responsibility does not end there – since the consumer journey continues until delivery of the goods. Consumers might have questions or concerns while awaiting or after receiving their goods, and will reach out to the retailer in this time for aftersales support and guidance.
“This is where effective training of contact centre staff comes in. Consumers will be looking for effective service and support from staff who are knowledgeable about their issues and concerns as consumers – and are providing a high quality service that demonstrates their understanding of the business, its processes and its products,” explains Galer.
“While Black Friday is a real opportunity for retailers to bolster sales, they also need to consider the customer experience they are providing on the day, to ensure lasting loyalty,” concludes Galer.