Transitioning Your Elevator Service From a Cost Center to a Profit Center
It's an intriguing idea that was debated but rarely acted on: that elevator service departments can be run as profit centers. How can this be?
As recently as three of four years ago, it was an intriguing idea that was debated but rarely acted on: that elevator service departments can be run as profit centers. But something has changed: in 2013, according to the Service Council Report of Field Service, an overwhelming 68% of respondents indicated that they were in fact managing field service as a profit center, and 72% expected these departments not to simply drive new, untapped revenues, but to be profitable in the next year.
So what’s behind this revolution, and how can it be changing the service landscape so dramatically?
To put it simply, the same back-office teams, managers and mechanics, are using the same hardware, but are working by the rules of a new business strategy. The terminology is the same, the assignments are the same, and the clients are the same. What’s changed is the dynamic of the interaction with those clients.
When your customers trigger a job event, your role is, first and foremost, that of a responder. But when your software automatically tracks DOB-required maintenance and inspection schedules or violation deadlines, your dispatchers can pick up the phone and point out that it’s time to have a preventative maintenance once-over or an inspection pre-check. Suddenly, your role shifts from being a vendor to a strategic partner.
As your new role evolves to a trusted advisor to your customers, you now have an opportunity to talk about new projects and initiatives, leading to an even more mutually beneficial and profitable relationship. To learn more about moving from a cost center to a profit center module, download our whitepaper, Going Up? Technology-Driven Steps to Help Your Elevator Service Company Grow Profits.
