11.15.22 -- How To Enhance Vendor Transparency To Improve Vital Relationships In 2023

The holiday season is the most critical time of the year for online retailers. Increased website traffic, customer volume, and sales put everything in e-commerce to the test, including systems, processes, customer experience tools, and employee support resources. By now, most organizations have already completed the transactional integrations and automation that underpin these functions and are in a code freeze through the end of the year. With large-scale operational improvements largely in-flight, retailers that want to succeed this holiday season and exceed consumer expectations should be identifying and addressing gaps in their non-transactional infrastructure

Holiday sales seem to start earlier every year. It’s common to see Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas holiday decorations at big box stores all at once. One key reason for this is that retailers are now launching holiday sales in October, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). The organization’s new consumer survey indicates that consumers are on board with early sales: 44% of shoppers agree it’s better to purchase gifts and other seasonal items now because they believe inflation will continue to impact prices later in the year.

In Episode 65 of “The Trusted Advisor,” the RSPA’s Jim Roddy talks with Randy Gunter, one of the principals at VAR Spark Solutions Group, and Jeff Sanders, the President of VAR Southwest Point of Sale, about customer service best practices for retail technology solution providers. Among the topics discussed are reactive and proactive customer communication strategies, the importance of an annual customer survey, how to win over an upset customer, and the biggest customer service mistake many resellers make.