Jobs, parts, change requests and work orders can quickly take their toll on the unprepared field service business. The sheer amount of data one business has to track, especially at scale, can quickly become a nightmare without a good management plan. And surprisingly, some companies might still be using a paper system! Yeah, those thin sheets that come from trees. Businesses that still rely on a paper record system are missing out on some serious productivity benefits and field service metrics with a computer-based record-keeping system.
Beyond that, there are also the benefits of SaaS, or software as a service, like FieldConnect. Paper records, especially when combined over many years, are a large and cumbersome pile of heavy material to manage. Physical space is also of concern since most people keep customer records for an average of 7 years. Besides from a matter of convenience, whichever form you choose, there needs to be an easy system of record collection and migration. You’ll need to collect those records and then migrate them to their eventual home.
The true importance of maintaining great customer records is often overlooked. The records we keep today will help us complete jobs, collect payments, and better serve our clients tomorrow.
How Better Records Makes Happier Customers
If it’s not already obvious, we love talking about data collection. It’s one of the few things that can truly cripple a business if left unchecked or unmanaged. For this guide, we ditched our hardhats for thinking caps to see if we can finally set the records straight.
Customer History
It’s been said that a great salesman knows their client, their kids, and the name of the family pet. In the days of door-to-door sales, keeping great customer records helped to know who was buying what and which houses physically allowed you to get a foot in the door. Having correct information like customer name and address is surely important, but it’s the historic value of good record-keeping that really shines. Some obvious benefits are knowing previous services performed, current jobs pending, and future service interval frequency. Important pieces of information such as preferred service hours, extra key locations, or whether the customer has a dog could surely be forgotten if not for prior record collecting efforts.
Additionally, it’s a lot easier to predict future service needs when you’ve got detailed location history.
“Doesn’t Mr. Fresno need to have a plumbing cleanup installed before it frosts this year?”
Record keeping is also extremely beneficial for field service technician transitions. The second tech on a job will have a much easier time if clear and concise notes were taken during the previous visit. This includes jotting down specific makes, models, or parts identifiers like serial numbers or SKUs.
Also, when hiring new employees, it’s easier to explain the ‘how and whys’ of service workflows when you’ve got viable data sets to train from.
Looking Forward
Marketing is another major reason to ensure customer records are kept fresh. Blanket marketing tactics like door hangers or EDDM benefit greatly by either retargeting existing or out-of-service customers while avoiding your saturated service areas to gain new clients.
Speaking of marketing, having up-to-date records can allow your sales team to quickly locate upcoming warranty or service contract expirations. For businesses that offer extended warranties or service contracts, knowing this small bit of information can help you increase renewals and continue to add incremental revenue while simultaneously boosting customer retention.
If making more money from marketing and sales calls wasn’t enough, don’t worry. As historical data is gathered, your field service technicians will be able to complete jobs faster with more efficiency. Having that vital customer information eliminates time-consuming inquiries and second-guessing.
Record Keeping For the Rest of Us
You’ve got a lot of things on your plate — we get it. That’s why FieldConnect makes field service software your employees actually want to use. When it comes to field service work, regardless of industry, having the right information at your fingertips when you need it most is paramount.
There are also safeguards in place for those businesses that work in more rural or secluded locations. As your technician is performing their usual duties, they can continue to use FieldConnect like they normally would even without a reliable data connection. Once they’re back within range of a stable connection, all of their collected data will automatically begin syncing to your centralized database.
Plus, our software is both easy to use and intuitive. You can get your whole team up and running faster than you might think.
If you’re ready to maintain better client relationships through better record-keeping, we’d love to show you why FieldConnect just might be the best business investment you’ve ever made.