5 ways to improve customer convenience in field service management
Customer experience is a crucial element of business success. Satisfied customers who have a seamless experience are more likely to return again and recommend you to others.
In order to drive business growth, consider the ways your potential and existing customers perceive your brand. Having a good understanding of your reputation will enable you to make necessary improvements and continue attracting customers to your company.
By delivering an excellent customer experience, you’ll find that your organisation is able to generate more revenue, allowing you to keep taking on bigger and better projects.
Here, we’ll explore how to improve customer experience in the field service management (FSM) industry using software that delivers superior, speedy services.
From field service CRM software to smart job scheduling, learn why a good customer experience is so important for field service businesses.
1. DRIVE CUSTOMER LOYALTY
Statistics show that 82% of engaged customers will always purchase from the same company when they need something and are less inclined to shop around. Additionally, customers who repeatedly engage with your business may be more interested in discovering what else you can do for them, giving you more opportunities to drive business growth.
The key to gaining repeat customers is focusing on the ’emotional’ side of engagement. In other words, how does each stage of the customer journey make people feel? Your clients will become loyal when they feel valued and that your business genuinely cares about anticipating their needs.
The good news is that anticipating your customers’ needs isn’t as tricky as it sounds. Using modern cloud-based CRM (customer relationship management) technology, you can manage the entire customer journey end-to-end.
For example, customers can easily manage bookings via an online portal, view real-time service updates, receive digital invoices and make instant payments at the touch of a button.
Receiving a speedy and reliable service has never been so straightforward, and your customers will want to keep using your company time and time again as a result.
2. ATTRACT NEW CUSTOMERS
When you deliver an excellent customer experience, your brand reputation will skyrocket. Unsurprisingly, 60% of customers say they trust reviews from friends, family and other product or service users.
If you’re consistently providing your existing clients with positive encounters, you increase the chances that they’ll spread the word of your company and provide you with a new bank of leads.
Remember, customers are attracted to businesses that are:
- Knowledgeable: 46% of people will abandon a brand if they’re not knowledgeable. As such, you must ensure that all your employees are clued up on your product or service.
- Friendly: 42% of people say they would pay for a more friendly, welcoming experience. Think about each touchpoint during the customer journey and how your customers will perceive your messaging. Everything, from your marketing efforts to your customer service team members, will influence your clients’ feelings towards your business.
- Speedy: 70% of customers believe that speed of service matters the most. To deliver a swift service, you should review all your current ways of working to eliminate any inefficiencies, such as manual administration processes or outdated legacy systems.
- Convenient: Only 14% of customers report being happy with current business communications. Time-consuming phone calls and emails no longer work as part of your clients’ busy days. Instead, people want more instant communication methods that will provide them with correct information whenever they need it.
If you manage to tick all the boxes, you’re well on your way to gaining a stellar reputation and enjoying a drive in business growth.
When you use a state-of-the-art CRM system, providing a speedy, convenient service is simple. You can eliminate the need to complete manual, paper-based administration tasks and remove burdensome, outdated processes from your employees’ to-do lists.
With all the free time, your people can focus on what they do best: providing a friendly and knowledgeable experience to your existing and prospective customers.
3. PEOPLE WILL PAY EXTRA FOR AN EXCELLENT CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
Customers who believe that your organisation satisfies all of their requirements will be willing to pay more for your product or service. In fact, you could double your business’ revenue within 36 months if you improve your customer experience to a satisfactory level.
These numbers alone prove that it’s worth thinking about how to provide an excellent customer experience and investing some time to implement your plan. In today’s digital world, one of the best ways to improve customer experience and drive business growth is by employing technology to speed up your processes and enable seamless communications between your customers, back-office staff and field-based workers.
A complete job management platform like BigChange enables your team to work more rapidly and provide your customers with a better service. You’ll stand out from competitors who continue to use antiquated ways of working, and people will be willing to pay a premium to use your products or services instead. Book a demo today.
Challenges Of Customer Service In Field Service Management
There are many benefits to improving your customer experience – but how do you know where to start?
Creating a seamless customer experience in field service management can be highly challenging – so start by looking at key customer frustrations and think about how you can make improvements. Some of the most common issues include:
⏱️ Long waiting times
⚒️ Low first-time fix rates
🤳 Poor communication
🧰 Technicians with inadequate tools or skills
All of these challenges can cause friction, leaving customers feeling disappointed or frustrated. They can also result in costly and inefficient return visits for technicians, causing an impact on the company’s bottom line.
Implementing field service management technology can help to overcome these challenges.
Top 3 Tips For Using Field Service Management Technology To Improve The Customer Experience
Technology is transforming customer service across a number of industries and the field service industry is no different. Let’s have a look at the key ways field service management technology is helping organisations to improve their customer service.
1. Streamline communications 📱
- Only 14% of customers say they are happy with current business communications
- 66% of customers use at least three different communication channels
- 75% of customers think that fast response times are the most important attribute of the customer experience
Research shows that modern customers often expect to be able to manage the whole process from their mobile devices. This means it’s more important than ever for your business to ensure that customers are able to get in touch with them.
Most customers do not want to wait on the phone to book appointments or wait around all day for a technician to arrive because they have only been provided with a vague time slot.
An effective field service management platform allows you to provide an automated, quick response system to service customers.
Appointments can be confirmed by the customer service team in just a few clicks and personalised emails can be automated at the most crucial points of the buyer journey using a CRM (customer relationship manager) system to fill in the correct details.
Customers can use a real time job tracking link to see where their technician is and their estimated time of arrival. This functionality provides a range of benefits including:
✅ Enhanced customer experience – customers know when technicians are likely to arrive
✅ Frees up time for back office staff to focus on business growth
✅ Increased employee productivity across the business.
2. Increase first-time fix rates 🔨
Your customers lead busy lives. They expect field service organisations to respond to their issues quickly and to fix them during the first appointment.
When first-time fix rates drop below 70%, businesses notice a 10% deterioration in customer retention rates. First-time fix rates are:
- Critical for customer satisfaction
- Crucial for current customer relationships
- Hugely impactful on future sales and referrals
Low first-time fix rates are costly for the overall business, reducing technician productivity and increasing fuel costs through repeat visits. Field service management software can help to increase first-time fix rates.
Job scheduling software automatically sorts scheduling and dispatching of technicians based on a number of factors, including:
🚛 Skill set
🚛 Location
🚛 Vehicle type
The CRM system assigns all details of the booking to the job, which also allows back-office teams to allocate equipment, stock and other assets to jobs. This allows technicians to arrive at every appointment with everything they need to carry out the work effectively on their first visit.
Ensuring that technicians are adequately equipped will set them up to complete the job first time. As such, customers will be impressed at the speed of service.
In addition, technicians will be able to attend more appointments in a day, boosting your bottom line and reputation.
3. Ensure data security 🔐
While technology allows you to enhance customer service, it also means that data security is of utmost importance in today’s digital age.
Failure to take necessary precautions can have a detrimental effect on your company. In fact, 71% of people say they would take their business elsewhere following a data breach.
Many companies still use outdated methods for storing customer information, putting them at greater risk of a security crisis. Currently, the maximum fine for GDPR infringements is £17.5 million or 4% of your annual turnover – whichever is greater. Lax security can have a huge impact on your business.
In contrast, modern field service management technology significantly reduces the chance of a data breach. The right system will provide you with a secure CRM system to ensure that all data is protected against cybersecurity threats.
By using superior technology to manage your customers’ data, you’ll have peace of mind that their information is in good hands. In addition, the reduced risk of a data breach means customers are more likely to remain satisfied over the long-term.
How Field Services Can Boost Customer Experience Today With Digital Transformation
Some systems manage relationships. BigChange helps you master them.
In one single tool, our fully integrated field service management platform gives field services a 360˚ view of every account, contact site and contract. Deliver positive customer experiences and drive customer loyalty with an array of features built specifically to support field service businesses.
Want to find out more? See how BigChange’s field service management software can make your business grow stronger here and arrange a freedemo today.
