How to optimize customer service with the power of knowledge management

In every industry, knowledge is one of the most powerful tools. Some might even say: knowledge is the key to success. In field service this is especially true, since nowadays it is just not enough anymore to meet a service window or a scheduled service appointment. Today, customer service has to exceed expectations and deliver value at all stages of the customer journey. Information that can be found in documents, manuals, and tutorials enables the workforce to gain and extend knowledge but also to share and exchange expertise and know-how. Another aspect to consider is to collect and gather data within a cloud. This has the advantage to make relevant information available in real-time. Field employees that work on-site, but also the entire organization including the back office must have access to the right insights immediately and at a glance in order to support the customer in the best way possible. Thus, implementing a field service management software and using it as a pool of acquired business and industry knowledge made available via the cloud can help to improve the communication between service organizations and customers.

Tools to standardize knowledge management

A modern field service management software in the back office gives access to the customer history and can store all the necessary information that is needed to solve an issue as soon as a customer request comes in. Tools for knowledge management that are available mobile and offline help to reduce paper-based processes and give everyone involved the insights they need to optimize performance in the field and manage resources more efficiently. For technicians, it is particularly important to receive up-to-date work order and job information while with the customer. In order to implement standardized procedures across the organization, checklists, for example, are a reliable source to improve the productivity and efficiency of field service technicians. They can help to deliver the same level of quality and service regardless of the level of experience and expertise of the service provider. Additionally, a drag-and-drop feature can extend the data listed with real-life, on-site experiences, content, and information that is automatically updated as soon as it is added.

How to make customers and employees happy 

Standardized knowledge management tools offer quite a few advantages to customers and employees alike. They help to:

1. Increase employee satisfaction: When service technicians can easily find answers to pressing issues in time to react to their customers problems, their satisfaction improves. Hence, not only customers but also technicians receive optimal on-site support.
2. Improve customer experiences: For manufacturers, differentiation from the competition is no longer solely based on the product, but increasingly on service. That is why technicians on site need to be fast and efficient to complete their job to the satisfaction of customers.
3. Close the talent gap: As field service technicians increasingly need to expand their know-how about different plants, machines and devices alike, knowledge management becomes increasingly critical. Equipping employees with the necessary knowledge is transformative and essential in solving current issues and reducing the time spent with the customer on-site. In addition, it strengthens the employee’s confidence in solving the issue.

In a service organization, the ability to manage and disburse knowledge is directly tied to success. It has never been more important and even critical for the future of the company to quickly diagnose a problem, to find the right answer and to resolve an issue on a first visit. Well-thought-out and strategic knowledge management flanked by powerful technology helps all stakeholders involved with access to the information they need so that they are able to deliver improved customer service, standardized support, more first-time fixes and an overall increase in productivity.