The secret to success in the field service industry isn’t a mystery at all: retain your customers and increase the value of those relationships. We built Next Service to help users maximize the profitability of every job, but that’s a subject we have explored in other blog posts. In this post, we will focus on why retention is so important for every field service provider.  

Because of the sales, marketing, and onboarding costs involved, acquiring a new customer costs substantially more than retaining an existing customer. Customers that repeatedly pay for services are also far more valuable than one-time customers. Plus, when a customer leaves, they typically go to the competition. For all these reasons, there is a clear and direct link between customer retention and a company’s revenue, profitability, and competitiveness. 

How to retain customers isn’t a secret either: deliver exceptional field service the first time and every time thereafter. Even more important than cost, businesses that depend on equipment to operate will call the field service provider who delivers high-quality service consistently. Below are six (6) strategies to become that provider and improve customer retention in the process. 

1. Shorten Response Times

When faulty equipment disrupts operations, businesses don’t want to wait for a technician to arrive. Shorten response times by improving how you utilize and dispatch technicians. Combine a sense of urgency with a commitment to accuracy so that the right technician arrives as quickly as possible with the right equipment in tow. 

2. Minimize Service Failures

Customers get understandably angry when a technician says a problem has been fixed and then the issue returns, necessitating another call for service. Minimize service failures with better preparation for the job at hand. Send techs into the field with all the information, equipment, and site knowledge they will need to fix things fully. 

3. Prepare for Complexity

In an era of “self-service,” when users have the means to troubleshoot many problems on their own, field service technicians primarily handle the most complex and confounding problems. Technicians must expect to encounter problems that stretch their abilities. Help them adapt by providing documentation, manuals, and direct support as much as possible. The last thing a company wants is for a tech to leave a site because they don’t know what to do. 

4. Invest in Diagnostics

Better diagnostic technology can help technicians deal with complexity and get service right the first time. Unfortunately, the technology can be expensive, complicated, and cumbersome. Make the investment go further by carefully managing this technology, as well as the rest of the equipment inventory, and deploying it only when and where necessary. 

5. Empower Field Technicians

Technicians are the point of contact between a field service business and the customer. To a large extent, the performance of the technician translates into the impression of the company overall. Empower technicians to make a great impression with their efficiency, proficiency, and courtesy. In practical terms, that means sending techs into the field with all the resources necessary to work like experts. 

6. Keep the Office in the Loop

For technicians to succeed and field service to be as profitable as possible, the office needs a constant connection with techs in the field. When information travels in two directions seamlessly, even automatically, it prevents many issues that could compromise field service and leave a negative impression on customers. 

If companies could perfect field service using just the resources they have right now, they would have done it already. That’s why field service businesses that are serious about retaining customers implement Next Service – field service management software that operates within NetSuite. The software can improve upon everything a field service business does in ways that customers are quick to notice and eager to rely on. Contact us today or request a product demo to explore the positive impact Next Service could have on your own operation.

At Next Technik, we are passionate about delivering value and measuring our customers’ ROI. We focus on customer engagements that are built on positive experiences leading to happy, delighted customers.

Are you a Solution Provider who is looking to delight your existing customers and attract new ones? We’d love to partner with you. Be sure to check out our Partners page and learn about the benefits of partnering with Next Service.