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Establishing long-term client relationships is essential for the success of any business. This is especially the case in the field service industry where day-to-day customer interactions are part of the job. However, over time it can become easy to lose focus on the importance of building and sustaining these relationships and potentially miss out on new and recurring business opportunities.
Here are seven common mistakes that should be avoided by field service professionals to ensure long-lasting business relationships.
1. Not Following Up With Inquiries
Answering customer inquiries and following up with service requests in a timely manner are essential aspects of the field service industry. Customers want to know that their business is important for the companies they work with and unnecessary delays when addressing their inquiries tells customers that they should look elsewhere for their service needs.
Following up with Customers is Seamless in mHelpDesk
You’ll not only have quick access to all your contacts, but you can send both text messages and emails all from one place. In any mHelpDesk Estimate, Job or Invoice, just click the drop-down arrow next to the Message button and select Email or Text.
The best part is all your communication history is recorded in the Activity module.
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2. Bad Customer Support
Customer service experiences and reviews can make or break businesses in any industry. Since this is the case, field service businesses should take the necessary time and resources required to structure their customer service departments efficiently. Whether in the office or out in the field, a positive customer experience should be a top priority for business owners.
3. Poorly Drafted Estimates and Quotes
Service estimates and quotes are the first impressions that potential clients get from the business providing them. Since this is the case, it’s essential for companies to create a professional format for generating service estimates and clearly defining business standards and terms. Doing so adds more reputability to the business and helps to attract new clients.
Compare These Two Estimates:
In mHelpDesk, you’ll have access to our professional document templates for your estimates, jobs or invoices, including this one on the right, to help you impress clients from the beginning.
mHelpDesk Users: Learn How to Add Our Templates To Your Account >>
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4. Lack of Adequate Business Planning
While busy seasons can be the best time of year for business operators, not being adequately prepared for the increased demand can quickly affect profitability and customer retention. If business owners do not have all the tools and equipment at their disposal when they’re needed most, this can cause significant delays in service and threaten business sustainability.
5. Leaving Jobs Unfinished
When customers hire service contractors to care for their needs, there is an expectation that jobs will be cared for efficiently and within the specified time frame. So when service professionals leave jobs unfinished, this can cause customers to become unhappy and inconvenienced as they have to adjust their schedules to accommodate subsequent visits. Businesses should make sure they fully understand the needs of their customers and service requirements and ensure they’re able to complete jobs efficiently on the first visit wherever possible.
Quickly Spot Unfinished Jobs in mHelpDesk
You and your team can have full visibility over your open jobs and what needs attention. As soon as you go to your Jobs screen in mHelpDesk, you’ll see all your new, open and closed jobs.
Learn how to create job statuses to reflect your company’s specific business processes >>
6. Ignoring Customer Feedback
Customer feedback on comment cards or through business websites can be an invaluable tool in better company services and the overall customer experience. Still, if the feedback isn’t compiled or is ignored altogether, companies may be allowing a dangerous trend of poor business practices continue unchecked. Customer feedback should always be valued and utilized to improve all aspects of the business and keep client relationships healthy.
7. Scheduling Errors and Conflicts
As businesses scale, scheduling errors and conflicts can be more common as employee bandwidth and resources become stretched. However, always being late for customer appointments or missing recurring jobs altogether can have disastrous consequences for customer relationships. Powerful business automation tools help business owners stay on top of scheduling at all times, creating an efficient system to support new business opportunities while caring for the needs of current clientele.
Set up Automated Appointment Push Notifications for Your Staff
Avoid appointment no-shows or late arrivals with our push notifications. Your staff can receive push notifications to their mobile device when they are assigned a job, when their job appointment has been scheduled and more! In mHelpDesk, go to Settings > Notifications to get started.
Final Thoughts
Healthy customer relationships are an essential part of business sustainability. By avoiding these mistakes when managing your company and investing in the right tools and services to automate business processes, you can ensure that you’ll maintain long-lasting client relationships enable your company to grow.
Ready to improve your processes and win more jobs?
Start and manage your client relationships like you’ve never been able to before. Schedule your free demo today!
Last modified: October 19, 2018
