Field Force Connectivity Increases Customer Service
The use of technology in enterprise applications is most often driven from the perspective of increased efficiency. The purchase of technology is often scrutinized from a financial perspective and managers are quick to judge the purchase based upon the return on investment (ROI). Every company has their own criteria for determining the justification of technology purchases. While some may include the impact of technology on customer service, rarely is it the only criteria.
There are instances where customer service does drive the implementation of technology. When new technology increases the shopping basket value, it is easier to justify the purchase with the direct correlation to ROI. But this should not be the only relationship between technology and customer service. Most times the correlation of technology to customer service has a longer life cycle. Such is the case in field force applications.
Field force connectivity increases customer service in many ways, some direct and other indirect. As seen in the Okolona Pest Control case study, giving field technicians access to the complete customer account information makes it easier for any technician, not just the one familiar with the account, to provide consistent service. Likewise the same case study illustrates that field force connectivity provides for dynamic schedule adjustments. When requests for unplanned service are received, schedules can be juggled to fit the request into the existing timetable. While both of these examples are direct effects of connectivitys impact on customer service, measuring them may not always be simple to achieve. Likewise, the lingering impression of the customer knowing that one service provider has the ability to accommodate unexpected requests will set that service provider apart from the competition. Potentially, this makes the service provider more likely to be selected when future needs apply. This impact is indirect and difficult to measure but has great value.
Customer service impacts the calculation of customer lifetime value. Repeat business generated by one client can be significantly greater as that client knows which service provider has the ability to fit his needs into a schedule. Dynamic scheduling provides this and can only be achieved when field technicians can receive and transmit schedule information field force connectivity.
