A Queue Management App Invites Consumer Control with a Single Tap
It’s no secret that customers dislike waiting. However, you may be surprised to learn just how much customers relate the concept of waiting for service and good customer service. According to statistics provided by Fonolo in 2014, 82% of customers surveyed stated that the number one factor that they associate with good customer service is resolving customer issues quickly. A queue management app can certainly help to facilitate resolutions swiftly, leveraging efficiency to improve customer service and satisfaction rates.
Unhappy customers are also more likely to tell others about their experience, as compared to happy customers. The average dissatisfied customer will tell 9 to 15 people about their experience. In comparison, the average happy customer will tell 4 to 6 people about their experience. As a result, keeping customers happy by responding to their issues in a timely way is not only good for that particular customer but good for business as a whole.
One of the ways that you can address client issues quickly is by effectively utilizing a queue management system that allows your customers to be in control and informed about how and when they will get service. Queue management apps are a great way to provide this type of service in a modern, streamlined, and empowering manner.
What is a Queue Management App?
A queue management app allows customers to remotely view their position in line, set up appointments, schedule times for curbside pick up, and a lot more.
Queue management apps are often specifically designed so that customers can come to a business location only when they know they can minimize the wait time to be served.
Queue management apps empower customers within their retail experience by:
- Showing when their goods or services will be available
- Allowing customers to set up appointments
- Updating how many people are ahead of them in line in real-time
- Reviewing how busy a particular location is at any given time
There is a global population of 7.7 billion people on this planet-and just under half of them own and use a smartphone on a regular basis. Utilizing something that many people already have to create a queue management app is a great way to decrease costs when it comes to creating a queue management system from the ground up.
Using a smartphone app also allows customers to leave and return at a designated time, increasing autonomy and control over the overall experience. A queue management app allows the customer to receive a notification when their product or service is ready, no matter where they might be physically located, eliminating the need to wait in a fixed location.
Queue management apps also offer business owners a suitable way to track customer activity and use that information to create more effective processes.
What You Need to Know About Customer Control
Empowering customers to have control over their shopping experience is a big deal, but it is often something that business owners (particularly retail businesses) overlook.
A few statistics in this area are worth noting.
- 63% of customers report that they want control over the type and frequency of communication that they receive from a particular business.
- Increasing the control that customers have over their purchasing often creates more loyalty to a particular brand.
Ultimately, giving customers more control and autonomy about how they interact with your company will make their experience better and your relationship with that customer stronger.
Queue Management Apps and Customer Control
One way to provide customers with the control that they want in your relationship with them is to help them track and understand how and when they will be served.
Consider an example. Imagine your business has an app where a customer can see how busy your retail store is in real-time. That customer has a specific question that they want to address with a Manager. By letting them know when you are busy or when you have fewer people in the store, they can pick the best time to come in to speak with you. They get to dictate when they will stop by so that their concerns can be addressed immediately or with as little wait time as possible.
Time is one of your customers’ more precious resources, and giving them the information they need to save time will show them you appreciate and respect their time. A queue management app can give customers this control in several ways.
1. Checking in Before They Arrive at Your Store
A queue management app will allow users to put themselves in the virtual queue without having to physically wait at your location. The app can tell them how many people are ahead of them and give them an estimated time frame in which they will be served.
This information and service allow your customer to do other things while they are waiting, which also cuts down on frustration when a potential client arrives at your location. In times of necessary social distancing because of COVID-19, a queue management app allows customers to wait safely at home, rather than with several other people.
2. Pre-Screening and Admission Processing Before the Customer Arrives
In many businesses, you want quite a bit of the same information from every customer to pull up their account history and an array of other information. While that process is necessary, it does take a few minutes to gather that information before the customer can tell you what they need or why they are visiting.
A queue management app can do that ahead of time in a couple of ways. It can ask users those necessary questions before they get into a virtual queue. Conversely, users can create an account that automatically associates with their account information and history, so your team has pertinent information at their fingertips without ever asking a question.
3. Easy Rescheduling as Necessary
If a client checks in but realizes that the wait isn’t going to work for them right now or something else comes up, they easily reschedule appointments right through the queue management app. Customers stay in control over how long they are willing to wait, and they can make an immediate decision about rescheduling when it makes sense for them.
4. Provide Information and Entertainment
Many queue management apps also have the ability to integrate information about the company right into the app. Some even provide games to entertain the customer while they wait. No one likes waiting any longer than necessary, but if the customer has to be physically in the store while they wait, having something to watch or play can be helpful.
Some queue management apps will also ask customers to fill out surveys or provide other information while they wait. These surveys or questionnaires can provide valuable customer feedback and insights that you can use to continually improve the customers’ experience. In return, some companies might offer incentives for this information, like gift cards or store credit.
Getting Started with a Queue Management App
Adding a queue management app as part of your overall queue management system can be a great way to give customers more control over their experience with your business. Learn more about how you can get the design process started and implement an app by contacting the team at Ombori.
Originally published at https://ombori.com.
