MASTERING FIELD SERVICE IN COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL SERVICES. Strategies to Boost Customer Satisfaction, Revenues and Your Bottom Line

Transcription

1 MASTERING FIELD SERVICE IN COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL SERVICES Strategies to Boost Customer Satisfaction, Revenues and Your Bottom Line

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION... 3 AMPLIFIED CUSTOMER VOICE...5 HIGHER CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS...5 THE INTERNET OF THINGS...5 PRODUCT PURCHASE...6 SERVICE ISSUE REPORTING... 7 PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE... 8 WORK ORDER CREATION AND DISPATCH...9 REPAIR...10 INVENTORY...11 WORK ORDER CLOSURE...12 ANALYZE...13 MARKET AND SELL

3 INTRODUCTION Whether you re a service organization in HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, or security monitoring, there s one constant that remains true across these industries: your technicians hold the key to higher customer satisfaction and long-term sales growth. They re on the front lines interacting with customers at their homes or offices. So, if you equip your service techs with the information and technology tools they need in the field, the more effective they will be as ambassadors for your company by solving problems, preventing equipment downtime, and making your organization look like a team of heroes to the customer. The challenge is that far too many service organizations are still hampered by paper-based and manual processes. Dispatch operators and service techs don t have ready access to the latest customer and product information, often resulting in techs arriving late to the customer s location, without the appropriate expertise, parts and tools to fix the issue the first time. Since high customer satisfaction is essential to thrive in a fiercely competitive residential and commercial service market, how do you equip your service teams with the information they need, when and where they need it, to do their jobs more efficiently and effectively? This report will help you answer these questions and give you strategies to help transform your commercial or residential service organization into a field service powerhouse. 3

4 PRODUCT PURCHASE MARKET & SELL SERVICE ISSUE/ PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE ANALYZE Service Delivery Perfected WORK ORDER CREATION & DISPATCH CLOSE REPAIR INVENTORY 4

5 Changes in technology and customer-company relationships are contributing to an increased importance of offering an elite level of service to stay competitive in your industry: Amplified Customer Voice An angry customer often speaks more loudly than a happy one. And with social media and service review websites (such as Yelp), customers have an even bigger platform to share their experience with others, with you having very little control over the dialogue. What does this mean for service? It s critical that your service team is empowered to make the customer happy through on-time arrivals, higher first-time fix rates, and proactive preventive maintenance. When you deliver exceptional service, you increase the odds that customers will turn to social media to sing your company s praises, paving the way for increased referrals and sales. Higher Customer Expectations Today, customers have become accustomed to instant service to order food delivery, get a car ride to the airport, or purchase plane tickets all with a few swipes of a smartphone. They expect instant response, on their terms, in a way that fits their schedule. What does this mean for service? To win in this new environment, service organizations must be equipped to be fast responders and be transparent with the customer about it. Customers value their time and won t settle for having to wait around at their home or office for the typical four-hour appointment window. Narrow this window and make customers an integral part of it, and you ll win the business. The Internet of Things The growth in machine-to-machine (M2M) communication technology is enabling companies to capture real-time performance and fault data on their equipment via the Internet, empowering service organizations to diagnose problems remotely and to be proactive with customers to fix those issues before the equipment actually breaks down. What does this mean for service? Show customers how you can save them money and increase equipment uptime by scheduling preventive maintenance when the equipment actually needs it based on machine data not just on a pre-set interval. In this paper, we will help you navigate these trends, providing a roadmap for how to maximize each stage of the service process, with information, tips and data that will empower you to make your residential or commercial field service organization more productive and profitable. 5

6 PRODUCT PURCHASE You ve sold and installed the product whether it s a new air conditioning unit, a building HVAC automation system, rooftop solar panel, or security-monitoring device. So, how do you build upon this momentum to secure a long-term, prosperous relationship with the customer? Start by equipping your technicians with mobile web-based technologies, which they can use in the field to quickly and easily capture the base data (such as in-service date, warranty coverage, etc.) of that equipment. Then make it easy for service techs, using ipads or other mobile devices, to present to customers various service plans, with a range of pricing, discounting and service level agreement (SLA) options. Once a customer chooses a service plan, the tech would be able to create a service contract on the spot, at the customer s location. This way, when there s a service call for that piece of equipment, your dispatchers and service techs will know precisely what warranty coverage, if any, is available. This ensures you won t give away service for free and eliminates unpleasant surprises for customers. Best Practices for Preserving Profit at the Point of Sale n Get all installed-base data and entitlement information into a cloud-based service system so call center agents and technicians can easily access it later. n Increase up-sell opportunities by giving service technicians the mobile technology and access to information they need in the field to sell service plans and uncover new product and service needs. n Ensure you know every warranty and entitlement on every part in the product that was sold to avoid warranty leakage in the future. n Boost service revenues and profits by capturing and maintaining accurate warranty renewal information. INCREASE IN EQUIPMENT SALES = GREATER DEMAND FOR SERVICE 50% OF ALL SOLAR CAPACITY EVER ADDED IN CALIFORNIA WAS INSTALLED IN 2013 SOURCE: Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) 6 According to a 2014 AHR Expo Survey, 90% of HVACR (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration) manufacturers believe sales will increase in 2014 and no one predicted sales would decrease. SOURCE:

7 SERVICE ISSUE REPORTING When an HVAC system breaks down during the middle of summer at a restaurant, every minute the unit is blowing hot air means lost sales for that business. How quickly and easily can that customer report the issue to you? And how soon can you respond to get the system up and running again? The faster you can get out there and solve the problem, the happier the customer will be. Any delays will result in longer downtime and a very frustrated customer. Since time is of the essence, make the process as seamless as possible for your customer to alert your team of any issue with their equipment. Best Practices for Rapid Response, Exceptional Customer Experience. n Empower your customers to use an online portal to report the issue and initiate a work order. n Automate the creation of a work order for certain errors or machine notifications. n Make service history easily accessible to your phone support agents. This way, if a customer does need to call, an agent has a better chance of helping solve the issue over the phone if they have the customer s service history in front of them. $1000 CAN BE SAVED BY AVOIDING A TRUCK ROLL According to research firm TSIA, avoiding a truck roll can save an average of more than $1,000. So, the first point of contact should be your call center to determine whether the customer s problem can be solved over the phone. 7

8 PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE Preventive maintenance contracts are the lifeblood for most service organizations, providing stable, recurring revenue. And when completed on time, PM s helps maximize equipment uptime, improve efficiencies (that lower operational costs), and contribute to a longer product lifecycle, which can save customers a lot of money. But if your service team misses deadlines and fails to comply with SLA s, this will negatively impact customer satisfaction and your bottom line. So, leverage technology that makes your organization smarter with scheduling PM s, in a way that minimizes truck mileage and fuel costs, while ensuring SLA compliance, making PM s a more dependable and profitable piece of your service business. Best Practices for Smarter, More Profitable PM s n Deploy an integrated technology system that enables you to schedule and complete PM s, while lowering your cost to perform those services. n Give your technicians access to your customers equipment data through mobile technologies, so they re equipped to capitalize on any opportunities to up-sell products and services while at the customer s home or office. n Perform ongoing reviews of preventive maintenance checklists based on common service issues you notice in your service and machine performance data. n Shift your service contracts from break/fix and numbers of preventive maintenance visits to contracts that guarantee business outcomes, such as hours of peak performance per day or uptime. n Shift to data-driven preventive maintenance schedules instead of conventional intervals based on the calendar, so that customers receive the service they need, only when they actually need it. 40% ANNUAL GROWTH RATE IN 5 YEARS The market for fault detection based on big-data smart building analytics will expand at a compound annual growth rate of more than 40 percent during the next five years. SOURCE: IMS Research 8

9 WORK ORDER CREATION & DISPATCH Nothing is more frustrating to customers than dealing with technicians who are unable to complete the service because they don t have the skills required for the job. Therefore, equip your call center and dispatch with real-time information to identify the best technician for the repair, who is also available to arrive at the customer s location the soonest. Look for ways to automate your work order creation and dispatch processes to make your service operations more efficient and profitable. Best Practices to Expedite Dispatch n Dispatch technicians in real time, putting critical customer data, parts inventory and ordering at the fingertips of remote technicians. n Make sure dispatchers have the right information to know which technicians are where, what skills they possess, and what parts they have to help get work orders closed faster. n Make it easy for technicians to access a full 360-degree view of the customer directly from the work order. n Provide easy access to warranty information so agents and techs can provide an accurate estimate before performing work. ADOPTION RATE OF MOBILE TOOLS BY TSIA MEMBERS INCREASED FROM % 57% TO 50% OF TSIA MEMBERS ESTABLISHED FUNDING FOCUSED ON MOBILITY TOOLS FOR FIELD SERVICES IN SOURCE: Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA): The State of Field Services

10 REPAIR You ve sent the right technician to the customer. Now it s time to repair the problem. But what happens when a technician gets stuck? He s alone, on an island. He or she doesn t have a cubicle to peek over to ask advice from another expert. What if you could give your techs remote access to the collective knowledge of all your experts, while onsite with the customer? This is where social collaboration comes in. Collaboration tools today enable real-time communication throughout a company so technicians can get the answer to their questions quickly, via their smartphones or tablets, to fix the problem the first time. Best Practices to Facilitate Collaboration, Increase First-Time-Fix Rates n Make sure your VPs and executives are actively promoting the company s social and collaboration tools, which will help technicians and managers see the value of those tools, so they ll be more likely to use them. n Build a team of champions by gathering a group of tech savvy people at the company who will kick start usage of social and collaboration tools, especially during the early days when very few people are using the tools. n Put all new product manuals or service advisories into your social tool to ensure people will log on and get exposure to what s happening in their newsfeed. COMPANIES USING SERVICEMAX S CLOUD-BASED COLLABORATIVE FIELD SERVICE SOLUTION EXPERIENCED: 17% 18% INCREASE IN FIRST-TIME-FIX RATE DECREASE IN AVERAGE REPAIR TIME Our research reveals that a lower than 50 percent level of first-time fix can be catastrophic, leading to a near 50 percent level of customer satisfaction. Ideally, organizations should strive to be in the 90 percent and above bracket leading to a similarly above 90 percent level of customer satisfaction. 10 Sumair Dutta, The Service Council SOURCE: ServiceMax Customer Survey 2014

11 INVENTORY It s the age-old dilemma: carry too much inventory, and you hurt profits; carry too little and you increase average-timeto-repair and reduce first-time fix rates. So, how do you strike the right balance? It all comes down to historical data and visibility. The more service and consumption data you have, the easier it is to predict how many replacements of what types of parts you will need. This means giving technicians access to real-time inventory information and the ability to order parts from the field, which will reduce the tendency to stockpile parts in their vans. Using a smart device for bar code scanning, technicians can transmit parts information in real time, including parts used or parts returned for repair, allowing you to have an accurate, current view of asset stocking levels and location. Best Practices for More Profitable Parts Management n Leverage service data and consumption trends to make smarter decisions about inventory purchases and distribution. n Look for ways to automate the inventory and parts process to track and monitor spare parts inventories, identify excess stock, and ensure that the right parts are available where and when they re needed. n Equip technicians to more efficiently lookup trunk stock for replacement parts, order parts (and update parts inventory) in real-time, and capture data on labor and parts used during the repair or installation. n Keep in mind that an extra truck roll to a customer site costs money and diminishes customer satisfaction, so include those significant factors in your inventory planning. 48% OF BEST-IN-CLASS FIELD SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS LEVERAGE REAL-TIME PARTS USAGE UPDATES VS. 30% FOR ALL OTHERS SOURCE: Aberdeen Group 11

12 WORK ORDER CLOSURE If your technicians aren t recording and closing work orders on-site and in real-time, you re likely dealing with delays in getting paid. So, accelerate cash flow by enabling technicians to generate pro-forma invoices on their mobile devices after completing their work. Your customers can then sign-off electronically and approve the work done, parts used and labor time spent. The technician can quickly close work orders, updating all necessary data, including service records and billing information. This way, the dispatcher can see that the work is closed and route the technician to the next job. Best practices for Accelerating Cash Flow n Integrate process based checklists into your work order closure process to guide the technician. If on a mobile device or laptop, set data validation rules that ensure all information is filled out accurately. n Capture digital signatures and finalize work-performed and billing documentation, while the technician is still onsite with the customer. n Equip technicians with the mobile technology tools they need to track labor time properly to ensure all job costs are accounted for and billed. BY 2020 GARTNER PREDICTS THAT THE MAJORITY OF E-SIGNATURES WILL HAPPEN ON MOBILE DEVICES A mobile device like an ipad or iphone makes it easy to capture a digital signature while the technician is onsite. Built-in capabilities also enable your technicians to send finalized documentation to the customer before they walk out the door. SOURCE: 12

13 ANALYZE Savvy service organizations are turning to integrated technologies that capture and analyze the data from all areas of their business from point of sale, to work order creation, to billing, to technician productivity and dispatch efficiency. Keep your finger on the pulse of your company s performance with real-time streaming updates of your business, so that your executives and service staff have the ability to easily see profits, losses, inventory levels, and service levels. Best Practices for Making Better, More Timely Business Decisions n Increase insights into the performance of field technicians and the entire service organization to improve decisionmaking. n Drill down into regional service teams to see who is performing well and where changes might need to be made. An accurate analysis of your service organization, with real-time data from the field, can help your team make key decisions to improve the customer experience and drive more profitable customer relationships. n Simplify data-entry processes to ensure you re capturing the right information. Mobile devices are a great way to ensure techs enter accurate data quickly. n Ensure your data is real-time and is informing decisions that help you change and adapt to changes in your business and customer demand. OF BEST-IN-CLASS SERVICE ORGANIZATIONS 57% VERSUS EQUIP MANAGERS WITH REAL-TIME VISIBILITY OF PERFORMANCE DATA 47% WHO DONT You can t accurately track [customer] data on paper. It s impossible. Now, we can look in the system to see the mechanical unit, determine what parts might be needed and fix that customer s problem on the first trip. Kevin Rusin, CFO at McKinley Equipment Corp SOURCE: Aberdeen Group 13

14 MARKET AND SELL You don t want your techs reporting completed job details in one system, just to return with a handwritten note for your sales team about the extended warranty the customer asked for. Or perhaps not sharing that critical information at all. It s just not efficient. Your service techs hold a lot of valuable customer information about new sales opportunities and competitors, so give them a better way to record customer feedback and ideas, on the spot. When your sales team can act immediately to make an additional sale or your marketing team has the information and feedback they need to improve lead generation, you ll build a solid foundation for converting service calls into sales growth. Best Practices to Drive Sales from Service n Incentivize your technicians to spot up-sell and cross-sell opportunities while onsite. n Transform your service organization from a cost center to a profit generator by leveraging technologies that boost technician productivity and revenue per job. n Train your service team to give sales and marketing a heads up if clients are unhappy, when customers inquire about new equipment, or if competitors threaten an account. n Facilitate information sharing among sales, marketing and service, so that share customer issues don t fall through the cracks and customers will notice the consistent care they receive no matter who shows up at their doorstep. Growth of Service as a Sales Channel ServiceMax customers have experienced: 5.4 MILLION MILLION 2020 U.S. SERVICE TECHNICIANS 6.6 MILLION 2020 U.S. SALES PEOPLE (NON-RETAIL) 22% Increase in Service Revenues SOURCE: ServiceMax Customer Survey

15 PARTS SOCIAL SCHEDULING COMMUNITIES CONTRACTS ServiceMax Powers Flawless Field Service in Commercial and Residential Services Mobile, Social and Cloud-based Complete Field Service MOBILE ANALYTICS What does flawless field service look like? 1. Complete Visibility: For the first time, service teams are gaining deep visibility into the entire service delivery operation, and it s changing the way they do business. 2. A Full Suite: Not only contract entitlements, scheduling & optimization, parts & reverse logistics, but also cuttingedge mobility, social collaboration, and real-time customer & partner communities. 3. Cloud-Based: Built on the proven Salesforce1 platform, customers get up and running fast in a low cost subscription model. 4. Access Everywhere: Mobile, anywhere access to ALL the pertinent information. CONTRACTS Increase revenue by increasing contract renewals and preventing warranty leakage SCHEDULING Minimize total cost of schedule without impacting customer satisfaction PARTS Reduce inventory costs by minimizing parts leakage and write-offs SOCIAL Ensure customer delight on every call and increase first time fix rates COMMUNITIES Ensure transparency and control to build loyalty and drive service revenue ANALYTICS Meet your profitability goals with insights on key operations metrics that drive the right decisions MOBILE Anytime, anywhere access to critical information reduces errors and decreases repair time

16 SERVICEMAX POWERS FLAWLESS FIELD SERVICE IN COMMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL SERVICES Copyright 2014 ServiceMax, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Designated trademarks and brands are the property of their respective owners.