The much-awaited Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend is both exhilarating and stressful—for both customers and your customer service team.
To maximize BFCM sales, it is crucial to proactively communicate with customers, using strategies like winback flows and personalized offers to entice previous shoppers to return and take advantage of the special deals during this high-demand shopping weekend.
However, burned-out employees don’t perform well. If the BFCM rush results in exhausted CS agents, the after-effects linger far past the sales season. Some employees may seek new jobs if they feel overworked—almost half (40%) consider leaving their jobs due to burnout.
So the big question is: How can you protect your customer service team while providing unparalleled support to your customers for utmost satisfaction?
Enter BFCM automation—powered by optimized standard operating procedures (SOPs). In this guide, you’ll learn how to build sustainable practices that empower your reps, prevent burnout, and deliver positive customer experiences during BFCM and beyond.
Why automation is a game-changer for BFCM
During BFCM, most customers expect instant responses and solutions. Be it about your stock availability, tracking an order, or needing help with payments. The average eCommerce business will see a 20% increase in ticket volume during BFCM according to data from Gorgias.
So, if your processes aren’t streamlined, you risk longer resolution times, abandoned carts, or negative reviews. But if your workflows are automated, it brings the opposite—quicker problem-solving, increased conversions, and favorable feedback. Automation can significantly reduce the average response time during peak periods, ensuring efficient handling of customer inquiries. Let’s break down how automation does it:
- BFCM automation in customer service eliminates repetitive tasks like order status updates or FAQ inquiries so CS agents don’t have to repeat the same actions hundreds of times.
- And when human agents are free from routine work, they can handle more complex issues (like chargebacks and technical needs).
- It routes inquiries to the correct department or BFCM customer service agent.
- It provides up-to-the-minute analytics on team performance to identify bottlenecks early.
- Automation enables self-service options like FAQ databases and knowledge bases to empower customers to find answers independently.
3 key areas to automate for BFCM success
What are some specific areas where automation can enable smoother workflows and ensure that neither your customers nor your employees feel overwhelmed? Utilizing customer service channels is crucial for effectively handling customer inquiries and complaints, enhancing customer experience, and gathering valuable feedback. Here’s the top three you should start with.
1. Automating FAQs and common queries
Do you receive the same question whenever it’s BFCM? Is this product still in stock? Or what’s your return policy? Online shoppers are active at all hours during peak shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, necessitating round-the-clock assistance. Answering these questions one by one over and over slows down your team. So, where does automation come into play here? Leverage chatbots, knowledge bases, and pre-made responses.
First, you can deploy AI-powered chatbots and even self-service portals such as the knowledge base and FAQs to address routine inquiries instantly. A survey shows that 75% of users consider a strong knowledge base essential for smooth chatbot interactions. Another solution is to apply pre-written responses when answering basic inquiries. (Yes, they’re not automation themselves but they’re resources often used in automated systems.)
The cumulative effect is an overall reduced load on your customer support team. Because when automation handles routine queries, your support agents can focus on urgent, high-impact cases like troubleshooting payment failures or calming agitated customers.
2. Automating order tracking and shipping updates
In general, the most frequent inquiry during BFCM is about order tracking and shipping updates. Retailers report that during peak seasons, WISMO or “Where is my order?” concerns account for up to 50% of customer service interactions. Meeting customer expectations during these times is crucial, as the surge in demand places pressure on retailers to fulfill orders promptly and efficiently. Manually responding to these inquiries is (definitely!) time-consuming.
But here’s the good news—they’re manageable. Just give your buyers the power to track their order—so for you, that’s having automated tracking systems in place. Automate the flow of tracking data by integrating with your fulfillment partners/shipping carriers so you can automatically retrieve and display shipment status.
Take everything up by a notch by proactively sending email or SMS alerts at all important points—such as order confirmation, shipment, and delivery. It’s all about sending timely updates directly to customers’ inboxes or mobile devices, minimizing anxiety and the need for them to contact support.
3. Automating customer feedback collection for customer satisfaction
After making a sale is the perfect time to ask for a customer rating. Capturing feedback from your BFCM customers can inform you what worked—and what didn’t—while maximizing post-purchase engagement and fostering customer loyalty. Gathering feedback not only helps improve services but also strengthens relationships with customers.
But you don’t do it manually! Automate it by:
- Using tools to automatically send surveys and collect feedback after purchase. Use tools like NPS (Net Promoter Score) surveys or product-specific reviews to capture insights quickly and accurately.
- Automated follow-ups requesting reviews or testimonials help sustain momentum (after purchase euphoria!), especially when paired with incentives like discount codes for future purchases or loyalty points. Just provide clear instructions and make the review process as simple as possible. And who knows? Maybe the potential customer—but still browsing—gets encouraged to purchase after seeing your positive reviews.
How to create effective SOPs for customer service automation
Now, let’s shift the attention towards your automation’s biggest ally—SOPs optimized for BFCM. Designing clear, actionable workflows that empower both technology and your BFCM customer service team essentially means you’re creating smooth processes and a seamless customer experience.
It is also crucial to review and update your customer service policies to align with increased customer inquiries and expectations during BFCM. This includes revising policies on shipping, returns, and service level agreements (SLAs) to ensure they meet the heightened demands of this peak business period.
1. Define clear automation workflows
From pre-sale inquiries to post-purchase support, having clear workflows for every customer interaction is essential for attracting and engaging more customers during BFCM by leveraging automation.
Start by identifying and mapping key points in the customer journey where inquiries happen most. Commonly these are:
- tracking orders
- returns
- product availability
Then, match each step of the workflow with the right automation tool. Make sure they integrate with your CRM to ensure all interactions are recorded. For example:
- Chatbots might handle FAQs.
- Routing complex inquiries to the right agent.
- Automated email campaigns to welcome new customers, recover abandoned carts, and recommend similar or complementary products.
2. Set up escalation protocols for the customer service team
Automation works best when handling routine inquiries efficiently. But BFCM is most unpredictable—situations may demand a human intervention. To turn one-time buyers into repeat customers, it is crucial to have effective escalation protocols in place. Example:
- complex queries
- high-value customers or transactions
- a customer directly asks for human assistance
And such issues need forwarding to the rightful agents. So automate escalation protocols, and have clear criteria for elevating the issue (also train automated systems to recognize these scenarios quickly) to ensure that your team is transferring as quickly as possible. Some tips for a seamless transition:
- Pass the full conversation history and relevant order information to the agent
- Keep the customer engaged while the transfer is in progress
- Provide updates on the status of the transfer
3. Create SOPs for handling refunds and returns efficiently
Got refunds and returns requests? You’re not alone—some reports indicate return rates can be as high as31% post-BFCM. Rewarding loyal customers with exclusive offers and discounts during peak shopping events like BFCM can help mitigate this. Just manage them properly so it doesn’t overwhelm your team (and especially your customers). SOPs for efficient handling of returns and refunds help maintain order, minimize errors, and ensure customers experience a smooth resolution. Here’s how you can avoid holiday chaos with clear, automated policies:
- Allow customers to submit refund or return requests online, triggering automated workflows that manage approvals and status updates
- Giving them control over the process through self-service portals
- Offer instant chat support for questions about the process
- Automatically update stock levels when returns are initiated
4. Choose the right tools for BFCM automation
The success of your BFCM depends on customer service automation strategy and it heavily relies on the tools you choose. Using the right tools can help generate more sales by focusing on customer engagement and retention. Here are some BFCM automation tools and examples of how they deliver when it counts.
Chatbots: Instant support, no wait times
Chatbots are built for speed, and they don’t just reduce the load on your support team—they improve the experience. They can engage customers in real-time, and if an issue needs human attention, you can set them up to smoothly pass it to an agent, so nothing gets missed.
CRMs: Personalization at scale
With a CRM, every interaction is logged in one place. That way, your team is always ready with relevant context, no matter how busy things get. Only offers that feel personal, not generic. Tip: Got a repeat buyer from the last BFCM? Send them a VIP deal. Also, schedule post-sale outreach to keep the conversation going beyond checkout and increase retention.
Help desk Tools: Organized, not overwhelmed
Even with chatbots in play, not every issue can be solved instantly. Therefore, a solid help desk tool is your solution. So your support team stays organized and on top of everything, even during peak madness.
Whether it’s a chatbot that engages instantly, a CRM that delivers personalized campaigns, or a help desk that keeps agents organized, every feature should contribute to smoother operations and happier customers. So what are the key features to look for?
- Operate across the web, social media, and messaging apps.
- Advanced segmentation by past purchases, preferences, and behavior for hyper-targeted campaigns.
- Automated ticket routing to the right agent or team based on the issue type.
Workflow automation tools
The real magic happens when your automation tools are fully integrated. Picture this:
- A chat support bot can kick things off and escalate to a human agent, without losing the conversation thread.
- CRM insights help you send the right offer at the right time—and agents have everything they need to respond effectively.
- Helpdesk platforms keep your agents focused and customers happy with fast, organized support.
Tip: Leverage no-code platforms so even non-technical support teams can create powerful automation flows.
5. Test and optimize your automation SOPs before BFCM
Feeling prepared now? Good! But before BFCM kicks in, it’s essential to test your automation SOPs ahead of time so you can also fix your weak points in advance, too.
To maximize BFCM sales, it’s crucial to test and optimize your SOPs to ensure everything runs smoothly during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period.
Running test scenarios before BFCM
First, try simulating real-world customer interactions. This will stress-test your automated workflows and uncover inefficiencies before BFCM hits. You can set up test cases that replicate high-traffic scenarios—like spikes in inquiries or order status requests. And in these test scenarios, involve both your automated tools and live agents to see how well handovers and escalations work.
How does your automation respond? If there are points where the system gets stuck, make adjustments so your automation performs smoothly even in edge cases.
6. Monitor and adjust automation during BFCM to meet customer expectations
When the actual sales period comes, monitor your BFCM automation in real-time and adjust on the fly. As customer behavior fluctuates, being responsive allows you to adapt and maintain service levels high throughout the event. Additionally, monitoring and adjusting customer service channels is crucial to ensure high service levels during BFCM. Some best practices:
- Keep tabs on key metrics like first response times, ticket backlog, chatbot success rates, and customer satisfaction scores.
- Set up alerts to notify you if performance dips—like response times increasing beyond a certain threshold—so you can act quickly.
- Based on live data, make changes to automation rules or escalation protocols.
- Stay flexible and ensure your team is prepared to override automation where necessary to maintain a personal touch with customers.
Take on BFCM stress-free
True BFCM success is about meeting customer expectations and delivering a frictionless experience from start to finish. Automation, when powered by optimized SOPs, keeps your operations running smoothly, reduces support strain, and delivers the fast, proactive service customers expect during high-pressure events. With the right tools and workflows in place, both your team and your customers benefit from a stress-free, efficient BFCM experience.
Use this guide to plan, test, and optimize your SOPs so you’re ready for any situation BFCM might bring. Take your BFCM automation to the next level by partnering with LTVplus. Get our tailored support automation solutions to your business needs. Book a FREE consultation today!
