How to Leverage Virtual Queuing in Your Omni-Channel Marketing Plan

Your marketing plan no doubt recognizes the many ways in which your customers will find and engage with you. Well, guess what? A true omni-channel experience doesn’t stop when customers reach your waiting line. In fact, the definition of “waiting in line” now extends across channels and can even begin before your customers reach your physical place of business. This is where virtual queuing technology comes into play. Virtual queuing leverages technology to manage service queues and optimize customer flow by virtually placing customers into a queue for service, calling customers to be served, monitoring and managing customers and service allocation, and optimizing wait times and service efficiency. Let’s explore how this relates to your omni-channel marketing plan.

SHOWCASE YOUR COMMITMENT TO CUSTOMER SERVICE

From technical support and product returns to simple questions and, of course, checkout, customers expect to have to wait. But they’d like to keep that wait to a minimum and would appreciate the wait being as pleasant as possible. As part of an omni-channel strategy, virtual queuing reinvents the look of waiting lines. Advanced registration for services, estimated wait times, and easy rescheduling means queuing is no longer an unavoidable process, but rather a sophisticated and savvy means to an end. Customers receive their services more efficiently while feeling appreciated every step of the way.

CAPITALIZE ON MOBILE TECHNOLOGY

The key to making the most of virtual queuing within your omni-channel marketing plan is to leverage the technology your customers have in their hands. Namely mobile. Here’s how:

• Allow customers to use their mobile devices to preschedule an appointment for service while they’re in-store shopping, at home, at work or in route to the store.
• Disperse the physical waiting line completely by letting customers arrive when they are ready to be served, not before.
• Prevent customers from waiting around idly and potentially leaving as a result.
• Use text messages or mobile app notifications to provide estimated wait times, updates, and call-forward information to customers.

FACILITATE TWO-WAY COMMUNICATION WITH CUSTOMERS

Perhaps the most powerful feature of virtual queuing is its ability to enhance the customer experience by enabling two-way communication. It doesn’t just alert customers when their time of service is arriving. Virtual queuing can allow them to respond in return. If they need a few more minutes, let them text back their approximate postponement or give them the opportunity to reschedule. Customers can be automatically re-queued based on their needs, and without disrupting the productivity of the queue itself. Omni-channel marketing plans reflect your desire to effectively assist customers and encourage interactions across all channels anytime, anywhere. Virtual queuing supports these efforts with the right mix of technology, efficiency, and productivity.