If you want to make a lasting impression on your customer, lead with a memorable customer experience. As the focus of most manufacturers evolves from a product-focused sales strategy to developing robust on-site services, industry leaders can now take the customer experience on the road with an impactful, scalable technology that supplies their field service technicians with the tools to provide efficient, responsive service to valued customers—wherever they are. 

Taking your expertise directly to the customer is not only convenient, it’s an integral part of maintaining a lasting relationship. 

By the end of 2020, the customer experience took precedence over price and product as the key brand differentiator. Now manufacturers are exploring innovative solutions to boost service delivery without sacrificing the “human touch” that customers want. 

“Some of these shiny field service solutions truly digitize the field experience with advanced capabilities like integration with augmented reality-based apps, IoT integration, knowledge of field and multi-channel communications, machine learning or AI-powered field service algorithms for scheduling, forecasting, etc.,” explains Bijayita Mohapatra, Industry Principal at Infosys. 

What makes field service technology especially effective is when tools combine automated features with personalized customer service. If you are ready to integrate IoT into your field service model, here are some features to look for in an automation-savvy field service system. 

Choose automated strategies with a goal in mind

Manufacturing is not lacking in service and field automated solutions. While it’s tempting to onboard a series of digital processes, your focus should be on what matters most: the customer. “Personalized experiences aren’t the result of automating everything. They’re the result of businesses actively choosing what to automate — and what not to,” warned Jason VandeBoom, Forbes Council Member. “I’m finding that customers are getting more accustomed to a seamless mix of human and digital interaction.” 

With software like Salesforce’s Field Service Lightning, for example, you can offer your field service team not only opportunities to connect with customers, but you can also equip them with tools that provide a comprehensive customer profile, coordinate time-saving interaction with dispatch and field technicians, and ensure secure data exchange. 

Provide easy access to the full customer profile 

When your field technicians know more about the customer, they are better equipped to provide precise service and identify new sales opportunities. Whether your team is tracking a customer’s sales journey on-site or relying on mobile devices to access customer information while on the go, knowing each phase of a buyer’s journey is a strong marketing tool. 

Coordinate dispatch and field service calls 

To optimize field service management, you need a cloud-based system that enables your technicians, managers, and dispatchers to work from a centralized portal. Equipped with real-time data, your dispatch team can manage changing customer logistics seamlessly by tracking the locations of technicians to optimize time and reduce travel between scheduled service calls. With field service technology, your customers get help quickly while your finance department tracks completed work orders and invoices while the field technicians are meeting with the customer. 

Exchange data on a secured platform

The days of balancing stacks of customer paperwork on car seats are over. No more lost work orders, invoices, or contracts. Now field technicians can access customer information digitally and update it from their mobile devices. 

At least 89 percent of customers want to experience modern, on-demand, and digitally up-to-date technology with field service technicians and scheduling. Delivering field service that appeals to the modern customer by utilizing a comprehensive, centralized portal, dispatching field technicians based on real-time location data, and ensuring customer information is safe and secure increases the potential to accelerate growth for your manufacturing business while creating meaningful and personal contacts with customers. 

Together, Simplus, Infosys, and Salesforce offer the ideal solution for optimizing your field service operations: the Smart Field Service Manager. This accelerator takes what Salesforce has designed already and gives you the speed to market you need to realize value fast. To learn more about the innovative functionalities of the accelerator and how they can give your manufacturing organization an edge, download the white paper today.