Yes! Reducing the wait time for customers makes them return to the store and increases sales flow.
But with long wait lines, it is not possible. As a result, it’s critical to keep customers active and interested as they wait in line. This can be accomplished by offering predicted wait times and managing customer expectations. Installing display panels, providing magazines, digital signage, utilizing queue management or hiring an expert for live demonstrations are all options.
The first-come-first-serve policy is a great way to prevent people from crossing the queues, resulting in fair waits.
It is now more crucial than ever for businesses to implement every practice to retain customers. People don’t like their time to be wasted. Hence, value their time and make it as entertaining as possible. This could make a big difference between successful sales or frustrated customers leaving the site.
7 Ways to Keep Customer Occupied While Waiting
Digital Signage to Entertain Customers
Entertaining customers is an ideal way to divert their attention away from the lines. Integrating digital displays grabs client attention in today’s modernized era. If you’ve ever been to a restaurant or a pool hall, you’ve probably seen a lot of these. Music, cartoons, or any talk shows are not the only forms of entertainment. You can reap the benefit of the audience by promoting new products, services, or forthcoming deals. You can also encourage customers to share their thoughts or reviews on social media.
Businesses can use Digital Signage in several ways to draw consumer attention. Furthermore, its adaptability makes it easy to customize the signage depending on the audience and anytime. In simple terms, digital signage helps in capturing the attention of visitors. Thus, keeping them engaged and away from the inconvenience of waiting.
Queue Management System for Better Customer Experience
Self-service is the future, and QMS offers it. Customers no longer need to hop between two queues just to get served fastly. Thus, saving them from stress and waiting inconvenience.
The queue management system keeps the consumers waiting in line while giving them control over their time. Unlike traditional ticketing systems, QMS offers self-sign-in interfaces. Customers can add their personal information like name, address, contact details, and so on to a digital database. Once the information is saved digitally, the staff is notified of the customer’s arrival with all the necessary details. It not only keeps consumers occupied and satisfied but also saves time for employees. The visitor queue is managed via queuing software, which frees up staff time to focus on more crucial tasks. Overall, delivering a positive and satisfying user experience.
Implement Virtual Queuing
Virtual queuing enables customers to sit back and relax while taking care of other priorities. It saves people’s place virtually and notifies them about their turn via SMS or email alerts. Thus, making individuals appreciate the freedom to do anything they want until their turn comes. In addition to providing the freedom to wait remotely, this will encourage them to continue browsing while they wait for their coffee to come or to check out. Also, avoiding the inconvenience of crowded waiting areas.
Virtual Queue system aka QR Queue system automates the multiple flow service procedure. As a result, visitors can browse through a sequence of offerings without any need to re-queue.
In-Store Merchandising Makes Waiting More Acceptable
There are various other ways to distract your consumers besides digital displays and virtual queues. In-store merchandising allows people to freely explore the product and its features, resulting in impulse purchases. For example, eCommerce businesses make use of videos to boost purchases. The offline stores can achieve the same by using digital displays to educate about the popular item in the store. Also, include the video of its advantages, adaptability, and customer reviews.
You will be able to control two things at the same time by combining media and merchandising. This includes increasing sales and diverting the customer’s focus away from waiting.
Provide Alternatives
People lose interest in waiting once they feel the queue is long and time-consuming. To eliminate all such customer thoughts and satisfy them, try to deliver some alternate resources. It could include something like a user-friendly eCommerce website for seamless and impulse shopping.
Aside from that, the online chat option is beneficial because it allows customer support representatives to handle multiple concerns simultaneously. You can also provide well-researched and informed FAQs to assist customers in finding solutions and avoiding unnecessary wait times.
Set Wait Time Expectations
Known wait times are indeed better than unknown ones. Here, just building wait time expectations can make the customer feel satisfied with their waiting. For example, update the website’s chat or call wait times so that visitors are aware of the assistance process.
In addition, you can use physical signage to set expectations for in-person queue wait times. Are you wondering how to go about it? Simply engage someone to monitor the entrance traffic and provide wait times to those waiting in physical lines.
Incorporate Mobile to the Hacks
Smartphones are the most common way for businesses to contact consumers these days. This means you can integrate mobile to your virtual queuing. It will allow the customers to check-in virtually to hold the place in queues and interact with the agents via SMS when it’s their turn.
These entertainment options can also include a mobile factor with digital screens. Also, you can highlight hacks to enable consumers better or enhance their experience with the company. These choices can involve registering for discount cards, gift cards, coupons, etc.
Final Thoughts
The business’s waiting line is the last impression for any visitor. As a result, client interactions must be managed and improved. Not all firms are focused on eliminating lines, and it is also impossible to get rid of all long lines at once. Hence, these hacks can be used to alleviate the hassle of queues and make waiting more bearable.
The best you can do is utilize Qwaiting. It’s a cloud-based queue management software that makes your queues easier to manage. Not only does our queuing system increase productivity and decrease wait times, but it also improves the visitor experience. Customers can book their appointments remotely, eliminating the need to wait in long lineups. Furthermore, personalized alerts are sent to the customers waiting in the virtual queues.
Want to transform the waiting experience?
Book your free trial today!