Any successful field service company knows that the key to success has always been customer satisfaction. Happy customers are sure to be loyal customers. They’re also more likely to refer a service provider that offers reliable, effective, and quick responses and solutions.
However, one of the biggest mistakes a field service provider can make is to assume that customers are satisfied and happy with the same kind of service from 25, 10, or even 5 years ago. This is why more service leaders are embarking on field service digital transformation.
The digital age has afforded a number of opportunities to improve the customer and service technician experience. These are the five pitfalls you should avoid so as not to derail your field service business.
Field service infographic: actual customer success stories from companies using FSM software, including 90% less admin work, 54% more efficient processes, 35% more happy customers.
There are five key issues that can hamper field service digital transformation:
What is field service management (FSM)? Done well, FSM allows technicians to serve as front-line agents, creating a better CX and inspiring loyalty.
Digital solutions are rapidly changing the service sector. From IoT to artificial intelligence and augmented reality, digital innovations offer field service providers an opportunity to provide faster, more effective, real-time responses to customer demands.
However, it would be premature and risky to begin integrating digital technologies without a strategy.
Having a comprehensive overview of your business and a digital strategy will save you the hassle and cost of having to adjust and adapt your software and devices at a later point. For example, if you are hoping to integrate field service management software, it should be compatible with your CRM and ERP systems.
If you intend to provide predictive maintenance, you’ll need an IoT-powered solution that lets sensors communicate with the company’s backend systems and technicians’ mobile devices. If you want to empower your customers and give them more control over their service experience, you’ll want to consider the myriad self-service options.
Digitalization isn’t just about eliminating paper and transitioning to mobile phones and tablets. Investing the time and money from the start will amount to huge savings later.
Your technicians are the most vital point of contact for your customers. They are the ones literally fielding all questions and concerns. As such, they are best situated to know what improvements could be made to create a more seamless field service experience. They also know what customers really want and need. This makes it possible to anticipate and instigate future sales and repairs.
However, service technicians need to be informed in order to help customers. The tools they rely on have to be dependable, give them access to all relevant company and customer knowledge, offer real-time updates, and be readily accessible.
Digitalization is a change process, so it is essential that everyone be involved. Given their firsthand, onsite experience, field service technicians can contribute valuable expertise to the planning of your digital strategy. They know what processes can best be digitalized to save time and money. And they can suggest what problems customers might be able to solve on their own with a self-service solution.
For many field service organizations, a lack of skilled technicians makes it hard to meet customer needs. Find out how to solve the problem for better service and happier customers.
Digital transformation has made it easier for new business models to emerge. Disruptors, not hindered by complex corporate hierarchies, are introducing new products at an unprecedented pace. And more often than not, their solutions are more affordable, leaner, and faster.
That’s why it’s essential for established field service providers to initiate their own concepts for digitalization before disruptors have an opportunity to completely flood the market and set the norms and standards.
The winner takes all! If disruptors are able to penetrate your customer base, your customers will be more likely to turn to them for other products and services. Ensure that your customers do not have to look elsewhere.
The agility of digital business models makes it easier to form valuable partnerships with other companies in horizontal and vertical markets to create entirely new business sectors.
One example is the business partnership between digital music service Spotify and coffee chain Starbucks. By allowing customers at Starbucks to identify and save Spotify playlists they hear while at the one of the company’s cafes, the two companies were able to tap into each other’s customer bases.
Not only does creating ecosystems make it easier for companies to expand their clientele, it also gives them access to expertise they otherwise would not have. Field service providers who want to expand their workforce are tapping a pool of technicians consisting of their own employees, partners, subcontractors, and freelancers.
This expanded network of skilled workers raises the probability that service companies will have the right specialist on hand to tackle any customer demand.
Level-up your field service management by understanding the most critical field service KPIs that FSM leaders should be tracking.
Any service company arguing that field service digital transformation is too expensive and too much work has not evaluated the exorbitant price of not digitalizing. Thinking that digitalization is merely hype is a dangerous misconception.
Customer expectations have shifted dramatically in the past ten years. Gone is the day when customers were willing to accept long wait times, unexpected delays, extensive unproductive downtimes, and any general lack of efficiency.
Not having the infrastructure to provide them will make a field service provider obsolete in the very near future. Not being prepared to upgrade to digital is akin to corporate suicide.
Gather all your stakeholders — service technicians, back-office staff, sales and marketing representatives, and management — to determine what solutions are necessary for sustainable business growth. Having a comprehensive overview will give you the information you need to design the tools to propel you forward!
