3 Ways to Better Love Your Service Customers, Using a CRM System

You can’t start a business without being bombarded with a series of shiny new acronyms: ROI, MOM, ARPU, WFH, EOD… etc. What do all these acronyms have in common? They are trying to make your life easier, your business more productive, and your profit margin better. CRM? It’s no different.

CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management, and its primary function is to make you better at understanding and being there for your buyers. CRM knows that you can’t know everything all the time, and that you’re busy and trying your best.

The best CRM programs act like a personal assistant who whispers the right details in your ear, and helps you impress customers by offering relevant suggestions and excellent support. Vonigo’s field service management software has a CRM built in, so customer management seamlessly merges with operations: both in the office and the field.

We’ve outlined a few ways that incorporating CRM into your company’s administrative and sales plans can help your employees become more productive, and your bottom line more profitable.

The Power of CRM in Field Service

Vonigo’s field service software has CRM built in, which means you not only get the benefits of being able to track your communication with customers, but also connect to scheduling, invoicing, payment history, GPS and more.

Approaching each job with the full knowledge of a customer’s history gives you the ability to offer them a better service experience, and saves a lot of time and headache for your field teams.

Better Customer Relationships

Just like remembering an anniversary, or knowing what team your friend roots for (even if it’s so you can strategically root against them), having some knowledge of your customers is a great way to break the ice and re-establish a relaxed, trusting relationship.

Imagine rolling up to a job (pre-scheduled, perfectly on time, and prepared to do the job at hand thanks to field service software) and having your team take a minute to look at a customer’s profile: have they had prior work done by your company? Consider the power of tapping into their billing and contract history, photos of past jobs, and any other notes that have been added to the account.

Having your team fully informed of a customer’s history will go a long way towards showing them you care about the quality of your service. But more than that, it helps the customer, because they don’t have to offer your techs a complete history of service When your work is done you can make a few quick notes about how the job went, and any customer feedback you might have.

Not only that, but your entire team will have access to this database from anywhere. You know what that means? Sweet, sweet consistency. And you can foster that consistency even more by implementing a few processes that help your whole team input information in a consistent fashion.

Establishing a rhythm around taking complete notes and key details of every customer interaction will pay dividends down the line.

Better Reporting, Better Marketing

Having a CRM that’s tied to scheduling, quoting, invoicing, payments all in one seamless workflow will maximize efficiency, save time and money, and keep you on the ball. When your workforce is all entering data on customers, you’re building a great profile of the overall satisfaction and experience of your company.

You have the means to collect feedback, analyze it, and make changes to your business and service practices that more closely reflect the expectations your customers have of you. You can also look for more meaningful and relevant ways to market to your existing customers.

Perhaps you aren’t seeing a lot of return-customers, but you notice a lot of feedback that mentions the high cost (and superior quality!) of your service. Reach out to those customers and offer them a break on their next service. The gesture won’t go unnoticed: even a small discount can be the push that a customer needs to motivate a purchase.

Automation features are present in some CRM programs, which relieve your teams of some of the more tedious elements of marketing and customer outreach without losing out on potential revenue. And of course, more purchasing means…

Better Revenue!

Cash flow, the lifeblood of any business, is a fickle friend. So often part of growing means you are putting that money right back into your business. Having a complete record of the work and a system of transparent, immediate invoicing will help solve some classic cash flow problems by getting you paid faster. More than anything, a CRM helps your business prepare to scale up.

A spreadsheet that lists your customers might seem to hold its own, but if you are hitting your growth goals, you are going to outgrow that sheet… and quick. Setting yourself up with a CRM early in your business lays a foundation of organization and attentiveness, and puts you ahead of the curve when your business starts to garner the kind of customer base you’ve been working toward.

Like most business acronyms, CRMs have the reputation of looking more complex and intimidating on their face than they are in practice. Implementing a CRM will take time, and there will be a learning curve. But with practice, and an entire team working in step with each other to build a knowledgeable and intelligent customer database? You’ll hit a smooth stride faster than you expect.

CRM and Field Service Management in One Tool

Vonigo’s field service software has all the tools you need to manage clients from the first point of contact through service and follow-up. Since CRM is tied directly into our tools, not only do you have complete customer records but they’re seamlessly tied to your operations such as scheduling, booking confirmations and reminders, invoicing, and best of all it’ll help you retain your customers’ business better, all in one program.

It also connects to GPS and operational reporting features that help you identify exactly where and how you can work smarter. Having your customer data, record keeping and scheduling together means time savings as well as the potential for growth.

If you want to learn more about how the right software can make your life easier and help you grow, book a demo, and we will show you exactly what it can do for your business.