Exemplary customer service is king in the field service industry. It can be easy to let things slip when things get busy, but don’t forget that customer retention is good business. Customer acquisition can cost up to five times more than customer retention, so it’s worth investing in strategies that will prevent your customers from melting away when things heat up. So when the weather gets warmer and the calls flood in, ensure you and your team have the tools to make hay this summer.
You’ll come across old-school customers who expect your team to show up and “exterminate” their pests. Managing expectations about pest management will help reduce costly callbacks and increase customer satisfaction. Pest behavior may be your bread and butter, but your customers need help. Educate customers about the results they can expect from your service and avoid costly callbacks. For example, the National Pest Management Association (NPMA) provides a wealth of resources you can share with your customers. However, nothing beats content that is tailored to your customer base. With solutions like FieldRoutes® Marketing Suite, you can get a professional to design your website, complete with content that educates your audience and bolsters your brand.
There’s no need to remind you that missed appointments are costly. You can avoid customer disappointment and protect your profitability by automating email, text, and call messages to remind customers of the date and time of their service. Customers have busier schedules in the summer months, so you’ll want to ensure they don’t forget about their service before heading out on vacation. The ability to automate these messages has the dual benefit of lightening the load for your staff since they won’t have to individually remind each customer by phone or email; using software like FieldRoutes allows you to automate these otherwise onerous tasks.
Your team is the physical embodiment of your business. Your technicians and crew members are who your customers interact with; therefore, they define how your customers feel about your business. That means you need to ensure that they’re going the extra mile for your customers. Micromanaging is not the route you want to take; not only will it take up even more of your time, but it’s likely to do more harm than good. Go for the carrot approach; reward the behavior you want to encourage. If you don’t already have one, you could start an internal reward program, and remember, rewards don’t have to be monetary. It’s the recognition that counts. You could also adopt a solution like Tech Tipping by FieldRoutes, which empowers your customers to show their appreciation at no extra cost to your business.
FieldRoutes® software has the automations you need to improve your customer retention and deliver exceptional customer service. Discover how we can help you grow your business; call us at 972.702.7156.