The report, Secrets to Optimize Field Service for Better Customer Experience, written by Aberdeen analyst Aly Pinder, revealed that top performers exceed customer expectations and SLA goals in their efforts to retain valuable customers, and that customer satisfaction is a leading contributor to their success.
Streamlining service in the field and improving efficiency are key objectives of today’s executives, the report stated. Customer experience is a top priority, and organisations are leveraging analytics to drive quality and enhance customer interactions. More than 50 per cent of the organisations surveyed say they use performance data to evaluate the effectiveness of their service.
The field service organisation traditionally has been evaluated based on operational metrics such as workforce utilisation and overtime costs.
This model worked best when field service pursued a break/fix strategy but is no longer the only path to service differentiation and success, the report found. Customer experience must now be at the centre of the entire service operation’s strategy.
Organisations meeting 80 per cent of their customer service requirements for issue resolution times on average are able to retain 12 per cent more customers than those that meet only half of their customer requirements, the report says. With service a key factor in customer loyalty and a leading indicator of field service success, it is critical that companies deliver on what they’ve promised, when they’ve promised it. For businesses with mobile workers in the field, it becomes even more important to achieve excellence in delivering services
