Why Customer Satisfaction is Driving Tech Innovation in Field Service

Service businesses are increasingly using field service as a means of customer delight— according to Gartner, 70 percent of organizations will cite customer satisfaction as a primary benefit from implementing FSM tools by 2020, up from approximately 50 percent today.

Service businesses are increasingly using field service as a means of customer delight. According to Gartner, 70 percent of organisations will cite customer satisfaction as a primary benefit from implementing FSM tools by 2020, up from approximately 50 percent today.

So, what's driving all this demand to satisfy customers more and more? 

The global market now sets the standard

Businesses today are competing on a global measuring-stick. No longer are we competing against those within the same industry as us, we are all being compared to the Netflixes, Google's and Apple's of our generation and how we compare on the 'experience meter' - are we meeting growing expectations?

What do customers expect?

According to a recent study by Field Technologies Online, almost half of field service leaders are concerned about keeping up with increasing customer demands (46%). 

Research carried out by CSG highlights that communication as a basic expectation across customers surveyed, and noted that "consistent and proactive communication is a differentiator, whether it’s in person or through technology." 

It's true!

CONSUMERS IN THE DIGITAL AGE STILL EXPECT THE BASICS:

• 55.8% want a phone call if the technician is running late.
• 90% want an explanation of what the technician is going to do prior to arrival.
• 86.6% want the technician to be fully informed upon arrival.

Customer demands are now more than ever service-related, where paying for a better experience is viewed as better value. It's so important, that according to Bain & Co, a customer is four times more likely to buy from a competitor if the problem is service-related, versus price or product-related. Whoever said it's all about price! 

What can Field Service businesses do to keep up with demand?

Invest in a Modern Field Service Management Software Package

Most field service software is designed to improve the way you manage your operations - from scheduling to service reports, quick and easy invoicing and analysis of your operations. These are vital aspects of deciding which platform to choose for your business and need to be looked at very closely. 

Picking a modern platform that provides tools to actively engage your customers, with options for customer portals to drive instant job completion insight, and the ability to plugin with common email engagement tools is going to create long-term service value and better service experiences for your customer base. 

Here are a few ways Fieldmagic aids businesses in delivering a better service experience: 

• Live asset reporting in your own customer portal for customers.
• Maintenance schedule information in your own customer portal for customers.
• Triggered SMS alerts to customers.
• The ability to hook in with marketing automation solutions to deliver cross-selling service emails for your business to grow revenue and increase service awareness. 

Think smarter, more automated communication with customers

It's important to focus on the ability for the platform you invest in to aid in delivering a better customer experience. Whether this is automated alerts and reports, to SMS-triggered job alerts based on GPS data, it's important that your solution can keep up with the ever-changing needs of customers, where timely communication is so important. 

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