The holidays change everything about your business. What worked for the brunt of the year now suddenly changes.

And customers are certainly more anxious to get what they want when they want it. They have friends, family members, and lovers they don’t want to disappoint.

So, how do you manage all the chaos as it begins on Black Friday and runs well into January?

Here’s some tips for helping your customer service associates make it through this hectic time:

1. Make Customer Self-Service Easier

Using the web to automate your customer service and reduce the load on your team is a must.

Make sure your customer self-service FAQ is up-to-date. Make the links to the most commonly asked questions abundantly obvious.

This doesn’t have to be sophisticated. You just need to have the answers and make them easy to access.

Perhaps shoot a few quick video how-tos as well. Every little bit makes your customers happier and reduces load on your associates.

2. Add More Associates

In today’s business world, you have as many options as you could imagine to add more associates to your customer support team.

First, you can actually start by having your current associates work more hours. But remember to account for burnout. Don’t drive your own team so hard that they have no energy left to give.

That will dramatically harm their performance. And you’ll have more angry customers and higher return rates.

Once you’ve optimized your productivity within your team, then you can figure out how to add more associates.

Today, you can easily outsource support overseas or domestically. You can also hire temp associates.

Whatever you choose to do, it works best if you have detailed procedures and performance metrics already in place.

3. Don’t Forget to Upsell

Margins for many businesses increase noticeably during the Christmas season.

And, your customer service associates can (and should) be a part of your revenue optimization strategy.

Shift your thinking about your customer service associates from just another set of task-doers to a revenue center.

Not only can they help increase revenue by keeping your customers happy, but they can also help with additional sales too.

For example, they could ask your customer if they have the warranty plan for their product.

Or, if the customer purchases a certain product, they may also be interested in a product other customers commonly purchase with it.

4. Reward Your Customers’ Loyalty

Hey, what better way to make your customers happy than by offering them a small discount?

This may de-escalate the situation entirely. Or it may be enough to convert them from a one-time customer to a long-term customer.

Either way, ‘tis the season to be giving.

Overall, remember your customers are people. Focus on relationships, not on getting things done.

And you’ll make it through the Christmas season in better shape than ever!