Field Service CRM
Field Service Management software is increasingly becoming part of a centralized CRM platform, rather than being in use as a standalone app, keeping to the spirit of a customer-centric business application. The best field service CRM software combines the operational needs of conducting service on-site in an easy to use app, accessing important business information (finance and inventory for example) AND the ability to share customer information throughout the business to help customer service, sales and marketing teams get the full picture of that customer’s experience.
A business such as product manufacturing, utilities, healthcare, construction, property maintenance, and telecoms will benefit from extending their CRM software to include field service management capabilities.
Empowering maintenance engineers and schedulers with CRM that shares information with inventory, skills, customer and finance areas is key. A best-in-class field service CRM software will support predictive maintenance by connecting to products after sale.
What are the specific benefits of field service CRM software?
- Improve first-time fix rate – good for customers and great for operational efficiency
- Complete more service calls per technician per week from improved scheduling and having on-hand customer and inventory data
- Manage follow-up work with easy creation on-site of work orders and (spare) parts ordering
- Reduce travel time, mileage, vehicle wear and tear meaning better control of overheads and margins
- Provide management with a centralized way to track resolution of customer issues
- Provide customers with improved service visibility, convenience and communication of service visits, including arrival times and follow up calls
- Empower field service technicians with accurate customer and inventory history
- Avoid equipment downtime through preventative maintenance by moving from a reactive service model to a proactive model
Intelligent scheduling and resources management in field service CRM
Ease of use and automation is key for your scheduling team, as they try and manage the needs of the customer (parts and availability), business priorities and margins, technician availability and skills – often needed quickly. Modern field service CRM software optimizes this important step, with the addition of route optimization for the engineer and scheduling agent, meaning less time in traffic and more ETA accuracy for the customer.
Look for “drag and drop” scheduling calendar screens that allow your service team to set up or move job orders in seconds – all connected to the engineer’s mobile device for instant updates. This means if a customer has to move or cancel a field service visit, an engineer can maintain productivity with a new work order slotted in according to their availability, location and skill set. Scheduling can also be used with automated suggestions or scheduling based on algorithms.
First-time fix rates are one of the most important KPIs for a field service operation and allowing an engineer to manage their work fully empowered can transform your business efficiency.
Your field service engineers want all the data they need at their fingertips in order to efficiently complete a work order, this includes customer history, product inventory and parts plus the information on how to carry out a fix. All this in an easy to use mobile screen. Make sure the CRM that you shortlist includes the features you need but delivered in a simple way, to guide your technician through schedule changes and work orders.
When reviewing mobile applications, think about online and offline syncing of data; for those remote locations with poor coverage, the engineer still needs to update their work orders, upload photos, complete compliance forms, take customer signatures, organize follow up visits and place orders for parts.
First time fix rates can also be impacted by the knowledge available to the engineer, so in addition to having the full data available of the customer and their assets, what about the skills to complete the work order? By allowing your technician to easily access a Knowledge Base of step by step instructions with visuals in their mobile app to carry out the remedial work, or by connecting them to a colleague back at base with the aid of remote assistance – this speeds up the visit and reduces the need to create a follow up if the case is more complex than originally thought.
Mobile field service CRM app for technicians
Asset and inventory management in field service CRM
The best field service tools include asset management features to keep track of installed equipment and customer service history and SLA contracts. Visibility is important for the scheduling and technician teams, but also the ability to manage the resources and parts in stock, handling purchasing to keep vans stocked up and manage returns with the warehouse. Therefore, a seamless integration with finance and warehouse management is important for operational efficiency.
Look for a CRM that helps your field service operations now and in the future, so whilst you may want to cover the essentials of field service management in your first implementation, ensure that the software will grow with your business ambitions and customer needs. One such example is the shift from reactive to preventative maintenance.
Your CRM should automatically generate recurring maintenance appointments, based on customer SLA, products in use and the behavior of the parts themselves. This reduces the need for costly service calls that are not needed or indeed urgent service calls when breakdowns occur which negatively impact the business operations of the customer. This appointment schedule can also be made visible to the customer in a self-service portal, allowing them to request changes, see the ETA of their technician, view work orders status or access the Knowledge Base themselves. Automation can also help with real-time customer contact – an SMS or email alert workflow can help keep the customer informed.
The Internet of Things (IoT) has further transformed the capabilities of field service CRM. By connecting serviced products and parts to the internet, your business can analyze their performance and detect trends and failures before they impact the customer. Alerts can be configured within the CRM to your scheduling team, and automatically creating work orders into the mobile app of the engineer.
Moving to a preventative maintenance approach in field service with CRM
Field Service Management in CRM features
In summary, when reviewing CRM for field service management, your shortlist of criteria should specifically address:
- Automatic work order creation and updates with automated workflows
- Integration with product inventory and customer assets
- Intelligent scheduling and dispatch; the ability to match resources, technician skill, availability and location to improve first time fix rates
- Easy to use drag and drop scheduling tool with interactive maps
- Full CRM mobile access for engineers syncing with work order, inventory, customer billing and scheduling management
- Support for remote management and preventative maintenance through IoT technology to detect anomalies and trends
- Online and offline syncing for sites out of range
- Look out for innovations such as remote assistance, mixed reality, augmented reality, AI image recognition for spare parts to support in technical resolutions and engineer training
How do field service CRM features integrate with other key business areas to deliver exceptional customer experiences?
- Discover more about CRM software for your sales team
- Discover more about CRM software for your customer service team
- Discover more about CRM software for your marketing team
- Discover more about how Customer Insights and CDP technology supports businesses
