At no point in history has the topic of prompt service been more critical than it is right now. For many years, the standard for a business to react to a customer request was 24 hours. But today, customers’ expectations have shifted, with many presuming they’ll have an answer in a matter of minutes. While resources are limited for many field service management companies, ( particularly those involving employees), some have found that using self-service technology can help bridge gaps.
Today, we look closer at what it means to offer self-service—exploring how field service management companies can harness the technology to put the power back in customers’ hands—hiking customer satisfaction simultaneously.
If there’s one stat that underscores explicitly the change in how customers feel about brands, it’s this one: 80% of consumers now believe the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. Further, 66% expect the brands they work with to understand precisely what they need. Those two stats come from a Salesforce survey of more than 15,000 consumers and business buyers globally. The statistics also found that customers expect personalization and innovation, among other things. Fortunately for field service management businesses, self-service technology checks both of those boxes.
When it comes to using self-service within the field service management industry, the opportunities are nearly endless. Let’s start with perhaps the most obvious—scheduling. Calling a company to schedule an appointment is one of the most friction-causing points along any customer journey. Customers could potentially have to bounce around a phone tree and wait on hold to confirm a visit.
With self-service, the customer makes that same appointment on their terms through a dynamic calendar that updates in real time. This gives customers open appointment windows and allows them to schedule their visits at their leisure. Another benefit to this approach is that businesses can supply the customer with historical information. Including past service calls, repairs completed, and the technician who was previously dispatched, all while they’re making the appointment.
Field service management companies can also use their web presence or a customer portal. The portal will house things like frequently asked questions, troubleshooting documentation, or how-to videos that address common complaints. This allows customers to do it themselves instead of scheduling a service call for a seemingly simple repair.
We’ve already touched on some of this, but self-service technology can benefit businesses and customers. As mentioned, customers can avoid sitting on hold or taking time away from work to make a phone call during office hours to schedule an appointment. And, because self-service also includes troubleshooting documentation, they may not need to make an appointment—a perk that saves the customer time and money.
On the business side, the time employees would have spent answering phones and booking appointments can be used on more meaningful tasks that increase the bottom line or boost customer satisfaction scores. Additionally, field service businesses are less likely to have to dispatch technicians for simple jobs that aren’t financially viable because the customer may now be able to do it themselves. Instead, technicians can focus on larger, more profitable jobs.
Deploying self-service technology is one way to improve operations and increase customer satisfaction, but it’s not the only way. The field service management software solution from EnSight+ can also help you find new efficiencies and improve the efficacy of your mobile workforce. Book your demo today to learn more.
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