How Mobile Workforce Management Affects Customers

 
We live in the age of the customer. Thanks to review sites, social media, and the ability to share our experiences in real-time, what customers say carries a lot of weight.

This means that customers are less likely to accept the status quo of the past when it comes to their service providers and in-person interactions with a company. Customers know they have options, and they will no longer accept a bad experience as part of the cost of doing business with you. When was the last time you were OK with waiting on a service provider for hours on end only to find that when the person shows up, they don’t have the right information or tools to get the job done?

When customers have that type of bad experience, they’re more able—and more willing—to share that negative experience with others.

But the picture needn’t be bleak. When it comes to delivering customer-centric service, a strong mobile workforce management (MWM) solution is like your Jedi Master.

Here are several ways that mobile workforce management can directly benefit your customers.

Higher Quality Interactions for the Customer

Customers have plenty of options for service providers. With a simple search, they can find dozens or even hundreds of providers in the area. So when they choose your business over all the others, it’s crucial that you are prepared to not only meet their needs, but exceed their expectations.

Customer interactions should be more than just pleasant—they should be excellent. Customers want convenience and easy resolution to their problems. And knowing the customer’s history upfront is a great way to get your customers to a solution faster.

With a mobile workforce management platform, your mobile workers have easy access to the complete customer history, appointment details, required forms, and other information. With a solution that updates information in real-time, mobile workers can communicate with customers in a knowledgeable way that fosters best-in-class service.

Mobile workforce management takes it one step further with client personalization. Mobile work platforms have more customization options than a traditional central reservation system (CRS), which allows you to collect nuanced information about client preferences.

With a system that collects a wide range of customer service information, your mobile workers are always ready to deliver high-quality service.

Real-Time, Proactive Communication

A mobile workforce management platform offers several features that improves communication between the customer and the company:

• Ability to confirm or update appointments via SMS
• Real-time SMS notifications that a service provider is en route to the customer
• Automatically optimized travel routes for on-time arrivals
• Scheduling features that set specific appointment times based on travel time and other variables
• Central location to record customer information, signatures, and next steps

These capabilities remove barriers between the business and the customer, leading to greater transparency and better customer service.

For example, a mobile worker is delayed on a job. The worker can use a mobile app (supported by the mobile workforce management system) to provide an updated arrival time to the next customer, based on the best travel route and other variables. Customers no longer will be left wondering how long they need to wait if a worker is running late—a mobile workforce management system offers real-time updates with the customer in mind. This provides real-time, communicative service that today’s customers have come to expect in a digitally connected world.

Additionally, a great mobile workforce management solution can house custom forms that the mobile worker completes onsite to capture appointment details in the moment. This benefits customers in multiple ways: they aren’t bothered by follow-up calls or emails to collect forgotten information, and they can get an appointment summary before the service provider even leaves.

More Respect for the Customer’s Time

By 2020, it’s expected that customer service will be even more important to customers than price and product differentiation. Today’s customers are used to—and now expect—personalized contact, instant satisfaction, fast time to service, and precise arrival times, thanks to the “Amazon Effect.”

This is where mobile workforce management helps you master customer service.

Modern customers want specific appointment times, not estimated service windows that keep them waiting for long periods of time. They also want to know in real-time if a worker is running late.

Mobile workforce management can do all of that and more: set precise appointment times, send SMS messages with updates along the way, and schedule last-minute appointments according to advanced attributes like skill sets, real-time schedules, and current locations. With a mobile workforce management platform, you can schedule the right worker for the job, and keep the customer informed every step of the way.

Area Wide Protection (AWP), a commercial security company with over 5,000 employees, is one example of using mobile workforce management to improve the customer experience. The company was using manual scheduling tools during a period of rapid growth, which led to inconsistent service and delays for customers.

After implementing mobile workforce management, they increased scheduling and dispatching efficiency by over 86%, leading to several benefits for customers:

• Customers received more consistently accurate invoices with a quicker turnaround time, thanks to easier and more automated data collection.
• Customers received more consistent service, thanks to a central location for customer histories and appointment details that prepares workers for every appointment.
• Customers received appointment times sooner and those appointment times were more reliable, thanks to increased scheduling efficiency and a scheduling engine that takes travel time and other factors into account.
• Customers experienced quicker resolution of their problems, thanks to a platform that matches workers to appointments based on important factors like skill set, experience, or prior customer interactions.
• Customers experienced more competitive pricing, thanks to increased efficiency on the company side.

At the end of the day, customers want faster, better, and more efficient service. If you cannot offer such service to customers, you may see them go to your competition. Companies that invest in mobile workforce management, like AWP, have a strong foundation for better service and happier customers.

Increased Customer Loyalty

Savvy organizations work hard to create a strong brand that attracts loyal fans. After all, keeping a long-term customer satisfied is much more profitable than attracting new customers.

Satisfied customers are more likely to use your services long-term, and it’s vital to continue delivering top-notch service to reinforce that brand loyalty. A mobile workforce management system improves the quality and consistency of your customer service by ensuring mobile workers have the tools and the knowledge to deliver excellent service time and time again. This excellent customer experience and brand loyalty gives your company a stronger competitive edge in the marketplace.

When you deliver strong customer service, the end customer is more satisfied, which translates into better business outcomes. For example, after implementing a mobile workforce management solution, New Jersey Respiratory Associates (NJRA) experienced more than 20% YoY growth and a 33% increase in accounts per therapist over the past three years. With great customer service comes customer loyalty, which leads to great business growth and revenues.

Mobile Workforce Management Drives Customer Service and Business Outcomes

Customers talk about their experiences—and whether that conversation is positive or negative depends on the experience your mobile workers provide.

Mobile workforce management has the power to make appointments more convenient and more seamless for customers. Changes are communicated in real-time, workers are matched up with customers according to the right criteria, workers arrive prepared, and customers get accurate invoices and appointment summaries every time.

With all of the benefits it brings to your customer base, now is the time to master the Force of mobile workforce management.

To learn more about how Skedulo’s mobile workforce management platform can benefit your customers and business, request a demo today.