It’s time to bring software as a service (SaaS) mentality to fieldwork. Long seen by customers as irritating at best and accepted as a cost-center by companies, technology adoption in field service has opened the opportunity to create “as a Service” platforms within field work.
Faster service for customers
Customers have been demanding fast service, they value privacy, and are willing to pay more for high quality service with privacy attached. A SaaS model in field services means that customers always know they have access to support. It also helps customers in terms of getting the service they need to solve the problem - whether video chat, text, or a house call.
Beyond single-instance problems, though, the FaaS model opens up a new world of home maintenance and care opportunities. For example, customers could get routine maintenance on an HVAC system just as easily as they get their routers checked when the wifi goes out, all without the concern of having to pay extra each time.
Companies get a new revenue source
The lumpy nature of support calls and the fact that most calls end up needing two or more visits to solve puts companies at a disadvantage when it comes to customer service. While businesses want to deliver value to their customers, they are not incentivized to invest in improvements or system changes because everything is so expensive and doesn’t have a revenue number attached.
The FaaS model solves this challenge. Businesses get recurring revenue that can be allocated and used to improve service. With that move, technology adoption such as encrypted video support calls will help reduce house calls, directly saving money on fuel, maintenance, and related healthcare and insurance costs for workers. On the flip side, customers get their problems solved quickly, which justifies the regular monthly cost. Further, field workers can use that saved time to do more sales. Our data shows that companies that respond quickly close 8% more business, even if the pitch is over video. So field workers having time doesn't just translate to cost savings, but new revenue opportunities.
Software is eating the field
Instead of trying to improve a disconnected and poorly incentivized system, organizations that employ field teams have the chance to build a new business line that’s aligned to customer needs and field worker engagement. Shifting from an ad-hoc support model to a FaaS model takes time, resources, and technology. However, you aren’t alone in doing this. ICwhatUC has helped many companies turn their customer support departments into recurring revenue business units and would be happy to explain how we did it, the mistakes to avoid, and guide you through the transition.
