4 Signs Your Queue Strategy Is Working
Lately, we’ve been focusing on a lot of negative feelings — from ineffective customer service strategies to unbearable customer service.
While this is, of course, helpful, it can also be a downer to write. So, for once, let’s focus on something positive.
In this feel-good article, we’ll be talking about signs that show your queuing strategy is working. After all, it’s good to recognize when we’re on the right path, even though there’s always room for improvement.
Speaking of improvement,
1. The Customer’s Journey Is Smooth
When the vast majority of customers enter the store, find the queue and complete a transaction, you know your queue strategy is on the right track.
Top queueing strategies understand that the in-store customer experience ultimately points to waiting line problems and solutions. A store free of choke points leads to customers that are less frustrated and happier with their experience.
As the old and totally real saying goes, the happier your customers, the more successful your queue strategy.
How to Recognize a Smooth Layout
We’ve mentioned “smooth layout” but how do we know that it’s smooth?
Simple. A customer’s journey is smooth when they walk in the front door, and they understand where to navigate to suit their needs.
Perhaps, you’re ahead of the curve and you have a properly labeled queue management system (QMS) kiosk terminal to start the customer on their journey.
As customers walk through the store, they encounter no blockage. Successful store layouts also leave plenty of space between merchandise for that sweet impulse purchasing. Even at peak hours, customers can easily traverse the store.
A successful queue strategy begins with getting inside the customer’s head to understand how to solve queueing problems.
2. Customers Patiently Wait in the Queue
Here’s our self-evident point: if customers are waiting in the queue to be served, your queueing strategy seems to be working.
Though what seems obvious may not be so easy to notice.
Nearly 50% of customers will wait in queue despite feeling irritated. And irritated customers don’t signal a top queueing strategy.
How can we know whether or not our queueing strategy is working, then?
Short answer: data. Long answer: hard data.
How Many Customers Leave the Queue?
To figure out whether or not our queueing strategy is working, we need to analyze footfall metrics. That’s exactly what it sounds like — a measurement tracking our customer’s feet.
As part of a queue management system like Qminder, footfall analytics tracks how many people visit a store, and how many leave the queue without completing a purchase.
Data will tell us how many customers decided that our waiting line strategies aren’t working.
For example, at a university pharmacy, 21% of students got sick of waiting and went elsewhere to fill their prescription. Thanks to footfall analytics, you can know for sure whether your customers:
- Balked at the lines and said “I’m not waiting in that line!”
- Reneged, meaning they left the line and walked out the front door.
- Jockeyed, i.e. jumped from line to line.
Thanks to month-to-month data collection, businesses can see if their queue strategy has improved, remained stagnant, or worsened. With that information, they can begin the task of solving queue problems.
And if they’re successful, they’ll figure out what’s working and keep at it.
3. You Get Positive Customer Feedback
When the general impression from the multiple points of contact you have with customers is positive, it’s a good sign that you know how to reduce customer waiting time.
What do we mean by multiple points of contact? Well, the myriad ways you ought to be collecting direct feedback from your clients: social media, surveys, review sites, etc.
Every channel that exists for communication ought to be utilized — because customers surely will. They’ll make use of both a business’ website and third party websites such as Yelp.
Plus, surveys and feedback build customer loyalty. Asking for a customer’s opinion says, “We’re listening, and we want to hear from you.”
A customer is your best consultant. Who better knows all the underlying issues in your queuing strategy?
Customers are the ultimate gauge of how well you’re queueing strategy is performing.
The Kind of Feedback to Expect And How to Respond
What kind of feedback can you expect?
Maybe commenters report wishing there was a larger smartphone accessory section in the Verizon store. They would prefer to buy Bluetooth headphones along with their smartphone.
Now, you don’t have to act on every piece of advice. But you do need to listen and show that you’re listening.
That means promptly responding to any feedback and acting on the feedback that is reasonable and suggest helpful changes.
A Tip Regarding Customer Feedback
One key thing to remember when examining customer feedback: typically people who really love your business or really don’t are the ones commenting and leaving reviews.
The average consumer — who has a typical (normal) experience — is unlikely to write, “I had a good time at Business X”.
But, businesses want to hear from the average shopper.
You can incentivize the everyday person to leave feedback on social media or a survey by offering rewards. A coupon, discount, or promotion can draw in a larger audience to leave comments.
And the best comment you may receive is not “Queues very quite pleasant” but “I didn’t even notice I was in line!”
4. Employees Are Happy
How happy are your employees? If this question is one you’ve never asked yourself, you may need to reconsider your queueing strategy.
Happy employees mean a happy business. But happiness sounds kind of vague, so let’s put a numerical value to it — one study showed that happy employees show 12% greater productivity.
And unhappy individuals… well, they’re more than unproductive.
Not only they cannot tackle customer issues, but they also negatively affect the vibes around your business location.
Empower Your Employees
When employees have the tools they need to succeed, they know how to solve all kinds of queuing problems.
Individual employees need up-to-date information to best help customers. One report shows that 84% of customers feel frustrated when agents don’t have the information they’re looking for.
A top queuing strategy empowers its employees and treats them as individuals.
Great companies with great queuing strategies understand the need to turn their employees into personal leaders. When it comes to recognizing employees, there are two sides to this coin: you need to learn to praise those meeting expectations and help those who underperform.
It’s much easier to recognize our failings than see our achievements. It’s what humans excel at. But, that means it requires extra effort to commend our queuing strategy when it is working.
And we ought to. Rewarding ourselves and employees for a job well done is central to cultivating a culture that excels at providing great customer service, a company with a top queuing strategy.
Remember, the entire network of a business is connected like dominoes. For a top queueing strategy to work, every other aspect of the business has to stand strong as well. If one domino falls the rest hit the table as well.
Managing, using, and improving queue strategy is easy with the right tools. And speaking of right tools,
