The post Attracting New Talent While Building Independent Service Provider Loyalty appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

Jeff Bezos, CEO Amazon. July 13, 1999

Today’s consumer has access to more information and tools than ever before. With a single Google search, consumers can find the best price for a given product in a matter of seconds.

The only sustainable, long-term differentiator for companies is the end-to-end customer experience customers receive when interacting with a brand. Brands which differentiate by delivering superlative customer experiences will cash in on greater customer wallet share and lifetime value, ultimately netting greater profits and investor returns.

This is because a happy customer contributes 2.6 times as much revenue as a somewhat satisfied customer and 14 times as much revenue as a somewhat dissatisfied customer. Thus, the need for better customer experience spans many different industries.

The biggest hinderance home service brands face today is delivering a seamless, omnichannel, digital and data-driven experience that connects all parties, including 3rd-party service providers, throughout the customer purchase and home service fulfillment process.

After powering millions of home service jobs in over 30% of the homes in America, here is what we’ve learned for how you can cash in on the home services space.

Why There is an Opportunity to Cash in on the Home Services Space

In the early 2000s, home service companies built customer relationships on their own terms. Brands only communicated with customers when they wanted – typically through mailers and calls, or worse, no communication at all, leaving customers in the dark about the status and timing of their home services. Traditional retailers did a fair job executing product sales and deliveries but struggled to execute on expectations set with customers about the home services experience customers would receive.

Over time, due to the rise of the internet, mobile technologies, social media, and lower barriers to entry for new retailers due to the commoditization of hardware/cloud computing, the consumer rose to the forefront, ultimately having an unlimited choice about who, when and where they would purchase. Consumers suddenly had a megaphone to share the negative (and positive) experiences they were receiving from brands, and the ability to quickly and affordably shift their brand loyalty to brands who focused on CX. Industries outside of the field service arena adopted and implemented new technologies to help bridge the gap between the brand and the customer.

This puts pressure on brands to offer the same level of service to their customers in a tech-driven way. When they do, they can expect to see some drastic improvements to their customer SAT, NPS, revenue, and customer lifetime value.

Here are some of the outcomes service brands can expect after implementing customer experience tools.

Two-Way Communication Tools Improve Brand Perception

Kudos to you if you’re messaging with your customer about their home services appointment. MAJOR kudos to you if your tool allows for two-way communication with that same customer to create engaging experiences.

Home service companies that enable dynamic communication between them and their customer receive more information up front, which does two things: creates a sense of confidence in the customer’s mind, and allows for seamless fulfillment of the service.

Dispatch allows customers and service providers to directly connect with each other in a bi-directional, modern and meaningful way while empowering the consumer to provide information (notes, photos, updates) to the service provider in advance of service execution. Not only is the customer-empowered, but the service provider is well informed about the service the consumer is expecting to have fulfilled….and before appointment execution.

Automatic Appointment Reminders Improve Customer No-Show Rate

By keeping consumers informed of the status of their service appointment, including on the day of service, brands can reduce costs associated with customer no shows and reschedule requests. Automatic appointment reminders prevent this from happening.

54% of millennials prefer to communicate with brands through either mobile or email.

Not only do consumers prefer to communicate bi-directionally, based on experiences they are having with brands, but consumers expect this level of communication so they are informed and not left in the dark waiting. According to Forrester “The majority (66%) of adults feel that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to provide them with good online customer experience.

Dispatch’s omnichannel communication tool delivers email, SMS, push, WhatsApp, or whichever communication method your customers prefer at the right moment.

Instant Feedback Helps Monitor NPS

As we evolve in today’s tech-driven world, the importance of immediate data capture becomes vital to reduce customer churn. While every brand will occasionally fail with service delivery, it is essential to be able to immediately act on subpar customer feedback. If your service experience is lacking, then customer switching costs are low and the customer won’t buy more of your product.

Gauging service experience and remedying poor experiences as they happen has led to a 6% reduction in customer churn (2018 Dispatch customer data study).

What is the next step for service companies?

Brands looking to capitalize on the service space need to realize that it’s all about customer experience. Jeff Bezos had it right in 1999 – amazing service is one of the most important long-term and sustainable differentiators that a brand can build. Done right, positive home services experiences will net greater customer wallet-share, customer lifetime value, and incremental product and services revenue for any brand.

The post How Superior Customer Experience is Changing the Home Services Industry appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

What you’ll learn in 3-minutes

We’re reviewing different protocols that will keep your service providers and customers safe while in the field. 

Service Provider Safety:

If you can, work remotely
Being isolated away from your team and working out of the comfort of your home is the first step in remaining safe. If you can’t work remotely, make sure to restrict all office visitors with case-by-case emergency situations letting people into the office.

Screen for fever every day
Implement active screening of service providers and office staff for a fever every day with an Infrared Forehead Thermometer.

Keep your distance
Experts suggest maintaining six feet of distance between yourself and other people at all times.

Assess everyone’s health before going out
Before every job, ask your service providers and customers if they’re feeling ill. Reschedule the appointment if the answer is yes.

Adopt contactless communication
With photos, messaging, and digital payments, you can minimize the exposure between service providers and customers. Some companies, like Bloomin’ Blinds, are implementing video consultations in order to adapt their business for this contactless world.

Customer Safety:

Wear shoe covers and gloves for every job
Wear new shoe covers and protective gloves every time you enter the homeowner’s home. This helps ensure cleanliness and puts the homeowner at ease.

Confirm your customer’s health
Communicate with the customer before the job to gauge their health and their family’s health. If anyone is ill, politely ask to reschedule the appointment.

Meticulously disinfect tools and trucks
Disinfect all vehicles and every piece of equipment after each use. This prevents the virus from spreading surface to surface.

Implement contactless payments
Implement paperless billing, credit card payments, receipts/invoices, etc., so that you and the homeowner don’t need to touch anything.

Always social distance
Stay a minimum of 6 feet away from customers and other service providers at all times and if you’re feeling a little under the weather, please stay home. 

The post Webinar in 3: 6 Ways to Keep Service Providers and Customers Safe During COVID-19 appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

But field service providers still have to do their jobs. Therefore, we put together this safety checklist for every field service professional. Please print out this checklist, share it with your service providers, and stay safe out there.

We’re so thankful for all your work.

Service Provider Safety Checklist for COVID-19

1. If you can, work remotely.
The first step is working remotely if you can. If you can’t, restrict all office visitors, effective immediately, with case-by-case emergency situations.

2. Screen for fever and respiratory symptoms.
Implement active screening of service providers and office staff for fever and respiratory symptoms with an Infrared Forehead Thermometer.

3. Confirm your customers are healthy.
Communicate with the customer before the job to gauge their health and their family’s health.

4. Innovate with contactless communication.
Implement video chat into your customer outreach to see if it’s necessary to roll a truck or if the job can be serviced via video chat.

5. Stagger service provider work schedules.
Stagger work schedules to avoid too many service providers in the office at all times.

6. Meticulously disinfect tools and trucks.
Disinfect all vehicles and every piece of equipment after each use. This prevents the spread from surface to surface.

7. BYOB – ”Bring your own bottle.”
Avoid company-shared water bottles by bringing your own to work. Make sure to bring it home, and wash it every night.

8. Wear shoe covers and gloves for every job.
Wear new shoe covers and protective gloves right when you enter the homeowner’s home. This helps ensure cleanliness and also puts the homeowner at ease.

9.  Implement contactless payments.
Implement paperless billing, credit card payments, digital receipts/invoices, etc. so that you and the homeowner don’t need to touch anything.

10. Always social distance.
Stay a minimum of 6 feet away from customers and other service providers at all times and if you’re feeling a little under the weather, stay home.

Sources:
https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/california-santa-clara-county.html

The post Downloadable Checklist: Service Provider Safety for COVID-19 appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

But field service providers still have to do their jobs. So the question is, how do you keep them safe in and around customers’ homes?

How to Keep Your Service Providers—and Customers—Safe from Coronavirus

While there’s no zero-risk way to perform essential work inside customers’ homes, you can take these steps to reduce the chance of spreading COVID-19:

1. Update your on-site safety guidelines. Base your new rules on CDC guidelines for reducing the risk of spreading the virus.
2. Keep your distance. Experts suggest maintaining six feet of distance between yourself and other people.
3. Assess everyone’s health before going out. Ask your service providers and customers if they’re feeling ill—and reschedule appointments if the answer is yes.
4. Adopt contactless communication. With photos, messaging, and digital payments, you can minimize exposure between service providers and customers.

Read on for more details on each step.

Update Your On-Site Safety Guidelines

Your service providers may be understandably nervous about coming into contact with customers and the equipment in their homes. Giving them guidelines for reducing their risk of contracting or spreading the coronavirus will make them and your customers feel more at ease.

Here are a few essential practices for service providers, based on CDC guidelines:

• Wash your hands before, during, and after each work order. This video demonstrates, how to ensure you’re scrubbing every part of your hands.
• Use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol content if you don’t have access to soap and water.
• Don’t touch your face (especially your eyes, nose, and mouth). Studies have found that we touch our faces between 16 and 23 times per hour—a habit that can be seriously hard to break. Adding a new ring or a rubber band around your wrist can help make you conscious of your hand, and remind you not to touch your face with it.
• Disinfect tools and surfaces of any appliance or equipment you’re working with on the job and between work orders. As much as possible, avoid touching any other surfaces in the home; the coronavirus can live on some surfaces for several hours.
• Add this COVID-19 safety checklist to every work order, so your service professionals don’t have to try to remember the new procedures during busy workdays.

Keep Your Distance

Because COVID-19 spreads through person-to-person contact, maintaining a distance of six feet from other people can reduce the chance of transmission. This might present a challenge in some homes, so prepare your service providers and customers ahead of the visit.

Have an email newsletter, customer text app, or blog? Use whatever communications tools you have to let customers know your service professional won’t be shaking hands and that they’ll ask the customer to stay six feet away at all times. Reassure customers that your service professional is disinfecting tools and equipment between visits, and ask that they provide access to a sink and soap.

Finally, take care of as much of the transaction as possible outside the customer’s home. That includes the initial conversations about the work and any paperwork required (more on that shortly).

Assess everyone’s health before rolling trucks

While COVID-19 can be asymptomatic, there are some signs you can look for to reduce the chance of spreading it.

Ask your service providers to notify you if they have any cold or flu symptoms, especially a cough, fatigue, or fever. Any service provider showing these symptoms should stay home, along with any service provider who’s been in contact with a person who tests positive.

Before sending a service professional to your customer’s home, ask if anyone in the house is sick. And make it clear to your service team that they can and should ask the same question once they arrive. If anyone in the home is sick, service providers should check with supervisors to assess whether the work can be rescheduled.

Innovate with Contactless Communication

Your goal should be to limit coronavirus exposure between your field service providers and customers. Leveraging tools with robust messaging capabilities can help you accomplish that task.

A platform that allows text messaging (or even better, video), can help you diagnose the problem before rolling a truck. Connecting virtually before the job ensures technicians arrive with all required parts and tools, meaning fewer exposures between the shop and the customer’s home and less time disinfecting tools

You can also reduce the chances of infection by improving the way your customer signs off on the job once it’s complete. Instead of a signature on paper, send a confirmation email or ask them to confirm via your app or website. Offer digital payment methods so paper checks don’t have to change hands.

We hope these minor adjustments help your process and workflow as we all continue navigating work-related changes because of COVID-19. Additionally. your work is ensuring homes are safe and comfortable and that is something that homeowners will forever be thankful for. 

Need a little tech help with implementing contactless communication? Schedule a demo to see how the right platform can reduce physical contact and keep everyone safer.

The post How to Keep Your Service Providers Safe from COVID-19 appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

About Samara (Sam) Toole:

Sam was brought on as a CMO to manage the brand and customer acquisition strategies and in this role, she oversees customer marketing, creative, and content development to fuel the website, showroom, sales & training at California Closets.

Currently, Sam is focused on the customer more than ever and driving tactics like free virtual design consultations to continue to support customers from the comfort of their homes.

In this episode, we cover:

• The metrics Sam uses to measure customer experience.
• How she understands her customers better than her competition.
• The customer experience challenge/problem she is most keen to solve.
• How Sam balances the line between automation and humanity.
• Why NPS matters so much to California Closets.

If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe to iTunes, Soundcloud, or Google Play. Follow Dispatch for the most recent episodes and news.

The post #27 Samara Toole, CMO of California Closets appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

What you’ll learn in 3-minutes

For this webinar in 3, we’re discussing if it makes more sense to build enterprise software or to buy enterprise software from a third-party vendor. As a refresher:

To build means to create the software from scratch. Doing this requires a team of software engineers, a product person, testers, a budget considering total cost of ownership, diligent roadmap planning, and a whole lot of time set aside to maintain the software post-deployment.

To Buy means you will work with a vendor that has already built the software you need. They thought of all the nuances, squashed the bugs, are constantly looking for ways to improve their product and have dedicated support to make the client happy. 

While both these options are good, deciding to buy vs. build comes with its own set of pros and cons. Tune into the 3-minute webinar (yes, just 3-minutes) to learn how you should approach this dilemma and what looming questions you can ask yourself in order to make an educated decision.

The post Webinar in 3: To build or to buy, that is the question appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

But there are a lot of hidden costs waiting to derail your best-laid plans. If you want to keep from being blindsided, check out our list of hidden costs to building (instead of buying) your enterprise software.

7 Hidden Costs of Building Your Own Enterprise-Level Software

Here are the costs you’ll incur when building an enterprise field service management solution. Many of these are time-related costs, but you know the old saying: time is money.

1. Before-You-Begin Costs like the time you sink into creating a budget.
2. Planning Costs of building out sprints.
3. Project Management Costs to make sure everything stays on track.
4. Project Development Costs of the QA process and bug fixes.
5. Training Costs for everyone from your tech team to your end-users.
6. Troubleshooting and Support Costs to deal with new bugs and user error.
7. Maintenance Costs of creating patches and new versions of the software.
8. BONUS: Opportunity Cost—the time you spend on all this instead of your core business goals.

Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty on the time-and-money outlay that comes with creating your own field service software.

1. Before-You-Begin Costs

Before you even start the actual software development, you will have time costs associated with your project. One of the first (and, arguably, the most important) is nailing down a general budget.

This also tends to be one of the more difficult costs to determine, according to consulting firm McKinsey. Their research found that the average large-scale IT project runs a whopping 45% over budget—and 7% over time. Some of the reasons they cited for these overruns were unclear objectives, an unprepared team, and unrealistic schedules.

You can mitigate some of these issues by hiring a business analyst or product manager, which is the second hidden cost of your software development journey. 

If you don’t already have this person on your team, it’ll take time to hire someone competent to fill this role. The phrase “time is money” became a cliché for a reason—all of the time you invest in hiring a project manager is time taken away from your other business projects and goals. On top of that is the time for the onboarding and training your new hire will need.

While you’re thinking about hiring, you’ll also have to add developers to your team. This can be a pricey proposition, especially if you need multiple new employees to build your enterprise software – not to mention the salaries associated with each hire.

2. Planning Costs

Your next big chunk of costs involves all of your planning activities before the actual development begins. You’ll need time to decide on the most important business objectives (what you want your new software to actually do), the technical requirements to get there, and a blueprint for what that solution will look like.

Once you’ve got your goals and a blueprint, your developers need to build out sprints for the project. Each sprint requires a planning meeting between you and your developers to decide what work will be done in the time period defined by the sprint. The number of sprints and the length of each depends on what you need your software to do for you, but even for small projects the time needed to plan them adds up.

3. Project Management Costs

Now that you’ve got the project and sprints defined, a product manager on board, and developers to actually build your enterprise software, you can just let them get to work, right?

Not exactly. Project management can be a time-consuming process on its own. You’ll have to manage your developers to ensure they get work done on schedule, make sure all development teams are communicating and collaborating effectively, analyze past sprints and plan new ones, and put project monitoring processes in place.

4. Project Development Costs

Once your software is nearing its finished stage, a new set of time-intensive costs pop up. First, you’ll have to put your software through a quality assurance process. Your team should be doing regular QA tests throughout the development process to avoid last-minute disasters, but you’ll still have to sink some time into testing the final (or near-final) version before releasing it.

If your QA testing reveals bugs, you’ll have added time costs for fixing them. Finally, before actually handing your software over to end-users, you’ll have to perform an audit to make sure it meets security and compliance requirements.

5. Training Costs

You can’t just hand your software to your users and let them figure it out on their own. Everyone will need training, from your end-users to your tech support team. That means developing training materials (either written documentation or e-learning courses).

When your materials are finished, you’ll have to provide time for your users to learn the new system—which means staff costs that aren’t going to the regular operation of your business. Depending on the complexity of your new software (and how many hours your employees need to learn it), those costs can be steep. Not quite parallel to this situation but still enlightening, Training Magazine’s 2017 Training Industry Report found that small businesses spend between $1,100 and $1,886 to train new employees for 36 to 43 hours. That translates to $30 to $43 per hour.

6. Troubleshooting and Support Costs

When you build your own software, you’re also on the hook for any ongoing tech support required to deal with new bugs and troubleshooting. Just about any software solution has its own unique set of bugs (and, yes, user errors) that appear regularly.

Beyond the regular troubleshooting time, your IT team will also have to collaborate with your developers to fix these recurring issues in the next iteration of the software (which starts the sprint process all over). They also will have to consider operational costs – monitoring, care and feeding of databases and storage systems, etc.

7. Maintenance Costs

So, you’ve got your shiny new enterprise software built, your end-users and support staff have been trained, and your teams are collaborating to keep up with bugs. All done, right?

No again. Maintenance tasks—like patches and upgrades—can add up, too. Your developer team will have to spend time creating these patches and new versions of the software, while your IT staff spends time implementing and troubleshooting them. Additionally, new security vulnerabilities will need to be mitigated as it pertains to both patches but also the software packages used. 

8. Bonus: Opportunity Cost

All of the costs related to building your own enterprise software can add up fast, especially if your solution needs to be complex and integrate with a lot of existing systems.

But one cost a lot of businesses may not think about is the hit to the core business. While you’re involved with planning and setting up this new software—which can take months—you’re not as focused on your overall business goals and opportunities.

If you’ve got a great business analyst and project manager, the cost here may be minimal. But if you’re really involved with the software production and launch, you may miss other potential areas of growth, which can set your business back.

The Case for Buying Instead of Building Enterprise Software

The cost of a purchased software solution may look enormous at first. But when you think about all of the staff time and management/IT costs that go into building your own software, a purchased solution looks a lot more attractive.

With purchased enterprise software, you don’t have the headaches involved with meeting development deadlines, creating your own training materials, or monitoring software health and creating patches and updates. With those issues in mind, a purchased software solution becomes more budget-friendly.

Looking for a software solution to keep your company, third-party service providers, and customers on the same page? Schedule a Dispatch demo to learn more.

The post 7 Hidden Costs of Building Your Own Enterprise Software appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

Burns joins Dispatch with over two decades of experience leading, managing, and growing software companies, most recently in the field service management industry. He brings to the team a proven track record and strong rate of success in building and developing best-in-class teams and products. He most recently served as SVP of Product at ClickSoftware, and previously spent 11 years at Autotask, where he served in several roles including VP of Product and Strategy.

“Field service management is an increasingly competitive field, and with Avi’s influence and guidance, Dispatch has quickly proven itself to be one of the most innovative companies in the industry,” said Burns. “We are experiencing great momentum and are in a position of strength in the marketplace. I look forward to working closely with Avi and the rest of the team to lead the company into its next phase of growth.”

As Chief Strategy Officer, Goldberg will work with Burns to strengthen Dispatch’s market position by collaborating with customers and prospects and identifying and evaluating potential partnerships to add value to Dispatch’s core business.

“Pat was our number one choice as Dispatch’s next CEO given his significant operational experience with high-growth enterprise software companies and his extensive experience leading high-performance, high-achieving teams,” said Goldberg. “I’m thrilled that he’s joining the company and eager to start working with him to continue innovating and delivering the value that our customers expect.”

As CEO, Pat plans to build on the achievements and momentum of the business over the past year.

“We are very excited to welcome Pat on the heels of Dispatch’s best quarter ever. We added several new strategic customers and significantly grew revenue and our base of engaged service providers,” said Goldberg. “We have an amazing team and have built some great momentum, having Pat join us will be a force multiplier for the business in 2020 and beyond.”

Dispatch celebrated several milestones in 2019, including:

• Expanded the customer base in several industry segments – including manufacturing, retail, warranty and claims providers, and home services franchises – demonstrating their unique expertise in enabling home service enterprises and franchises to curate, engage, and manage their flexible, independent service networks to deliver world-class customer experiences;
• Further strengthened their partner and integrations ecosystem to increase the flexibility and functionality of the Dispatch platform by aligning the company with several leading field service management and CRM solutions. View Dispatch’s full list of integration partners,  here.
• Made significant investments in product innovation, including expanded organizational profiling and matching capabilities for enterprises and real-time technician tracking and customer tipping for service organizations; and
• Launched a new website to better inform and serve enterprise customers.

 About Dispatch

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Boston, Dispatch is the world’s only software platform that enables enterprises to successfully unlock the potential of flexible service networks. As the service industry shifts towards a more flexible and non-dedicated workforce, Dispatch’s intuitive platform seamlessly connects the enterprise, service provider and customer together to create a world-class service experience that surpasses the rising expectations of the modern-day market. Through innovative mobile and web applications, robust APIs, and both cloud/on-premise connectors, Dispatch is revolutionizing the home services industry by enabling enterprises to simplify their service operations, curate and engage high-quality service networks, and collect unparalleled real-time visibility into service delivery. Dispatch was recognized by Inc. 5000 in 2019 as one of the top 10% of fastest-growing companies in America.   

Learn more at  https://dispatch.me/

Contact

Kate Preston, Director of Revenue Growth & Head of Marketing

kpreston@dispatch.me

The post Dispatch Names Patrick Burns CEO<br> Founder Avi Goldberg transitions to new role as Chief Strategy Officer appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.

About Kelsey Stuart

Kelsey has been with Bloomin’ Blinds since the beginning and has spent much of his time focused on the marketing and growth of the company. Rising from the “mailroom” to the top chair, there isn’t a part of the Bloomin’ business model he isn’t intimately familiar with. Maintaining day-to-day contact with our franchise owners, Kelsey is the go-to person for most of the questions that they have.

In this episode, we cover:

• What are the difficulties with modern customer experience and homeowner expectations? 
• What do you see as non-negotiables between today’s consumer brands and their customers? 
• What are some of your customer’s expectations that you’re trying to meet? 
• What CX challenge or problem are you most keen to solve for and why?

If you enjoyed this episode please subscribe to iTunes, Soundcloud, or Google Play.

The post #27 Kelsey Stuart, CEO of Bloomin’ Blinds appeared first on Dispatch Technologies.