For decades, companies have relied on skilled technicians to repair equipment and connect with customers on-site. As a result, technicians are often representative of companies and always have direct (and often the first) contact with customers. Consequently, a technician is responsible for the first "impression" - and as we all know, this is the one that counts the most. However, technicians' skills, processes and systems have rarely been considered as critical components. Namely, components that could have a major impact on the strategy as well as the turnover of a company.
Many field service teams are regarded merely as necessary cost centers with standardized work processes that supposedly do not need to be changed. But here, too, it is advisable to look beyond the end of one's nose. Because just like other areas of the company, there is a lot of potential for innovation in the field service. In addition, there are opportunities and strategies that can be discovered and exploited to achieve a significant increase in sales.
Customer loyalty - sales representatives as a strategy?
The field service process often involves many variables and can be quite complex. These include scheduling, planning, matching skills and route optimization - usually at a customer location.
You've probably been in the situation where you've had to wait all day for a technician. Well, that's field service - albeit a pretty inefficient model.
In the course of the further development of the sales force, companies have realized that inefficiency in the sales force can quickly lead to a loss of sales. Ultimately, this reduces customer satisfaction and customer lifetime value (CLV for short).
A CLV means something like "customer revenue value". This describes how much revenue a customer generates for the company over the course of their relationship with the company. For example, a customer with a high CLV has generated high-yield sales in the past. To ensure that it continues to do so in the future and that sales continue to increase, the sales force must be efficient and satisfactory, among other things.
However, innovative companies in particular have recognized how they can reduce costs and increase their turnover at the same time. And they actually do this by optimizing the sales force.
Below are three top actions and strategies to increase revenue through field service and how to Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service can help increase efficiency in an organization.
Lead generation - using sales representatives as "salespeople"
This may sound logical, because lead generation has always been an important part of marketing and sales activities. Nothing new, then. But: who else knows your customers better than your field engineers? Here's a short personal story:
After I recently moved house and urgently needed a new Internet provider, I called several Internet providers. First, I chose the provider that could provide me with Internet service in the shortest possible time. When my chosen Internet provider arrived, the technician inquired about other services I might need, including my cell phone provider. Since I actually had a different cell phone provider, he told me they had suitable offers for me. He then asked me if I would be interested in hearing about them. Shortly after I confirmed my interest and the internet installation was completed, another sales representative knocked on my door. He ended up helping me to switch to their mobile tariff.
As a result, not only was I generated a lead, but I also made a sale - thanks to a simple question from the sales representative. As everything went very efficiently and competently, I would definitely recommend this provider. Not only because of the product, but also because of the good service provided by the sales representative, who asked the right questions.
Field service representatives are professionals who often have a whole range of tasks to complete in order to complete the service. By simply asking a question or noting a specific item on their to-do list, a Microsoft Power Automate-flow can be triggered. This automatically creates a lead and forwards it to the sales team. The result is a qualified lead for the sales team and a cross-sell revenue opportunity for the company. This allows the field sales team to support the sales team - thanks to technology.
Business areas expand: Field Service-as-a-Service
To truly turn your own sales force into a revenue generator, current operations must become efficient. Accordingly, efficiency requires innovation, which means innovation of processes, system platforms, and people. When it comes to field service operations, it is safe to say that not all companies innovate at the same pace, and some prefer not to innovate at all. This is where innovation and efficiency can become an advantage that drives revenue.
For example, a large provider of healthcare facilities started out as a facility management company. Accordingly, they offered facility management services to their vast and growing network of healthcare providers. By continually innovating and increasing efficiency with Dynamics 365 Field Service, the healthcare facility provider quickly realized the value they could provide to other healthcare provider networks. Eventually, he began offering his services to other hospitals.
By leveraging its efficiencies, it was able to deliver a better patient experience to more than 160 hospitals. In doing so, the healthcare provider is an excellent example of how field service efficiencies were leveraged to create a revenue-generating business unit.
Connected Field Service: Using data
Connected Field Service uses IoT data collected by device sensors and integrates it into Dynamics 365 Field Service to create a new, revenue-generating service model. As a result, connected field service enables companies to move from the traditional repair model to a proactive and predictive service model. This shift offers companies the opportunity to market and sell new service offerings that lead to higher revenues and profit margins.
One example of a networked field service is a Pacific Northwest engineering company. The company specializes in developing energy-efficient buildings. However, by collecting data from IoT sensors, the company's connected field service solution can also provide optimization services after completion. IoT sensors thus capture a building's energy levels and proactively dispatch a service technician before a failure occurs. This ensures operational efficiency at customers' facilities. By performing remote inspections and services with Dynamics 365 Remote Assist among other things, efficiencies can be increased, issues can be resolved in real time, and travel costs can be reduced. These efficiencies create the opportunity to sell more advanced support offerings, increasing revenue and profitability.
Conclusion
Many companies have now realized that increasing the efficiency of their sales force can actually be very valuable and profitable for their company. All in all, the sales force should not be underestimated, on the contrary - it should be promoted much more. After all, they can even actively support a company's sales team in a way that was perhaps previously unknown to most.
Since a sales representative has direct contact with customers, they are in a way the "business card" of a company. It is therefore advisable to use the field service team as a tool to achieve greater customer loyalty. If customers are satisfied, they in turn become "ambassadors" for a company and recommend it to others. Even better, by innovating the field service, based on Microsoft technologies such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Field Service, a company can be transformed into a revenue-generating machine by increasing customer lifetime value (CLV).
