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With COVID-19 essentially forcing many pest control companies to rethink the future of work, relying on technology has become a focal point for many to manage teams, businesses and customer relations. As we settle into this new normal, many business owners are leaning into existing technology solutions and integrating new ones that not only enhance customer service and experience, but also boost their bottom line.
To excel in today’s landscape, technology is a powerful tool to help a business focus on the customer experience and enhance the level of service they are providing. In fact, Verizon Connect’s recent survey, “Fleet Tracking Trends Report 2020,” found that ‘meeting customer demands’ was the biggest business challenge faced by surveyed fleet managers, executives and other mobile-business professionals in the U.S., providing further credence to exploring the role technology plays in a business.
Few things can mean more to a pest management business than strong customer service. In the age of online customer reviews, happy customers aren’t just a nice-to-have; they are essential. Technology is an important tool that business owners can use to help keep customers happy and is an important consideration as customers are increasingly using digital tools in their daily life. Let’s take a moment to look at some of the tech that is out there, what pest control company owners need to know, and how new technology can help pest management professionals (PMPs) boost customer satisfaction levels.
1. Field Service Management Technology
One way pest control company owners can improve scheduling and communication is by implementing field service management software. Field service management software can help provide a more positive customer experience and help improve a company’s bottom line by taking out the traditional paper scheduling and constant communications needed for dispatching and notifying PMPs. This streamlines operations and improves the customer experience. Advanced field service management technologies can also be aligned with customer updates on the ETA of the PMP, post-service reviews and ratings, and help the PMPs track the job with photos and integrated notes. Field service technologies ultimately help solve inefficiencies by creating a centralized, digital management solution of all mobile workforce-related functions and resources that keeps the PMPs on-the-go and the customer in mind at every point of interaction.
2. GPS Tracking Technology
GPS tracking software or fleet management technology takes the guesswork out of knowing where vehicles are located. By utilizing GPS tracking systems, pest management fleet managers can operate more efficiently, helping improve PMP arrival times, enhance driving routes through the integration of maps, and save time through automation and digital reporting. This technology can help if a driver is running late or encounters adverse road conditions and can help enable the business to reschedule or dispatch another PMP, which will protect the customer experience.
Moreover, GPS fleet tracking solutions have numerous other benefits as the technology is typically part of a vehicle’s control module. The technology can help track vehicle wear-and-tear and driver behavior that can help fleet managers keep their PMPs and vehicles on the road and safe while on the job.
3. Mobile Workforce Management Apps
Both GPS tracking and field service management technologies fall under the umbrella of mobile workforce management technologies. With the advancement of wireless networks, these technologies are scaling out in advanced apps, tablets, and other mobile devices that further empower pest control dispatchers, operations managers, owners and mobile supervisors with information and near real-time updates at their fingertips. Particularly during busy seasons and today’s uncertain business climates, fleet managers and PMPs need to lean into these technologies to streamline tasks remotely to help build efficiencies both in the office and out in the field.
Kevin Aries, Verizon Connect
In today’s business environment, the customer experience is correlated increasingly with a business’ bottom line. Happy customers mean more calls, more referrals and more business. Providing a strong customer experience is not a new concept for many businesses, but evolving its best practices through technologies can help a business not only overcome the challenges of in person interaction and customer experience presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the near-future of field service work that is increasingly defined by a digital customer experience.
Kevin Aries is the Global Leader, Product Success at Verizon Connect.
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