A distinct window of opportunity for service evolution and increased service revenue generation

Apr 15, 2021 • Features • Digital Transformation

In the final article in this series of excerpts from a brand new white paper authored by Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News published in partnership with PTC, we ask if the window for opportunity to gain competitive advantage by implementing remote services is closing every day...

This feature is just one short excerpt from an exclusive Field Service News White Paper published in partnership with PTC

www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.

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There will be a limited window of opportunity to gain a competitive advantage as the industry transitions to remote service as a prominent mechanism of service delivery...

Across this series, we have explored several different facets of the emerging conversation around remote service delivery. As we referenced in the introduction to this paper, this is a conversation that has been developing for many years, yet as a direct result of the pandemic, it is a conversation many field service organizations are desperately trying to get up to speed on as quickly as possible.

The unprecedented year we have just been through has in many ways had something of a democratizing effect, bringing the majority of companies onto the same page, or if not the same page, at least the same chapter of the same book. In other ways, the pandemic has had a galvanizing impact on the field service sector.

A Field Service News Research study found that prior to the pandemic, 64% of companies were already on a digital transformation roadmap. However, two-thirds of those companies stated that their digital transformation planning had been accelerated as a direct result of the pandemic. Our industry has been on its current evolutionary path for some time. However, we have suddenly taken a quantum leap forward out of necessity.

Yet, to paraphrase the old adage slightly, necessity is the mother of innovation, and for the innovative and forward-looking field service organization, there is potentially an excellent window of opportunity within the short-term to make significant competitive gains.

Firstly, there is a strong likelihood that our economy will become heavily service-centric within the next few years. The historical data would undoubtedly appear to suggest this is likely to be the case and has proven to be so in each recession since the second world war. Indeed, in the last recession, companies that offered critical services were able to outperform the market in many indices including the S&P 500

Add to this that we were largely gravitating to a more service-centric society in general as the millennial generation becomes the key economic driving force and the prediction that our economy will remain service-centric, for the short-term at least, appears to be a reasonable assertion.

"For those who move fast, there will undoubtedly be a period of opportunity to establish a competitive advantage in this period..."

Similarly, as we have seen across this paper, the data supports the theory that there is currently an emerging best-in-class category when it comes to remote service delivery.

Currently, there is a clear opportunity for an organization to join the ranks of those leading the way in this area by investing in the type of technology stacks we explored earlier. However, it should also be noted that as we are seeing an unparalleled acceleration of digital transformation, it is likely that the gap that has emerged in 2020 between leading-edge adopters and the rest of the pack, will be dramatically reduced in 2021.

For those who move fast, there will undoubtedly be a period of opportunity to establish a competitive advantage in this period.

As we outlined earlier in this paper there is a clear correlation between service excellence and bottom line results. For those that move too slow, they may find themselves facing a significant competitive disadvantage, and the whole game is being played on fast-forward currently. The stakes here are raised even further when we consider that the introduction of remote service is not just the introduction of a new service delivery mechanism.

As discussed across this paper, many field service companies are likely to see the fallout of the pandemic as an opportunity to clarify and redesign their service offering to better align to the value proposition they put to the customer. Weaving remote service delivery across their whole service strategy, as opposed placing it adjacent to existing service portfolios that rapidly became antiquated overnight in 2020.

In the short term, this could lead to greater profit margins, as there is a direct correlation between better-perceived service and a willingness to pay more.

As leading Customer Service Strategist Shep Hyken outlined in an article on Forbes “68% of customers would pay more to the company that provides great service. 33% percent would pay 1-9% more. Twenty-seven percent would pay 10-20% more and, 8% would be willing to pay over 20% more if the service was great.”

However, perhaps the more pressing concern for those companies left playing catch up is the increasing shift towards servitization. Field Service News Research revealed that in 2020 two-thirds of service companies are now offering at least some form of servitized or advanced service offering.

One of the long-acknowledged benefits of servitization is the engendering of deeper customer loyalty, as service providers become embedded within their customers’ workflows, in essence becoming a critical cog within their production wheel. Could the gains made by service organizations now

potentially see them leverage competitive advantage today, while building a platform for sustained success tomorrow? If this is the case, the further a company falls behind their peers, the harder it will be for them to catch up.

And the market sentiment within our sector is positive, which would suggest many companies will be adopting a more aggressive position in the next 12 months. According to Field Service News Research, despite all of the hardships of 2020, over three-quarters of field service companies envision growth, rather than consolidation in the coming 12 months.

So, for those field service companies who are agile, forward-thinking and growth-focused, now could be a unique opportunity to not only invest in digital transformation but to do so in a strategic manner that will allow them to be well-positioned in the emerging new normal, where remote service delivery will be a crucial battleground.

For those that, fall too far behind, the recovery may never come at all.

The question I put to you as a service leader, is whether your organisation is ready to redefine your service delivery and where will remote sit within that?

This feature is just one short excerpt from an exclusive Field Service News White Paper published in partnership with PTC

www.fieldservicenews.com subscribers can read the full white paper now by hitting the button below.

If you are yet to subscribe you can do so for free by hitting the button and registering for our complimentary subscription tier FSN Standard on a dedicated page that provides you instant access to this white paper PLUS you will also be able to access our monthly selection of premium resources as soo as you are registered.