Black Friday has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year in the United States since at least 2005. On Black Friday in 2017, reporting suggests that US online revenues amounted to 2.36 billion US dollars, up from 1.97 billion US dollars in the previous year.

According to ‘Wikipedia’ the earliest evidence of the phrase Black Friday originated in Philadelphia, dating back to 1961, where police used it to described the heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic that would occur on the day after Thanksgiving.

What impact do these large events have on the day-to-day running of your business with regards to your customer service levels?

It might be a customers first visit to your business for your Black Friday event, but it could also be their last depending on the level of service they receive.

The importance of excellent customer service should be a well-rehearsed engrained procedure in your business that happens every day, with every customer, without thinking. The Institute of Customer Service says that customers who are treated well with “Excellent” customer service, can each spend, on average, up to £53 more at a particular retailer.

Your Black Friday customers who make a purchase, this might be their first purchase and are visiting your business because of your sales event. You will want them to come back and spend more money at regular prices on other days of the year. Jo Causon, CEO of the Institute of Customer Service, said that nine out of ten people who received ‘Excellent’ customer service during a Black Friday event went on to shop with that retailer again, and 37% more than those who received just an ‘okay’ service.

Just imagine what can be achieved when providing your customers with an ‘Excellent’ customer experience.

Many times when we talk to our clients about monitoring customers experience through Mystery Shopping, they will be focused on the lost revenue on the day. But we all know it goes further than that. It’s all the potential lost repeat revenue over a long period of time that is at risk when providing poor customer service. Can you afford to take that risk? If your customer service is not in the ‘Excellent’ customer service category, it could cost you long term.

My View Research conducts Mystery Shopping for some of the worlds most recognised brands, monitoring and reporting back on all areas of customer service. Being one of the only Mystery Shopping companies with a low carbon footprint and with the most up-to date online reporting platform, including an app for your team to review their results instantly, on the move, this allows My View Research to develop a cost-effective Mystery Shopping evaluation programme for your business and help improve and monitor your customer experience.

Mystery Shopping companies like My View Research, through a variety of different customer service initiatives, can help and support your team in achieving ‘Excellent’ customer service for your business. This insight will allow your front-line teams to provide excellent Customer Experience where your customer will want to return time-and-time again. Think of the long-term revenue benefits that an increase in customer service would bring.

Talk to My View Research to see how we can increase your odds of increasing customer spend over a longer period with regular customer experience research and feedback through Mystery Shopping.