In the next year, improving customer service is the greatest pressure field service organizations are facing, according to a survey completed by Field Service USA.
Of the 100 industry leaders they spoke with, 43% said that improving customer service was the largest pressure they faced when asked to rank it amongst four other options, including technology adoption by the workforce, increasing revenue, choosing the right tools and an aging workforce.
The second was technology adoption by the workforce and increasing revenue through service, both selected by 23% of the respondents as their largest pressure.
It spells out a clear theme going forward for many in the field service industry, as organizations are looking to maximize efficiencies and productivity to improve customer service, while at the same time, driving their revenue forward. With these goals in mind, organizations are turning to field service management software as a technological approach to achieving greater success and easing the pressures going forward. And while adopting new technology going forward is considered a pressure, proper consultation and implementation are ensuring the transition to a fully automated, mobile and integrated field service software solution is made easy.
Field Service Management Software is Your Customer Service Tool
Of those same respondents, 88% said customer satisfaction is their top priority, which shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, considering satisfied customers are paying customers, and ones that are disappointed in the service they receive are more than likely to find a new field service organization for their work.
That’s where a field service software is turning into a trusted tool to achieve greater customer satisfaction. It may not seem possible that a piece of software can improve your customer interaction, but the tools inside the software are what will drive your technicians to deliver a better customer experience, have the answers to any customer questions, show up at the time scheduled, and make the process seamless from start to finish.
Even something as simple as ensuring your technicians are at the job site on time will help keep customers happy with the service they receive, as with field service dispatching tools, your back office can get an accurate time to your customers of when your technician will arrive, while also giving your technicians detailed routing tools to get them to the job site faster, so they are not stuck in traffic or in construction.
Demands on technicians are increasing, stress is rising, and technicians are feeling the effects of more service calls than they can handle in a day, which will reflect on their interaction with customers. But all of these issues can be addressed by giving them the tools to cut down on repetitive work that takes them longer to close out work orders or search for answers to recurring problems.
If your customers aren’t satisfied, they will look elsewhere for their repair work. The way to drive revenue is to take on as many services calls as possible, and increase the workload in a strategic way so as not to burn out technicians or anger customers. Field service management software can be the difference in showing up on time to a happy customer or one that is ready to call someone else, as properly scheduling and dispatching will allow your field service organization to take on more work, and handle more customers, without losing control of the work load. And while there may be growing pressure to adapt to changing technologies, the reality is, if that doesn’t happen, it can be a missed opportunity for the field service organization to boost their revenue and keep customers satisfied.