Why Commercial Field Service Companies Must Focus on the Service
As field service companies look to differentiate themselves and their offerings, customer service will play an increasingly important role.
In the past, commercial field service providers could deliver service based solely on their technical expertise. Today, providers must also focus on creating great customer experiences. In short, the emphasis is shifting from “field” to “service.” In this, part 2 of our blog series supporting the eBook The Future of Commercial Field Service Companies, we look at how technology can help field service providers turn service into a competitive advantage.
Time to up your game
Service leaders today are setting themselves apart from the competition by focusing on service. And that focus can take several different forms. For example, a 2021 survey conducted by Bain, found that increasing cost pressures are making traditional billing models, based on billed hours, unattractive to customers. Instead, customers want less risk and more predictability, and leading service companies are responding with options including subscription-based service models.
In addition, the pandemic reset customer expectations and prompted many field service companies to quickly adjust how they interact with customers and manage customer expectations. Many, if not most, of those adjustments, such as customer self-service portals, will become permanent. So too will mobile and cloud-based applications for technicians and dispatchers, allowing them to communicate effectively and in real-time with customers and internal teams to set expectations and deliver exceptional service.
To remain competitive in an impatient world, field service organizations must up their service games. They will need to pursue capabilities and efficiencies that allow them to not only respond to requests more quickly, but even anticipate those requests and handle each customer interaction with greater understanding and context.
Technology is the game changing tool
A holistic view of customers and their accounts is essential for creating fast, frictionless, and positive customer experiences. However, it requires access to a myriad of customer data to gain this view, including detailed contact information, relationships and associations, equipment lists, warranty details, open service tickets, service-level agreements, and more. Customer-focused technologies, such as Field Service CRM applications, allow field service organizations to gain and maintain a 360-degree view of every client and they are rapidly becoming essential tools in the industry.
As field service companies look to differentiate themselves and their offerings, customer service will play an increasingly important role. Those companies that embrace the tools and technologies that help elevate service levels will be the ones that come out on top. Download the eBook, The Future of Commercial Field Service Companies, to learn more.
