How Field Service Technicians Can Improve Customer Retention Rates

Discover what field service management is. Learn how to manage field-based workers effectively and increase workforce efficiency in this BigChange guide.

If your main focus is on acquiring new customers, you should know that you’ll spend five times more than you would by simply retaining your existing clientele. In fact, your current customers are also more likely to be loyal to your brand, try new products and spend more in the long run. 

So, to survive in today’s turbulent, post-pandemic market, you must prioritise customer retention. But, with your technicians — the faces of your organisation — scattered across the country, how can you ensure that they’re representing your company appropriately? 

The answer lies with job management software. 

Arming your field-based workforce with the latest technology provides them with everything they need to do an outstanding job every time.

With this in mind, in this article, we’ll explore the advantages of using a job management platform and share how it leaves a lasting impression of customer satisfaction. 

Let’s jump in.

WHAT IS FIELD SERVICE CUSTOMER RETENTION?

Field service customer retention is a strategy field service management businesses use to keep more customers. Retaining existing customers is fundamental to both short-term and long-term success. 

Some of the key reasons include:

• It’s often cheaper to retain existing customers than getting new ones. 
• Loyal customers tend to be repeat customers.
• It’s easier to cross-sell and up-sell to existing customers.
• Happy customers are more likely to lead to new customers through referrals. 

📖You can read more about the benefits of customer retention here.

HOW YOUR TECHNICIANS CAN IMPROVE CUSTOMER RETENTION

🔍89% of companies see customer experience as a critical factor in driving customer loyalty and retention.

Therefore, your technicians must be aware of how to deliver excellent service.

Here are our top three tips:

1. BOOST FIRST-TIME FIX RATES ⚒

🔍Field service organisations that achieve a first-time fix rate of over 70% boast an impressive 86% customer retention rate.

Customers don’t want to have to wait around all day for a technician to arrive, only to find out that they can’t fix the issue and will have to come back. 

Fortunately, with job management software, enhancing your first-time fix rates has never been simpler. 👇

Once a customer makes an appointment via the self-service booking system, your back-office team can assign a technician based on location, skillset, job constraints and vehicle type. And by assigning the best person for the job, you can ensure that they’ll complete the project in one appointment.

Plus, many state-of-the-art platforms link with your inventory to give you complete visibility over your stock and assets. As such, your team can simply assign parts and tools directly to a job, meaning that your technicians will never turn up unprepared. 

Upon their arrival at the client’s location, your technicians can use their mobile devices to find out everything they need to know about the job and see what equipment they have available. Instead of having to reschedule another appointment to fix an issue, they can focus on doing what they do best. 

2. OPERATE COMPLIANTLY 🔐

Now, more than ever, customers are aware of the importance of proper health and safety measures.

🔍For example, according to the BBC, 40% of Britons want to keep wearing masks in shops and on public transport permanently, indicating that many people are still uncomfortable returning to ‘normal’.

Even without COVID in the picture, proper health and safety measures are critical to ensuring your workers carry out their jobs safely and that there will be no severe repercussions further down the line. That’s where job management software comes in.

You can set mandatory workflows in the system that your technicians must follow before they’re permitted to carry out any work or access their timesheets. They can fill out the forms and risk assessments from their mobile devices and send the results to your back office instantly, providing you with a thorough record for future reference.

If there are any hazards that could jeopardise the job, your team can mitigate the issue and enable the work to continue without any delays. Using technology to remove roadblocks and improve health and safety measures will give you and your customers peace of mind that the work will be completed on time and to a high standard. 

3. INVOICE INSTANTLY 🧾

🔍On average, it takes around 25 days for a small-to-mid-sized company to process a single invoice manually.

Unfortunately, not only can slow invoicing methods lead to late payments, but they’re also inconvenient for your customers, who will have to wait weeks to pay for a service. 

In contrast, your technicians can handle the invoicing process from their smart devices when you use job management technology. Once the work is complete, they can pull through pre-existing information about the job for an accurate cost and send it to your customer for approval in seconds.

Customers will also appreciate the convenient payment methods that modern technology provides. For example, with a platform such as BigChange, people can pay using credit cards, debit cards, bank transfers, direct debits and eWallets. 

Making the invoicing and payment process straightforward will help you stand out against competitors that rely on outdated manual methods. As a result, customers will want to use your business time and time again. 

ARMING YOUR FIELD-BASED WORKERS WITH TECHNOLOGY IS THE KEY TO RETAINING CUSTOMERS

🔍According to PWC, 46% of people will abandon a company if they aren’t knowledgeable. 

Thankfully, technology has the power to ensure that your technicians have all the knowledge they need to hit the ground running every time they head to a new job. With things like service history to lean on, strong first-time fix rates, and even just quick arrival times, customer loyalty and retention rates will rocket 🚀

With the BigChange Mobile Application, your technicians can communicate with your back-office and customers in real-time. They will also have access to a range of valuable features, such as:

✅ Expenses log

✅ Photo and signature capture

✅ Stock and equipment quantities

✅ Risk assessments

✅ Customer relationship manager

✅ Timesheets

With so much information available at the tap of a button, you can guarantee that your technicians will leave a favourable impression on your clientele.

YOUR CUSTOMER RETENTION RATE WILL SKYROCKET WITH BIGCHANGE

All the essential information your business could need at the click of a button.

BigChange’s field service management system gives you a 360˚ view of every account, contact site and contract. Deliver positive customer experiences at every level thanks to an array of dynamic product features.

Want to find out more? See how BigChange can make your business grow stronger, arrange a free demo today.