Customer Satisfaction in Field Service Businesses Tips

For every field service business owner, satisfied customers should be a priority. Customers happy with a service you provide will come back again and spread a word about your professionalism. But the questions are – what a satisfied customer really is and what a well-crafted field service customer experience actually looks like? We can explain it in a simple example.

Imagine that you are renovating your home and you need windows and doors replacement. You call a local company and their technicians come the same day. Technicians were professional and did their job promptly and precisely. The entire process, from taking the measures to installing new windows and doors, lasted 3 days. You saw the price list on their website and prepared money in advance.

Two weeks later, you noticed that some of the windows needed adjustments – they didn’t fit well enough. You called a company and they promised to send someone as soon as possible. After less than 2 hours, the technician came to your door and fixed everything within 45 minutes. That was completely free of charge. The technician was polite and apologized for the inconvenience. Your windows and doors have been in perfect condition ever since.

This is an example of a positive field service customer experience (CX). The company showed supreme professionalism, provided good service and reacted promptly and politely when the problem occurred. It sounds so simple from the customer’s perspective. But what lies behind this process? From a business owners’ perspective, CX is a puzzle made of many small pieces which can increase customer satisfaction, build loyalty and enhance the growth of your business.

Customer experience can be simply explained as your customers’ opinion/perception about the services you provide them with and their interactions with your business. That opinion is usually based on the entire process – from the very first informational call, to the post-sale support they might need. If you want to grow your business, you are going to need a positive customer experience because these people will become loyal to your brand and they will do free marketing for your company. That is why it is important to leave a positive impression on the people you work for.

A good customer experience can be defined as a convenient process from the beginning to the end. What exactly you should do to achieve that convenience depends on the industry you are in, but there is some general advice that can be applied to all field services. To make informed decisions, you need to be up to date with customers’ feedback – the impressions about each stage of the buyer’s journey matters. Ask and listen to them, and use gathered information later to your advantage – build a more thorough understanding for your customers.

Although it may seem as a simple task, creating a positive customer experience depends on a wide variety of factors. The first one we are going to mention is promptness. Nowadays, life is very fast and we are all impatient, expecting everything to be done immediately. Field service businesses should be well-organized and make sure that their technicians always arrive on time. Nobody wants to waste their precious free time sitting in the house and waiting.

Technicians must be professional and well-educated for the job they do, but also respectful and polite with the customers. The communication between company and technicians must be flawless and clear during the entire process. If there are misunderstandings, it will negatively affect both the company and the people who hired you. If any problem occurs, and the probability of obstacles is high, do your best to solve it efficiently and effectively during one visit, if possible. That will decrease downtime and make the inconvenience minimal.

Each customer is unique and has its own requirements and needs.

• Good field service companies have the option to personalize their services and tailor them to satisfy everybody’s preferences.
• Make sure that your website explicitly provides all important info – prices, procedures, variables, scheduling scheme etc.
• Transparency is the one of the characteristics customers value the most.
• After the service, you can ask your customer to give you feedback – that’s how you will know if they are happy and satisfied with your work or, eventually, find out what you need to improve.

There is no strict recipe for measuring CX, but there are some methods which can be helpful if you want to know how satisfied customers are with your service.

The most efficient and the most frequent method are

• Customer Satisfaction Surveys – you have probably seen it a million times. These surveys are usually asking you to rate your overall experience. They use numeric scale (1-5 or 1-10) for the experience rating, and you should choose the number which describes the quality of the provided service best. In the second part of the survey you will be asked to write some kind of feedback and suggest potential improvements.

• Another relevant source of information are digital platforms. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, Yelp and Google can provide valuable insights on your customers’ satisfaction. There are many tools that can be used for social listening You can easily monitor social media and online reviews, and use customers’ reactions to your advantage. Also, digital platforms are a great way to communicate with people, respond to their inquiries, find out about their complaints and promote your business.

• Customer Effort Score (CES) is an important parameter which shows how much time and effort customers’ have to put in to get the service done. It includes the entire process, from the beginning to resolving the issues which might occur. Customer retention and churn is the parameter that compares the number of customers who came back and used the company’s services again to the number of customers who leave. This number is the clear indicator of customer satisfaction and loyalty, showing their overall quality of field service experience.

• First-Time Fix Rate (FTFR) is the number which shows the percentage of service requests successfully resolved during the first visit. Calculating it is a piece of cake – just divide the total number of calls resolved in one visit with the total number of service calls. Higher percentage means better competency of the technicians, better availability of parts and tools and better quality of provided service.

• Last but not least – employee feedback. Talk to your technicians and find out about their personal experiences and challenges they have to face. They are in direct contact with customers which make them the most valuable source of information. Enhance the quality of field service they deliver by regular training and regular internal processes improvements.

Now, when you know how to measure CX, it is time to find out how to improve it and bring your field service business to a completely new level. We will share some of the best strategies – follow them and stand up among competition, while building strong relationships with your customers.

• Technology is evolving each day, so we have to take advantage of it. Various smartphone apps, chatbots, automated reminders and messaging/mailing systems can improve the communication not only between company and customers, but between employees, too.

• Transparency and minimal response time is what customers appreciate. Offer your buyers multiple contact channels and let them choose if they want to use phone, email, chat, social media, etc. Also, they should have the option to transit between channels effortlessly because it is a proven method to increase customer satisfaction.

• Make sure that your business offers tailored services which can meet everyone’s needs. That’s how you will create a more engaging interaction, showing care for the buyers, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. You can store customers’ profiles, providing you with the info about purchase and service history, account status and similar

• Choose a reliable scheduling and routing software to automate the process of matching available field technicians with the right jobs. These softwares can help in prioritizing job assignments and choosing the best routes, which will save you a lot of time and money, while improving provided services.

• Investing in education and professional development is always a good choice. Organize different training programs for your employees to make sure they will always deliver exceptional service. Stay up to date with the latest technologies and trends and equip your technicians with modern tools. These upgrades will make them work faster and smarter.

• Follow all safety protocols as it reflects positively on the reputation of your business. If customers put their trust in you, it will have a positive effect on their CX and it is highly likely that they will recommend you to others.

• Give them a chance to share their experience with your services with others – implementing different feedback mechanisms will show them that you are devoted and work on continuous improvements.

• Loyalty programs are another good way to develop a sense of belonging among customers. Consider rewarding your customers through a referral program in which they can get discounts if they recommend you and bring you more customers.

As you can see, field service businesses are not just delivering their services – they have to create a seamless, efficient and personalized experience which will make the customers satisfied. It is not a simple task, but with our expert tips you can improve the performance and not only meet, but exceed customers’ expectations.

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