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A recent study by US firm Software Advice, a company  offering comparisons and research for dispatch software, identified a number of insights into how the levels of service provided by home services are impacted by dispatching technology with GPS-enabled capabilities.

We spoke with Justin Guinn, the field service market researcher at Software  Advice, who conducted the study and developed an in-depth report on the topic. We discussed how, when it comes to home service providers, common customer pain points can include lengthy arrival-time windows and waiting on late technicians. We dove into how GPS-enabled software offers a solution to these pain points by providing more effective scheduling, routing and dispatching.

Field Service News: Your new study shows the impact that scheduling has on customer  satisfaction. What did you uncover?

Justin Guinn: Our study uncovered that accurate, strategic scheduling is imperative for successful field service businesses. We found that after a service provider is an hour late to an appointment, two-thirds of consumers simply won’t do business with that company again. In such a competitive market, this sort of customer attrition can kill a business.

Fortunately for service providers, proper scheduling, routing, and dispatching software directs technicians along optimised daily routes so that they most effectively get from appointment to appointment in a timely manner.

FSN: Things can always come up in the field. Is there something that service  providers can do to retain those customers if they are running late?

JG: Interestingly, we found that 73 percent of consumers are more likely to rehire a provider if they receive a notification with an updated arrival time for the technician. Clearly customers expect punctuality, but this indicates they also just want to be kept in the know. We all greatly value our time, so this makes sense. This is why many field service software offerings feature automated text messaging capabilities that do just this.

FSN: So, technology can automatically help a business keep a loyal client base?

JG: Well, to maintain loyal customer base field service businesses first and foremost need to obviously deliver quality work with great customer service. Dispatching and scheduling software isn’t going to “fix” technicians with clumsy skills and/or crummy attitudes, but, like I mentioned, it does ensure punctuality and offer an effective remedy to late technicians. The software also enables applicable service segments to schedule repeat/recurring visits while onsite with customers, ensuring retention; some systems even act as a point of sale, allowing technicians to accept payment for the current job and any newly scheduled visits.

These capabilities above are great for increasing revenue and generating customer retention, but what about growing a field service business footprint? Dispatching and scheduling software plays an important role in achieving this growth by simply enabling technicians to get more work orders completed each day. We found that 95 percent of service business saw an increase in work orders completed per technician per day. Work orders equal customers, and the more customer interactions a service business can create, the more relationships they can build and the more chances for repeat business.

FSN: Apart from customer-facing benefits or the number of work orders per day,  did you discover any other direct financial benefits of this kind of software?

JG: The other main benefit of this software comes into play by reducing overhead costs and expenses.

Our study showed that 89 percent of service companies see a decrease in fuel costs after adopting dispatching and scheduling software. It makes sense: optimised routing leads to less time spent on the road and less time spent sitting in traffic, thus less fuel being used. On top of that, our research shows that 95 percent of businesses see an increase in technician punctuality after implementing this kind of technology. This brings it back to the first point of getting mobile technicians to a job on time, thus retaining more customers.

Some of these systems can get even more granular by tracking technicians’ driving habits. For example, this capability allows the back office to see if a technician is accelerating too quickly, thus unnecessarily burning fuel. As a mobile workforce grows, so to does the impact of this feature. But no matter the workforce size, tracking and monitoring driving habits enables companies to increase safety by implementing and incentivizing driving best practices.

FSN: You had another recent report that found 54% of field service businesses  don't use any software at all to manage their business. For that majority, why do you think they're hesitant to adopt technology?

JG: A likely reason that field service software adoption rates are so low is because companies/owners/managers might be intimidated by the many software choices. So instead of springing for software, they continue going about their manual ways until it eventually just becomes too much to handle. We talk to many field service operators everyday, and this is typically the predicament they’re facing.

They’ve been operating their business with “comfortable disorganisation,” but it’s taking a toll on their professional and personal life. That’s why we try to provide a personalised shortlist of products based on the needs of their business. In a sense, we’re typically  the first step for field service operators to get their business in order and reclaim some sanity in their lives.

 

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Whether it’s buying a holiday, a car, or new gadget to play with I invariably check out reviews online and when ever possible I seek out the independent reviews written by regular folks like you and me...

Yes I know that these can be manipulated by the occasional misguided and naive marketeer or business owner (come on guys we can see through false reviews a mile off) but on the whole I find the process pretty much integral to my selection process.

I’ll also use them when selecting a field service company to come to my house and undertake some form of home maintenance. Plumbers, Electricians, Decorators etc.

Small businesses such as these have always held word of mouth close to their heart as without the resources to undertake a sophisticated marketing campaign recommendations are the lifeblood of their ongoing success. So for companies such as these the online reviews – the digital equivalent to a word of mouth recommendation are also vitally important.

Of course negative feedback has it’s value too and the savvy businesss owner will be abld to look at the recurring weaknesses and apply field service management tools like work order histories and intuitive scheduling and dispatching to try and continuously improve their service levels. By doing so they increase the chances of more positive reviews and therefore more business.

A sound theory for sure but does it actually stack up in practice?

To test the power of online reviews for SME home maintenance companies technology consultancy Software Advice surveyed home maintenance customers to determine how they used online reviews sites to select home maintenance companies and here we look at some of the key findings of the research.

Headline findings

• A majority of respondents (68 percent) say they find online reviews to be “extremely” or “very valuable” when evaluating residential service providers.
• The most important information respondents look for in online reviews is the quality of service provided (87 percent) and cost (78 percent).
• Fifty-six percent of respondents say they used online resources to find their most recent residential service provider.
• Eighty-six percent of respondents would pay more for a residential service provider with higher ratings and reviews.

Many Would Pay More for Well-Reviewed Service Provider

Perhaps the most interesting statistic that the findings unearthed was that cost was not the most significant factor in selecting a company to provide home maintenance. In fact an overwhelming majority of respondents said they would pay more for a service provider with higher rankings and better reviews, versus paying less for a provider that didn't.

In all, 86 percent of respondents said they would pay more, to some degree, for a service provider with more positive reviews. Clearly, there is real revenue-generating potential for businesses with positive online reviews.

“Consumers highly value their dollars spent, and are typically willing to pay a higher price for what they believe is a better service or product,” explains Chris Sullens, CEO of Marathon Data Systems.

“Word of mouth has [been], and always will be, one of the strongest points of persuasion for consumers; now it is just digitised, and they trust what other consumers have to say more than any marketing material they might see.”

In fact it is service standards that are being sought after the most form home maintenance providers when people are reviewing customer reviews and not cost.

Among respondents to the survey 87 percent were seeking information on the quality of services provided, while 78 percent were seeking pricing and cost information.

So whilst both are significant factors it is interesting that especially when it comes to inviting workmen into their homes they value service standards ahead of costs.

Ninety-Six Percent Find Online Reviews Moderately to Extremely Valuable

It’s also interesting to see that I am not alone in finding reviews helpful. In fact it is an almost universal habit with 96% of the respondents stating they found online reviews at least moderately valuable.

This can be broken down further with a quarter of all respondents finding the reviews ‘extremely valuable’ and just shy of half (43%) finding them very valuable.

Sullens commented the value of these online reviews stems from the snapshots they provide of businesses’ relationships with their customers.

“Putting an emphasis on customer relationships can certainly help,” he says. “If a business consistently provides high-quality services, competitive pricing and quote accuracy, positive word-of-mouth from satisfied customers will come easily.”

Some highly interesting findings there for sure and should you want to know more then you can read the full report at http://www.softwareadvice.com/field-service/industryview/online-reviews-report-2015/ 

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Research conducted by US based technology consultancy Software Advice has revealed that many field service companies—especially small to midsize residential service providers, such as cleaning services, pest control and plumbers are falling behind other business when it comes to the technology they deploy to run their operations on a day to day basis.

The research, which had well over 8,000 responses from random adults who have used residential services within the United States, identified that despite a wide range of software solutions designed specifically for field service being available, many companies have yet to adopt such modern systems.

Indeed a 2014 Software Advice field service BuyerView report indicated that 54 per cent of field service companies, that could be potential software buyers, are still using manual methods for managing their business. Similarly a Field Service News research report identified 48 per cent of companies were using manual tools.

The benefits of moving towards a digital workflow for field service companies are well documented (not least amongst these pages) however, the benefits for the customers of field service are also great and it is in this area that the Software Advice research focussed.

Here we explore some of the key findings of the research...

1. Customers are more likely to select a provider that can track their field service technicians.

The first area the survey addressed was how much more likely customers were to select a field service company based on the types of technology they use. The results showed that there was a positive correlation between the technology being implemented and the likelihood of gaining new business.

Well over half (58 per cent) of the respondents stated the use of technician tracking technology would “somewhat increase likelihood” to hire a field service company whilst over a quarter (28 per cent) stated it would “greatly increase likelihood” to hire that company.

Of course one of the main benefits of implementing this type of technology is that field service companies are able to provide far more accurate timeframes for the arrival of their field service operatives. In today’s busy world the difference between an accurate time slot or the traditional ‘some point between 8am and 6pm’ can be a huge benefit for customers.

According to Sam Pillar, CEO and co-founder at Jobber, one beneficial technician-tracking capability field service software may offer is geofencing. This technology acts quite literally like a digital “fence,” enabling businesses to set boundaries for service, create alerts upon entry and exit to and from these boundaries and automatically notify customers when their technician is nearby.

As Pillar explains, “If you're scheduled to do a job at 2 p.m., but at five minutes to 2 p.m., you’re still 10 miles away, you’d be able to automatically send a text message to a customer saying you’re going to be a little late."

In addition to improving customer experience and satisfaction, there are organizational benefits of integrating this tracking technology. “If [the technician says] that they were at a job and the customer says they weren’t, you can verify this; or, if they get in an accident, you can see exactly where they were,” Pillar explains.

2. Customer portals in field service are something we must get right

One of the most polarising sections of the research was the responses around customer portals.

Whilst access to an online portal for self-service tasks such as scheduling and bill paying had the second-strongest positive impact on respondents’ likelihood to hire a field service company the data also indicated that an online portal could have the most negative impact in customers eyes.

In fact 5 per cent of respondents indicated that having a customer portal function would "somewhat decrease" the likelihood of them selecting a company, whilst 12 per cent stated it would or "greatly decrease" the likelihood of hiring that company. Such mixed responses would suggest that when implemented properly online portals can enrich the customer experience—but when implemented poorly, they can severely detract from it.

 

Of those respondents who indicated a preference for customer portals, 55 per cent stated that they would use “online bill pay” more than any of the other functions listed. Another popular function was ‘online scheduling’ which exactly half of respondents indicated they would use.

3. Customer perception of technology in field service

The next section of the research focussed on consumers’ perception of how well field service companies were deploying technology and how this impacted on the customer experience.

41 per cent of respondents indicated that the companies they have hired previously had done an “average” job of using technology to improve the customer experience they deliver. 39 per cent stated their provider uses technology to improve their service offering either “somewhat” or “very well”. Leaving a minority who say in their experience field service providers leverages technology “poorly” to some degree.

It's clear that more customers have a positive experience with a field service provider's software than a negative one. Pillar elaborates on what a positive experience with field service software should look like.

“If we [software developers] are doing our job well in building great technology for these businesses [to use] in serving their customers, then we’re doing it in such a way that it stays out of the way,” he says. “The end consumer shouldn’t really notice. There shouldn’t be a situation where a field service technician is fumbling with an iPad or an Smart phone to try and get a bit of information recorded, or to pluck information about a job. It should be very quick and easy.”

 

If the proper use of software is invisible, it’s probably very apparent when a provider is not using software properly: Processes tend to be slower and more inconvenient for customers. As Pillar says, the right software offers real, operational improvements that benefit the business owner. And the end result of these improvements is better customer service.

“The end consumer sees the benefits in more efficient work; an industry that is, overall, faster and more competitive; and, ultimately, they should start seeing greater price competitiveness as a result, because [providers] are able to do more with less,” he adds.

You can read the full report from Software Advice for free by clicking here. 

 

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