How Online Queue Systems Increase Revenue

Any time you stand in a line waiting for service—at your local coffee shop, at a restaurant with the buzzy disc that lights up when your table is ready, or at the airport to clear security—you’re in a customer waiting system. Your opinion of the business or location is almost certainly influenced by your experience in line, positively or negatively.

If you’re a business owner, you know that customer experience is critical to your business’s success. One recent study ^[1]https://blog.hubspot.com/service/customer-acquisition-study found that 93 percent of consumers are more likely to become repeat customers if they feel they have received excellent service. Those customers will not only keep coming back but will also tell their friends to do the same. If you impress the friends with that same great experience, they’ll also become repeat customers and tell more friends … the potential for revenue growth based on one great first impression is nearly limitless.

You don’t need us to tell you that a positive waiting experience contributes to an overall positive impression of your business. But how can you make that experience more positive, especially in an organization where waiting is inevitable? Let’s explore how an efficient online queue system can help.

Take Advantage of an Online Queue System

One of the best ways to uplevel your customer waiting experience is with virtual queue management. Customers appreciate these solutions because they don’t need to download yet another app to their phone. Instead, they check in or schedule appointments remotely with their phone or another device such as a laptop or tablet. If they’re already out and about and drop in to your store, having a kiosk where they can quickly enter information about themselves and the service(s) they need provides the same advantage.

Without being tied to a specific location while they wait for service, customers can browse your store, potentially increasing the number of points of sale for higher-margin products that are most often purchased on a whim. And because shoppers are free to move through their day and make plans based on estimated wait times and updates sent right to their phones, they enjoy the freedom to cross other errands off their list or stay home until it’s their turn in line. This kind of virtual customer wait experience makes your customers feel valued and appreciated, so they will be more likely to return; the value-add for your business is clear.

From a management perspective, the ability to monitor traffic and peak service periods from across the country or across the sales floor is invaluable. With a centralized management hub, leaders can appropriately direct staff and resources to the areas and services most in demand at any given time.

Virtual queue management also provides a great opportunity to send promotions based on customers’ interactions with the system. Customers are more apt to buy when they see sales and coupons for things they already want or need. Also, once they’re in your system, you can continue serving them increasingly refined offers and send surveys to get even more information about their experiences.

Virtual queue management solutions give you insight into impressive sets of data, including:

• Average wait times
• How many repeat customers you have
• How shoppers engage with digital promotions and which ones resonate with them
• When and why people abandon the queue

All this information puts the power of transformation in your hands in ways you never had before. Digital queue management can turn a buyer’s less-than-ideal impression of you into one that keeps them coming back because you have the tools to make necessary adjustments for continuous improvement to your customer waiting system.

Customers Don’t Like to Waste Their Time

Online queue systems practically eliminate the need for long lines and crowded spaces. A whopping 72 percent of shoppers surveyed said one of the best ways a company shows its appreciation is by valuing customers’ time. When you make customers feel that their time hasn’t been wasted, you increase the likelihood that they will share their positive experience with others. As discussed above, these customers become repeat customers and tend to create more repeat customers, strengthening your bottom line.

Behind the scenes, monitoring employee performance has never been easier. By having reports and analytics—such as the average time customers spend waiting to speak with an employee and the time they spend actually being served or helped—you can develop appropriate training modules to maximize employee success. Even better, because they know what customers need before they reach the front of the line, workers are better prepared to successfully complete transactions. Digital queuing empowers your employees and boosts their confidence in their ability to consistently do their best work.

Many industries already use online queue systems and/or appointment scheduling to improve their customer’s experiences:

Retail

Reducing customer churn prevents money from walking out the door, which is what happens when people wait in line for service longer than 15 minutes. Virtual queuing software creates a virtual waitlist so customers are always informed about their place in line without having to actually wait in line. People who browse typically purchase more, so you can potentially increase and retain valuable dollars and boost your brand’s reputation at the same time.

Healthcare

Online appointment scheduling puts patients in the driver’s seat. They can see at a glance when there are openings that align with their schedules. Virtual queuing at urgent care centers keeps patients where they are most comfortable—typically at home—and provides medical personnel with the information they need to triage effectively. This approach increases patient satisfaction and the likelihood they’ll be seen and treated for their issues and avoid exacerbating their conditions.

Banking

Online banking is the go-to for most services, but when you need to speak with a loan officer or secure a safety deposit box, you need to visit a branch. A customer waiting system that uses virtual queuing provides a better overall experience because customers aren’t waiting in the lobby for the next available chair. Bank employees improve the level of service they deliver and can potentially increase the number of services or products they offer.

Happier Customers = Higher Revenue

When you make customers feel like their time is valued and their needs are both understood and met, you’re sowing the seeds of an ongoing relationship with them.

Integrating virtual queuing into your customer waiting system returns shoppers’ time to them because they aren’t required to wait in physical lines. Additionally, you can deliver a personalized experience right to your buyers’ phones based on their interactions with your queue solution, and, because your workers know what each person needs before they reach the counter, they can provide more relevant and efficient service. Put together, these benefits increase the chances that customers will spend more with you, frequent your business more often, and encourage others to do the same.

If you’re ready to improve customer service and satisfaction to boost your bottom line, download our eBook Why Virtually Queued Customers Buy More, schedule a demo with one of our virtual queuing experts or watch the 3-part self-guided video tour.