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Respond to growing customer expectations

Respond to growing customer expectations

Wednesday 24 april 2019

The level of customer expectations is becoming increasingly high and is now one of the strongest trends in the maintenance and service industry. The new preoccupations now require high-quality services and continuous communication throughout the processing of the intervention request, whether for urgent cases (curative intervention) or not (preventive intervention).

This recent development in the customer/service relationship is largely linked to easier access to information, a consequence of the Internet revolution in which our societies are engaged. Consumer reviews, tariffs, user manuals, service comparators, etc., are available online and strongly guide customers' decisions, giving them power they did not have before.

This profusion of information leads to increasingly difficult competition, which is why companies must innovate, adapt their products and services and continually improve their processes, at the risk of being overwhelmed and losing their position in the face of competition.

In a world where the possibility of changing service providers is easier than before, knowing that long-term contractual commitments tend to disappear and that the acquisition of a new customer costs on average 6 to 7 times more than keeping the loyalty of an existing customer, it has become essential to discover new areas of differentiation in order to keep the existing clients.

In this article, we will show through several cases how adopting CMMS is an element of differentiation that will distinguish you from your competitors and allow you to establish your growth.

Treatment of interventions

Nowadays, customers expect accurate, transparent and continuous communication from the services they use like: receiving a parcel, making medical appointments, home interventions, etc. For maintenance providers, this means informing the client throughout the treatment of the intervention, whether preventive (maintenance) or curative (troubleshooting). Whether they be professional or private, CMMS knows how to inform the customer by sending either emails or SMS or even both. As soon as an appointment is made, the customer receives a confirmation on the date of intervention. It is also possible to send a reminder notification the day before the service will be made. The same day, the customer will receive two new messages: at the beginning and at the end of the previous intervention, with the expected arrival time taking into account the traffic calculated in real-time. This allows everyone to be reassured on the progress of the mission, to anticipate the arrival of the technician and to organize themselves with time.

Thus CMMS now offers exactly the same level of information that everyone requires when receiving a parcel (similar to tracking applications like Amazon, DHL, FedEx, or even calling an Uber or making an appointment with your doctor/dentist with Patient access.

At the end of the intervention, the client will also receive the assessment of the service performed with comments, photos and so, added by the technician in the field and any follow-up such as necessary estimate, new planned intervention, etc. Surveys of satisfaction can be attached too.

All these sent information are of course completely customizable and it is the provider with his knowledge of the field and the specific expectations of his customers that defines and regulates the level, frequency and type of information he wants to transmit to his customer.

Creating, tracking and publishing quotes online

CMMS builds customer loyalty through superior communication during operations and allows companies to develop their business portfolio through the support, development, and processing of advanced commercial offers as well.

Processing a large number of quotes can become complex, cumbersome and time-consuming, while in this area in particular, customers demand a very high level of responsiveness. CMMS will give you a head start over your competitors by simplifying and accelerating workflows.

Quotation requests can be collected in the field while on the move, transmitted to the estimators who will have all the necessary information to establish them quickly: customer database, sites, contacts, article database, books, models, etc. and facilities to send the estimate by email to the customer who can then validate them online and even choose among several variants and/or select certain options thus facilitating acceptance. Notifications of the opening of quotations are received, ensuring that the customer receives the offer correctly. Reminders are also possible.

Automatic delivery of invoices

Today, most customers expect to receive their bills digitally. For this, CMMS software takes care of the entire technical intervention from its planning until its finalization, but also offers the possibility of directly invoicing from on-site interventions.

This feature saves a lot of time, allows the immediate collection and eliminates further re-entry. When the technician closes the service, he generates the invoice which is sent to the customer and the manager, who are assured of the quality of the service performed. It also makes it easier to finalize the intervention and store it in the cloud, saving time for the maintenance provider to focus on other tasks. Extra: the good receipt of invoices (as for the estimates) is always provided by acknowledgments of reception.

Compliance with complex contractual commitments

Faced with increasingly demanding and volatile consumers, it has become not only essential to be able to respect its contractual commitments but also to know how to anticipate the needs of customers. In that regard, CMMS supports the management of maintenance contracts. The application makes it possible to create and evolve customized maintenance plans according to the frequency of maintenance necessary for the proper functioning of the equipment (daily, weekly, monthly, annual, multi-annual). The application triggers the preventive intervention vouchers, anticipates the interventions to be carried out, the load of the technical teams, schedules the interventions, alert automatically the customers of planned and/or necessary maintenance passages, etc.

The service provider becomes proactive in the commercial relation and informs the customer that he is attentive to his needs, reinforcing satisfaction and loyalty. It is also ensured that the maintenance and control operations are carried out in accordance with the regulatory requirements and/or needs for the proper functioning of the equipment.

Conclusion

Our CMMS has been designed by closely following the latest trends and customer requirements and provides service providers with the easy-to-use, business-friendly tool that helps them meet their contractual obligations and provide their customers with the quantity they need and the quality of information expected without any additional effort.

Through improved collaboration and easier communication between managers, technicians, and customers, CMMS increases the quality of service, and efficiently responds to new expectations and strengthens customer loyalty.

By the way, our ambition is to offer an unparalleled user experience. Check it out right away: try CMMS for free. Within 2 minutes, the time it takes to create your account, you'll discover what's newest in this category of software.

You can also benefit from a demonstration led by one of our consultants: book a videoconference

Good discovery and see you soon on Yuman!

 

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