Virtual Queue Management: A Good Strategy to Increase Sales during the Pandemic

What are customer’s biggest concerns today?

Ever since the start of this year, fewer and fewer people are making it to businesses, especially those that involve any wait time or a line. Do you think it’s because customers are having problems with interactions? Waiting times? Exposure chances? Well yes, customers do have these challenges. A pandemic brings countless nuisances into the nation. We are bound to take the minutest precautions to keep from disheveling. With the current circumstance, we are not able to alleviate our minds, even for a heartbeat. That is what happened with one of my friends, Eva. She was not able to make it to the salon she wanted to because she had to wait in long queues for her turn. On a normal day in 2019 that would have been perfectly acceptable; she could speak and interact with others. But now standing for a long period created many doubts in her mind – primary one being of course the risk of exposure. Eva conveyed that although interactions are required for the service itself, many have to get their errands done and prefer a logical way of waiting while with fewer chances of exposure. A recent study published by Gartner claims that by 2023, 40% of the organizations will blend physical and virtual experiences in order to satisfy customers, leading to increased workforce productivity and customer reach.

Attainable solutions

Many resources can help solve situations like these, they can benefit both the consumers and the producers. A business notion could conceivably be keeping the customers inside the salon, DMV, developer store, etc. for a limited time as attainable. For instance, limiting wait time indoors itself. Considering the customers are having difficulty waiting in long queues, businesses can use a notion that is more virtual. This can allow customers to visit a business location more often and limit the time of stay.

An attainable capability would be a Virtual Queue Management System that can manage a queue virtually. More like where people can get two-way SMS on what position they are in line. They can stay at home, in their car, or any way they feel safe, hence, limiting their time of exposure. Customers will also get a notification once it is their turn and if they are not ready by then, they can ask to cancel or move back in line. There are few companies that have started innovating in this domain like Standspot that claims to provide an intelligent virtual queue management system – their idea is to allow customers the freedom of using their wait time productively while still keeping their place in the queue. Such tools, are helpful in removing insecurities in minds of the customers by providing higher customer satisfaction, lowering the exposure risk and ultimately increasing customer visits.

Are businesses taking the lead?

One of the examples of businesses that have chosen to adopt the technology is Great Clips hair salon. They have an option for their customers to join a Virtual Queue through their app or website that lets the customers sign up for their position virtually. Customers can then come to the salon whenever it is their turn.

But that’s one of the few businesses that have taken the lead. What if all visits made by your customers, such as medical visits, bank visits, nail appointments, or food orders, were like this? Using a virtual queue system. Undoubtedly, this would limit wait time and provide a contactless environment to the consumers. Hence, more customers would consider coming for everyday errands. As reported by Gartner, many organizations are “deploying additional intelligence” at a much faster pace. Even though those are at a bare minimum capturing and actioning on the temperature measurements, contact tracing and behavior data. This is expected to reduce the spread of infection.

Of many, an innovative strategy in recent times is to eliminate the physical queue altogether. Many organizations are adapting to the changing environment by letting technology help. Standspot offers solutions letting customers come into your business and leave satisfied with their contactless experience. They are now offering a 3-months free trial allowing a great opportunity for businesses to test and validate the business value prior to making a decision.