As the serial crises of 2020 redefine customer engagement, customer service leaders are transforming their operations, accelerating digital transformation, and overhauling their workforce management strategies. That’s according to Salesforce’s fourth State of Service research report, released today, which provides a snapshot of the priorities, challenges, and trajectories of customer service teams around the world. This edition is based on Salesforce’s largest and most global survey of customer service agents, decision makers, mobile workers, and dispatchers: over 7,000 respondents across 33 countries.

“We knew based on our previous research that businesses no longer view their service and support operations as cost centers, but as strategic assets that benefit revenue and retention as customer expectations soar,” said Bill Patterson, EVP and GM of B2B CRM at Salesforce. This research helps us and our customers understand how the playbook is changing, and what the best teams do differently from their competitors as they move back into growth mode.” [CTT]

From the channels they use to serve customers to the spaces employees work from to the skill sets agents require, there’s not much that hasn’t changed for customer service organizations. Here are some key takeaways.

 

The pandemic has exposed customer service shortcomings, but leaders are taking decisive action

The impacts of COVID-19 were a wake up call for customer service organizations used to the status quo. As workers stayed at home and customers asked questions for which there were no answers, customer service leaders were faced with conundrums with far reaching consequences for their teams.

Eighty-eight percent of service professionals say the pandemic exposed technology gaps, and 86% say the same for service channel gaps as customers flocked away from physical locations and towards digital methods of engagement. Teams also found shortcomings that went beyond the obvious. For example, 87% realized that their existing policies and protocols — such as cancellation fees for events that were prohibited by public health measures — were not suited for current circumstances.

Faced with these challenges, service teams and their leaders are making transformations that will endure beyond the current crisis. Eighty-three percent of service organizations have changed policies to provide customers with more flexibility, for instance, and 78% have invested in new technology as a result of the pandemic.

“Leaders are taking this time to rethink the value of experiences and reimagine engagement with customers and employees alike,” said Brian Solis, Global Innovation Evangelist at Salesforce.”It’s not just about technology. Sometimes technology is at its best when invisible. We’re going to see significantly more agile, innovative, and relevant organizations emerge from this crisis that provide modern and sought-after experiences that change the game for everyone.”

 

Digital transformation is accelerating for customers and employees alike

A related research report shows the extent to which customers have shifted to digital, as well as how that shift is expected to persist. Consumers and business buyers estimate that six out of ten of their interactions with companies will occur online in 2021, up from 42% in 2019.

This uptick has coincided with a surge in adoption of various digital channels by service organizations. Video support saw the highest rate of increase in adoption since 2018 (+42%), followed by live chat (+35%) and messenger apps such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger (+29%). Conversely, the share of organizations offering in-person service and support fell by 16%.

The digital transformation of customer service goes beyond the increased use of digital channels. Service teams also ramped up their adoption of artificial intelligence by 32% since 2018, and their adoption of chatbots shot up by 67%.

"It's never been more important to remove friction from every user experience." says Jim Roth, Executive Vice President of Customer Support at Salesforce. "In our personal lives, we so often solve issues on our own with a simple Google search. We reach out to our friends and family on our preferred communication channels, during a time that's good for us. When we interact with companies, we expect the same level of easy, seamless interactions. If a company makes it too hard for customers to engage, they may become former customers."

 

Service teams are being challenged by a new era of workforce engagement

Customer service workforces, rooted in contact centers, were spun into upheaval as stay at home orders spread across the world and social distancing became part of daily life. Over half (54%) of global customer service professionals worked from home during 2020, and only 43% expect to return to their normal workplace in 2021.

The shift to remote work has not impacted productivity as much as some may assume, with a majority (72%) of service agents agreeing they have all the tools and technology they need to work remotely. But as 54% of organizations experienced increased case volume, many of them have brought on contractors (42%) or employees from other departments (62%) to help. Just 25% of service professionals say their organizations excel at training such employees from afar, and even fewer (19%) say the same for their ability to onboard these employees in the first place.

 

Training is a focus as requisite skill sets evolve

Particularly during a crisis, the role of a customer service agent can no longer be limited to closing tickets. Agents are now expected to be knowledgeable, consultative, and above all, empathetic to customers’ unique needs and circumstances. A mix of hard and soft skills — communication, listening, and product knowledge — are in the highest demand. What’s more, service organizations accelerated their tracking of revenue more than any other metric since 2018 (up 57%), putting new expectations for sales savviness on agents’ plates.

Despite tightened budgets, service organizations by-and-large continue to invest in training programs and infrastructure, with a particularly significant bump in the share of teams with access to on-demand training (61%). Far from an entry level position, customer service agents see their roles as providing increasing opportunity even amidst an economic downturn. Sixty-seven percent of agents say they have a clear career path, up from 59% in 2018.

“You’re going to see more blurred lines between different roles moving forward,” predicted Salesforce Global Growth Evangelist Tiffani Bova. “This isn’t new, but it’s accelerating. It’s why so many companies have realized that ‘customer success’ is a more appropriate term than ‘customer service,’ especially when they’ve committed to being more customer-centric. Service has to be part of growth strategies. That’s when customer success truly has a significant impact on the bottom line.”

 

Field service is thriving, even amid a pandemic

Over the summer of 2020, Salesforce found that 70% of consumers, including 67% of Americans) still preferred in-person appointments where on-site support was a must, such as appliance repairs or internet installs, with the remainder opting for digital alternatives. Accordingly, three-quarters of decision makers with field service continue to see significant revenue from their operations and nearly seven in ten (69%) continue to make significant investments in their mobile workers through tactics such as additional hiring, training, technology investment.

Field Service News Analysis:

Having had access to a selection of the key data relating to the service sector in the UK, some additional key findings Field Service News has identified that will be of interest to Field Service Directors include: 

In response to the pandemic:

• 82% of service teams say they’ve shifted workflows/processes
• 85% of service teams say they’ve changed policies to provide more flexibility to customers
• 60% of service decision makers say they’ve invested in new service technology

Agents’ ability to find information needed to do their job:

• 83% of agents can remotely access all the data and information they need
• 57% of service teams have brought in employees from other departments to work in service and support roles
• 49% of agents see a clear path for career growth at their job
• 61% of service decision makers say they’re making significant investments in agent training

Field Service spotlight:

• 76% of service decision markets say field service is a key part of their overall strategy
• 68% of service decision makers say field service drives significant revenue for their company

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Digital Transformation @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/blog/tag/digital-transformation
• Read more about the impact of the pandemic on the field service sector @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/en-gb/covid-19
• Read more key research into the the key trends within field service sector @ https://research.fieldservicenews.com/
• Follow Salesforce on twitter @ https://twitter.com/salesforce
• Find out more about the solutions Salesforce provide to the field service sector @ https://www.salesforce.com/uk/products/service-cloud/field-service/
• Read more features and news relating to Salesforce on Field Service News @ https://www.fieldservicenews.com/hs-search-results?term=salesforce

 

Things seem to be slowly loosening up.  How is your service and support team gearing for how to best support your customers moving forward?  Would you like to know what your peers are thinking? Dave Bennet, VP RevTwo and his colleagues are hosting a survey to assess how we are approaching building the new normal. Here he outlines their thinking... 

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Take part in the survey now by clicking the following link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/fieldserviceprioritiespostCOVID19 

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Building the New Normal of Field Service

As we talk to service organizations, different technologies are getting a closer look now more than ever. We can group their post-COVID technology thinking into these areas:

1. Do more Remotely. There are a bunch of tools out there that enable an expert to talk to and see what someone in front of a machine is doing. They can use their own expertise to tell the user what to do. Some are just using the equivalent of Apple’s FaceTime.
2. Artificial Intelligence. Using AI to help call center agents, field service engineers and even end users to help solve problems, with the goal of reducing site visits and improving repair efficiency.  Some AI solutions focus on call center, some focus on the end user.  Some are web based, some aren’t.  Some can be used offline. Some use bot technology. 
3. Augmented Reality/Merged Reality. There are tools that enable an expert far away to actually draw or input on a screen with a person in front of a machine so they can not only tell the user what to do but show them how to do it.  
4. Building up Organizational knowledge. Companies that don’t didn’t have troubleshooting guides for their equipment are now building them. Some are beefing up their knowledge bases so that they have articles that provide more reach and cover more problems.  Some companies are actually building their own “learning tools”.
5. There is even more of an emphasis on implementing more training and apprenticeship programs. The Silver Tsunami was seen as a challenge before COVID.  Now the pandemic has brought this problem to the forefront.  How to leverage expertise, from supporting customers to training customers and technicians, will be an important component of any strategy moving forward.

As a technology partner for service organizations, we have also noticed that buyer behavior is a little more uneven than before.  Some organizations have decided to “pull in their horns” and wait for things to settle down.  These organizations are generally waiting to see what the others do.  The “Early Adaptors” are rapidly investing in these technologies because they have always been the first to buy.

The founders of RevTwo have more than 80 years’ collective experience working with service and support organizations such as yours.  We certainly have our own opinions on what you should be doing to adapt to the post-COVID world. 

But we (and everyone else) want to know what you think.  So we put together a simple 10 question survey to try and find out.  It timed out at about 2.5 minutes to complete.  Please take the time to do so, and we will publish the results in our next post.  Your organization as well as your customers can benefit by understanding how the rest of us are planning to deal with this new reality.

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Take part in the survey now by clicking the following link https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/fieldserviceprioritiespostCOVID19 

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Further Reading: 

• Read the exclusive fieldservicenews.com eBook Ten Thoughts for Service Leaders Planning Recovery @ www.fieldservicenews.com/White-Papers/10-thoughts-for-recovery.pdf
• Read more about the impact of Covid-19 on Field Service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/en-gb/covid-19
• Read more about remote assistance in field service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/remote+assistance
• Visit the RevTwo website @ revtwo.com
• Read more about Artificial Intelligence in field service @ www.fieldservicenews.com/artificial+intelligence

Research by Zebra indicates firms will increase use of rugged devices in next five years.

The use of rugged mobile devices will increase significantly amongst field service providers over the next five years, a study has revealed.

 

Study shows Rugged Computers will remain key to field service management

Research by Zebra has found rugged tablets and rugged smartphones will be the most prevalent type of enterprise device for service companies globally.

The study surveyed 1,200 key decision makers across the telecommunications, manufacturing, construction, mining and agricultural industries revealing 93 per cent of those surveyed will adopt rugged mobile devices by 2025.

Currently, 76 per cent of service providers use mobile devices instead of laptops and 86 per cent agreed that the advent of faster 4G and 5G networks will influence investment in technologies, with nine in ten providers indicating they intend to specifically utilise remote monitoring and reporting.

Alex Cooper, Director of Government and Critical Field Service Technologies at Zebra Technologies says rugged devices will form a key part of service strategy going forward. "With increased focus on streamlining workflows and getting tasks done right the first time, service providers in the telecommunications and technical industries are increasingly, equipping their front-line workers with mobile technologies," he said. "Faster mobile connectivity, combined with purpose-built rugged devices and advanced applications, will enable enterprises to keep essential services uninterrupted, safe and efficient."

The research is very much in line with the findings of previous research by fieldservicenews.com that also identified the crucial role that rugged hardware continues to play in field service management. The essential mission-critical nature of field service delivery demands that we empower our field service engineers and technicians with the tools that can allow them to meet the ever-increasing demands of both customers and the boardroom.

While in some environments consumer grade devices may be suitable, the truth remains that the durability, additional battery life and enterprise level security that is baked into rugged tablets, laptops and smart phones makes rugged the pragmatic choice for field service organisations. 

Study shows Machine Learning, Cloud and Process Automation key part of software.

The application software sector is undergoing profound and rapid change, according to data and analytics firm GlobalData.

The company’s latest report ‘Tech, Media, & Telecom Trends 2020 – Thematic Research’ reveals how the value was historically all in the application itself but is now driven by the integration of software. Listed below are the top application software technology trends, identified in the study:

 

Cloud Computing

The cloud is an important model for IT resource delivery. The growth of application programming interfaces (APIs) has made sharing data easier and encouraged the development of new applications. A new wave of platform services will use artificial intelligence (AI) to increase operational efficiency and automate workflow controls. Advanced platforms will enable intelligent apps and improve user experience. 

 

Process automation:

Process automation refers to robotic process automation (RPA), in which new developer technologies will help shore up various phases within the application lifecycle. RPA uses AI, low-code platforms, and software robotics to automate manual processes. Industrial IT providers will continue to invest in RPA innovation.

 

Machine learning:

Machine learning is a high priority for businesses everywhere. There are relatively few AI specialists, and developing a model is a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. As the market matures, enterprises will incorporate data from a variety of sources into their machine learning models.

 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) libraries:

To overcome the skills gap, vendors are designing products specifically for people without data science skills. Vendors are offering translation services, speech-to-text, natural language generation, image recognition, and video analysis to non-AI specialists. 

Data will become a key differentiator, and an enterprise’s ability to manage and glean insights from it.

 

Conversational platforms:

Conversational platforms employ a variety of technologies to enable human-like interactions with computer systems. Virtual personal assistants like Amazon’s Alexa or Google’s Assistant can schedule appointments, provide weather updates, and play music based on voice commands. In 2020, application platform providers will develop user interface (UI) tools to support advanced conversational platforms.

 

Open source AI:

AI relies heavily upon open source (OS) technologies. Google's machine learning framework, TensorFlow, is a prime example of this trend. Released via the Apache OS license in 2015, TensorFlow is currently available to developers across most public cloud platforms. Investment in OS AI technologies will proceed apace, particularly among vendors selling both open and proprietary technologies.

 

Augmented reality (AR):

AR allows the user to see the real world overlaid with a layer of digital content. Having come to worldwide attention in 2016 with Pokémon Go, the next two years will be pivotal for AR. Its chances of crossing over to the mass consumer and corporate markets will be determined by the richness and variety of AR content, the development of smartphone applications, and the arrival of all-in-one glasses. 

 

In the first part of a new series of features in which we will explore the latest exclusive field service research findings, we explore how KPIs are changing in a world of servitization, IoT and changing demographics... 

The shifting sands of Field Service Management

In a new series of articles by Field Service News Research, the current use of Key Performance Indicators used by field service organisations is assessed and the current trends within this area are identified. 

The independent research carried out by Field Service News in late 2019 sits agains a backdrop of a rapidly changing world in which field service organisations operate with major industrial trends such as servitization taking hold and new emergent technologies such as the Internet of Things and Augmented Reality shifting the way field service organisations are approaching the mission critical role of field service. 

 

The Average State of Play in Field Service Today

In the first part of this research analysis we discuss the critical headline finding of the research, which was that the data revealed that the most common practice amongst field service companies is to measure between 4 and 7 KPIs. However, the data does also show that we are beginning to see a trend in this number increasing. 

The research also reveals that move from field service being a cost-centre within an organisation to becoming a profit centre is now almost entirely complete, and this too has, of course, had an impact on the metrics field service companies are actively measuring.

The fact that just under a fifth of companies now identify a KPI based around profit as the most critical KPI they measure for their business is another signifier of this.

However, perhaps more crucially, we see the shift in importance from field service KPIs being purely operationally focussed to being far more focused on delivering customer satisfaction. Indeed, the shift towards a customer-centric approach to service is undoubtedly beginning to take hold.

 

Click here to check out part one of this research analysis in our dedicated Field Service News Research channel 

 

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 Want to know more? If you want to find out more about this research there is a full research report available for field service subscribers. Simply click the link below to access the full report now! 

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Research forecasts IoT gateways, routers and modems shipments will hit 8.0 million by 2023.
Berg Insight has released new findings about the market for cellular IoT gateways, routers and modems.
More than 3.4 million cellular IoT gateways were shipped globally during 2018, at a total market value of approximately US$ 921 million. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.5 percent, annual shipments are expected to reach 8.0 million in 2023. Cellular IoT gateways are standalone devices intended for connecting machines to a cellular network.

These include general-purpose cellular gateways, routers and modems that are enclosed in a chassis and have at least one input/output port. Trackers, telematics devices and other specialised devices are excluded from this report.

North American vendors dominate the cellular IoT gateway and router market. Cradlepoint, Cisco, Sierra Wireless, CalAmp and Digi International are the largest vendors worldwide. Combined, these five vendors generated close to US$ 500 million in annual revenues from cellular IoT gateway and router sales during 2018, accounting for a market share of 53.3 percent. Other important vendors include Multitech Systems, Systech and Encore Networks in the US, InHand Networks, Robustel and NetComm in the Asia-Pacific region, and HMS Networks, Advantech B+B SmartWorx, Matrix Electrónica, NetModule, Eurotech, Westermo and Option in Europe. The European and Asia Pacific markets are fragmented with a large number of small and medium sized players that generate annual revenues in the range of US$ 3–10 million. The North American market is dominated by a handful of major vendors, largely due to entry barriers in the form of carrier certifications required for cellular devices in the region.

“North America experienced the fastest growth globally during 2018, driven by deployments in the public safety, transportation and retail sectors”, said Fredrik Stalbrand, Senior Analyst, Berg Insight. The region has also been subject to significant merger and acquisition activity in recent time. “Deal activity has been low over the past decade but has picked up since the beginning of 2018”, continued Mr. Stålbrand. He mentions as examples the recent deals such as Lantronix’ purchase of Maestro Wireless Solutions in July 2019 and most recently Digi International’s announced acquisition of Opengear in November 2019. In Europe, Westermo acquired the remote access specialist Virtual Access in November 2019, expanding the company’s presence in the utilities sector. “Several players continue to have inorganic growth as a strategy and further consolidation can be expected among IoT gateway vendors in 2019–2020”, concluded Mr. Stalbrand.

AI to support automation, support labour shortage and drive upskilling as Industry 4.0 accelerates, study shows.

Americans abide by a “three strikes and you’re out” policy when it comes to shopping, according to new research...

In the first part of this exclusivefieldservicenews.com  research report we explored how many KPIs field service companies are tracking and how often we should be reviewing these metrics. Now in the concluding part of this report we explore how companies are adapting their KPIs in the face of a series of mega-trends that are  reshaping our very sector...