It’s one thing to set goals for the new year. It’s another thing entirely to reach those goals. But if there’s one goal field service companies should follow through on this year it’s providing top-notch customer service.
Easier said than done? At PTC.com, Aly Pinder, senior research associate at the Aberdeen Group, suggests four ways field service companies can improve customer service — and, as a result, the bottom line.
- Organization culture: “Excellent service requires an excellent culture within the organization,” says Pinder. “Service is no longer just the responsibility of the service team (i.e., field service). All functions that have an impact on the customer must work together to ensure service exceeds customer expectations.”
- Customer engagement: “Should technicians sell more or just service? Are customers happy if a technician just fixes the (current) problem and then leaves? Now more so than ever organizations understand that the field technician is the face of the company, and someone who often has the most customer engagement.”
- Parts pricing: “The value of the part is often wasted on the shelves of the warehouse. In field service, pricing remains an underused solution. Currently only 23% of the companies are using a parts pricing solution, but an additional 21% plan to transition to a pricing solution, suggesting a sharp increase in the future,” Pinder says, citing recent Aberdeen research.
- Moving from product-centric to service-centric: The majority of customers will pay extra for premium service, according to initial results from Aberdeen’s 2014 Field Service survey. And that’s not all. “Aberdeen will provide context around value-added services and the importance of not just providing service because a product was sold to a customer but instead delivering valuable services to customers who are willing to pay for this value.
h/t PTC
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